Calm down, please. Prior to Sunday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto is channeling his inner Scouser and downplaying the team’s impressive start to the season.
A health warning is issued to a team when managing success and failure since both elicit strong emotional reactions.
In the years before, Binotto had gotten more experienced in the latter. Though it is of the loud sort, his instinct to modulate the response to what is ultimately only one result is smart. He explained that Jeddah “may be a completely different scenario and I think we need to wait at least four or five races to assess.”
The Bahraini track is noticeably rough, which exacerbates the heavy strain on the brakes and tires already put under duress by the unique features of the Sakhir circuit. Despite having the superior top speed, the Red Bull’s brakes and tires overheated, forcing Max Verstappen to slow down.
In contrast, the Ferrari had faster acceleration out of the turns, demonstrating the strength and torque of an engine that is regarded as the grid’s top performer. Binotto is a product of the Ferrari engine division. Ferrari was able to concentrate on the construction of the 2022 unit significantly earlier because they were not involved in a title race last year. Some claim Ferrari had an advantage over Mercedes and Red Bull by three months.
The end result is a power unit that completely different from the one that debuted in the previous season and works well with the new, environmentally friendly gasoline adopted this season. Some people think that the modifications that engine designers must make to accommodate fuel with 10% ethanol, which operates at higher temperatures, are just as dramatic as the switch to ground force aerodynamics. Ferrari appeared to have perfected both the engine and the aerodynamic components, avoiding any of the porpoising stress that is the cause of Mercedes’s tardy start.
Engine constraints that have halted development for the next four years, essentially baking in any potential power advantage, have helped Ferrari even more. Gasoline pump problems caused by the new fuel have been blamed for the power failures that struck both Red Bull vehicles in Bahrain.
Due to a shortage of development time, it is believed that Red Bull lacked insufficient understanding of the power unit’s behavior on low fuel. Red Bull had not planned for the pump issue in relation to the new fuel characteristics at the end of a long stint because comprehensive race simulations had not been done during preseason testing.
Fundamentally speaking, the Red Bull is quicker than the Ferrari in Bahrain through the speed trap. This is not to imply that Ferrari is inherently slower; rather, Sakhir’s setup decisions favored acceleration above peak speed. Leclerc’s ability to overtake Verstappen into turn four in Bahrain after momentarily giving up the lead through turn one on successive laps demonstrated the effectiveness of that way of thinking.
The performance of these prototype animals is influenced by a wide range of variables. Depending on the circuit, the needs can vary. In Bahrain, Ferrari hit the perfect spot. Red Bull tripped over the carefully calibrated stress points.
Binotto is therefore correct to reserve judgment until the vehicles have been tested on a variety of courses and layouts. However, it’s possible that Ferrari was operating in a more conservative mode and had more power to release. Thus, Binotto’s modesty might be hiding a true statement that is constructive rather than destructive. Jeddah will provide additional information, either way.
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Nearing the desired weight, Ferrari
However, according to a recent report from Auto Motor und Sport, the crew did include some updated components. It could be the reason Ferrari found some more time. This is a result of how much lighter the redesigned components are. The F1-75, which was once five kilograms too heavy, is now almost not too heavy and has almost zero kilograms of excess weight, according to AMuS. Red Bull still has to reduce 10 kilograms, but Ferrari appears to have reached the ideal weight.
Ferrari did not bring any changes to Imola, according to #AMuS, but they did bring lighter components to make the F1-75 less cumbersome. The F1-75 was about 5 kg over the required weight, but with the lighter components, it is now almost at zero. #ImolaGP
Why competitors prefer to imitate Red Bull over Ferrari
According to Michael Schmidt of Auto Motor und Sport, competitors prefer Red Bull’s design strategy to Ferrari’s because “no team knows why the Ferrari is so fast.”
Ferrari has emerged as Red Bull’s main competitor in Formula 1, which will use a brand-new generation of vehicles this year with ground effect aerodynamics.
Ferrari has competed against Red Bull with four victories from 11 races, with the two teams’ momentum alternating.
Even though it seems like the RB18 and the F1-75 are generally competitive, rivals have chosen to imitate Red Bull.
At the Spanish Grand Prix, Aston Martin debuted a green Red Bull, while Alex Albon claims that Williams’ first significant upgrade of the season, which made its début at Silverstone, was likewise in the Red Bull direction.
According to AMuS journalist Schmidt, this is the case because competitors are baffled by what exactly makes the F1-75 with its baby bath sidepods fast.
In his most recent video for the website, he said the following: “Ferrari makes a fantastic vehicle. The fact that everyone imitates the Red Bull but no one imitates the Ferrari surprised me.
“Teams sort of believe they know with the Red Bull, but nobody really knows with the Ferrari.”
Added him: “One thing is certain, in my opinion: the F1-greatest 75’s strength is that it is swift everywhere and at all times.
“It is quick at various ground clearances, has an elastic engine, and is simple to use. It inspires confidence in the drivers.
“The F1-75 is also friendly. No matter the tyre compound or the temperature, Ferrari is always present in some form.”
When asked if it might have been a floor trick, Ferrari and Red Bull both claimed to have discovered a gray area when it comes to stretching the flooring, but Schmidt disputes that.
Mercedes believes so, he responded “However, they think Red Bull may be manipulating the floor as well. This can be observed in Spa.
A technical directive has been issued that will go into effect at the Belgian Grand Prix because it is believed that some teams have discovered a grey area in the rules relating to the area around the plank and the skid block, one that has allowed them to increase the flexibility of the car’s floor beyond the 2mm allowed.
Which teams will need to modify their vehicles to comply with the new specifications is yet to be determined.
Ferrari outperforms Red Bull in speed.
The 1997 world champion revealed to the media how different the two vehicles are. He claims that the RB18 is a fast car but is quite challenging to drive. Additionally, he thinks that the team must “pull out all the stops” in order to equal Ferrari’s pace.
He said, describing the Ferrari F1-75: “Although Ferrari appears to be simpler to drive and tune, it is only slightly faster. On a weaker weekend, they will still be contending at the front.”
He does believe that Red Bull will find it difficult psychologically because of the costly DNFs.
Mattia Binotto, the head of Ferrari’s Formula 1 team, claims that he would rather face the challenge of rectifying an unreliable but competitive package than the reverse.
Charles Leclerc’s stunning engine failure while leading the race and Carlos Sainz’s unconnected hydraulic problem caused a double retirement for the Italian squad in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
In Barcelona, Leclerc also experienced a power unit failure, and Maranello client teams Haas and Alfa Romeo have also experienced difficulties.
After spending a significant amount of time and money upgrading the power unit over the winter in an effort to catch up to Red Bull and Mercedes, who set the pace last year, Binotto said he wasn’t surprised the team has seen some reliability issues.
I’m not shocked, undoubtedly worried, and in some ways disappointed, he declared. “Because I believe we should try to solve it, but we haven’t done so yet.
“However, I am unable to hold the squad accountable because I am aware of the effort they have made to improve upon prior performances. I am aware that the road ahead is lengthy, and we lacked enthusiasm at the beginning of the season.
“As I stated, this is a path that we are currently doing, and right now another step is still necessary. I believe that we will continue to work hard and remain a team. While we are aware that the work is not yet complete, we have demonstrated our ability to perform it properly thus far.
“I would much rather have good performance and work on dependability than the other way around.”
Binotto acknowledged that the team’s main concern is that the root reasons of the continuous power unit dependability problems have not yet been identified.
It is worrying, he said. “I don’t know the solution, and I would like to know what the issue was right now, so that makes it much more of a concern.
It’s still very early in the season, but the only other thing is that we will have to install another new engine. Your problems might not always be easily fixed.
“Since whatever has happened is basically a short-term cure, I’m not sure what approach we’ll need to take, whether it be lower mileage, a different type of usage, or a short-term fix.
“So something that I believe we’ll understand in the next days, and maybe by the time we’re in Canada, we’ll have a clearer answer.”
Binotto played dismissed the idea that the squad had to win in Montreal the next weekend in order to restart its title defense.
“I don’t believe that it is at all necessary to win. Race by race, we’ll be paying attention, and on weekends, we’ll attempt to maximize our potential. There was undoubtedly something wrong today, and we need to look at all the facts, not just the reliability.
But when returning to the workplace, I believe that, as per usual, the lesson should be to attempt to comprehend, move forward, and try to accomplish it as soon as possible, while also ensuring that everything we are doing is strengthening the product.
Why are Ferraris so quick?
Ferraris are aerodynamic, as the video demonstrates. Ferrari vehicles have always been designed for speed. I’m sorry, faster. They’ve had this mindset for a while even if their cars aren’t all that much faster than the competitors by today’s standards.
Why is Ferrari performing so well in Formula 1 2022?
When compared to the cars Red Bull and Mercedes only had for the second test in Bahrain, its debut vehicle was possibly several weeks in the making. Ferrari was able to structure its usage of its 2022 development budget on having a cleanly finished car design that it could be confidently use to start the season.