And although while the team made a big deal out of 2020’s aerodynamic issues, it was obvious that the power unit was mostly to blame for the lack of performance. The performance of Alfa Romeo Racing and Haas, two of Ferrari’s customer teams, is sufficient proof of that.
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Ferrari’s 2020 campaign was their poorest in forty years and was without a victory. They have meekly admitted that it was a failure by their extremely high standards. But despite a terrible year, the Scuderia started taking action to remedy the wrongs, and the Prancing Horse is prepared to battle back with a new driver lineup, an entirely new engine, and a revamped aero package.
nightmare of regulations
Ferrari had a stretch of six races toward the close of 2019 where one of its cars started from the front row. That came to an end in the US Grand Prix when the engine had to be changed due to a clarification of the rules.
Although routine FIA (Federation Internationale de l’Automobile) inspections had turned up nothing unlawful, the adjustments made it harder for the team to compete at the same level in the final two races.
Ferrari insists on its innocence, although throughout the winter break that year, the team and the FIA came to a private agreement about their engine, the specifics of which have not been disclosed.
Ferrari was the most impacted by engine regulation changes prior to the start of the 2020 season than any other engine manufacturer.
The vehicles were observed to be traveling at an average speed of 10 km/h (6 mph) less than in 2019 at the 2020 Belgian Grand Prix in August.
In 2019, Vettel and Leclerc averaged starting positions of 4.3 and 4.4, respectively, and average race finishes, excluding retirements, of 4.6 and 3.8 thanks to Ferrari’s exceptional qualifying pace.
Ferrari was substantially faster in 2019, winning several races, including one in Singapore when the team finished 1-2. This victory was Vettel’s final with Ferrari and the team’s most recent F1 victory.
As previously indicated, just one year later in 2020, their average starting positions and race finishes were significantly lower.
Ferrari should, however, hold itself to higher standards. Fortunately for the team, it was able to purchase the 2021 vehicle and engine prior to the imposition of the new budget cap the following year.
The cap starts at $145 million for 2021, drops to $140 million for 2022, and then stays at $135 million for 2023–25 in order to level the playing field and terminate Mercedes’ domination.
It has been crucial for Ferrari, a team that reputedly spends $400 million year, to get ready for 2021 during the 2020 season.
According to Barretto, “[Ferrari] can ideally earn as much as it can and employ all of its resources up until obviously the deadline at the end of this year.” “That’s wonderful from the perspective of the power unit.
The relative stability and rules from this year into next year will make it slightly more difficult for them to make significant progress on the aerodynamics side.
“Nevertheless, in the second half of the season, even though our results did not totally reflect this, we began to implement a few upgrades that enhanced our car’s performance and proved the development was proceeding as planned. In light of the next season, this is a promising indicator.
“True, the fundamentals of the car will be put on hold for development in 2021, but there is still a chance to enhance it in a few specific areas using the so-called tokens permitted by the rules, which we spent in the back of the car. Then, we will have a whole new PU [power unit] that is now being tested on a dyno and receiving positive performance feedback. This is an area where development is unrestricted.”
So, the only reason for their poor performance is their engine?
The fact that Ferrari-powered client teams Alfa Romeo and Haas are also having trouble demonstrates the drastic decline in engine performance, but it still doesn’t explain why Kimi Raikkonen, driving a back-running Alfa, defeated both Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc in Belgium last weekend.
Ferrari’s team manager Mattia Binotto claims that their cars lack “aerodynamic efficiency” and speed, which may be a result of the fact that they were built around an entirely different and much faster engine prior to the year 2020.
However, a comparison of the qualifying results for 2019 and 2020 reveals that their major problem is straight-line speed.
Ferrari’s fastest time in Austria was 0.9 seconds slower in 2018 than it was in 2019, and they also experienced delays in Silverstone, Spain, and Belgium totaling 0.3, 0.8, and 0.4 seconds. Budapest was the only track where Ferrari improved their time (0.3 seconds faster than 2019; the team also made its first use of its new 2020 package for the entire race distance), and the Hungaroring is a twistier track that uses less engine power.
The coronavirus pandemic-shortened 2020 season, which consisted of 17 races, ended up being the worst for Ferrari in decades, much to their relief.
Their sixth-place finish in the constructor standings was their lowest since they finished all the way down in 10th place in 1980, a four-position decline.
Leclerc made the most of his tractor-like SF1000 over the majority of the season and was in contention for fourth place in the driver standings, but he ultimately came in eighth. Even so, it was a modest victory when compared to where Vettel placed.
The four-time world champion finished in 13th place in the driver standings, which was the lowest result for a Ferrari driver since Didier Pironi finished in 13th place back in 1981. The four-time world champion earned nearly half of his 2020 points from his lone podium finish.
With Leclerc expected to return and Carlos Sainz Jr. expected to depart McLaren and replace Vettel, will Ferrari be back in contention in 2021, or will things remain the same until the new cars are unveiled in 2022?
The performance of the team’s car thus far this season, according to Ferrari Formula 1 head Mattia Binotto, is “a relief,” showing that its development work is progressing as planned.
In 2020, Ferrari had its worst F1 season in 40 years, finishing sixth in the constructors’ standings with just three podium finishes.
The team struggled with a slow car design and a lack of straight-line speed, which it attempted to address with the revised SF21 car for this season.
Charles Leclerc qualified for the first two races in fourth place, which has been a success so far. At Imola two weeks ago, Leclerc came in fourth, ahead of home teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. in fifth.
It has put Ferrari in the lead of the battle for the midfield, fighting head-to-head with McLaren, and demonstrated that the team is improving again following last year’s setbacks.
The team’s development effort was correlated between the factory and the track, which helped the team’s performance move in the right direction, as team principal Binotto noted.
The relief, according to Binotto, lies in realizing that we are moving in the right directions.
“It is crucial to note that simulations and wind tunnel work now correlate at the track more accurately than they did in the past.
“This inspires faith in the tools and our ability to design for the future. That, I think, was the most essential [thing] and I think in that respect, it is a relief.
“It’s crucial that the car is performing better so that we can finish the racing weekend with a better result.
“We frequently stated that our performance from the previous year was unacceptable for a Ferrari brand, so we were aware that these areas were crucial to us, demonstrating advancements in each one.
In the teams’ standings, McLaren presently leads Ferrari by seven points as a result of Lando Norris’s podium finish at Imola, which he achieved after overtaking Leclerc on the restart following the red light.
How Ferrari miscalculated its strategy in Hungary
Hungary’s BUDAPEST — Ferrari provided two distinct justifications for their disappointing performance in Hungary on Sunday night. Charles Leclerc, the race driver, faulted the strategy, and Mattia Binotto, the team manager, blamed the car’s performance.
The messaging between the team manager and the driver was noticeably different, even though the two statements weren’t entirely unrelated. Leclerc thought the race could have been won. By crossing the finish line in sixth place, he had closed the 80-point gap between himself and Max Verstappen for the championship. Binotto declined.
Why is Ferrari currently performing so poorly in Formula One?
However, the team has been hindered by setbacks: its drivers committed errors at crucial times, while Ferrari’s engine increased in power at the expense of dependability, with the team’s vehicles breaking down many times this year.
Why did Ferrari’s power decline?
A grid penalty later on in the year is anticipated as a result of Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari engine failure during the Spanish Grand Prix, which irreparably damaged the turbocharger and MGU-H.
When he ran out of power early in his second stint of the Barcelona race, Leclerc was in the lead.
Max Verstappen won, costing him the championship lead. Ferrari also lost ground to Red Bull in the constructors’ standings as a result of his retirement.
Ferrari claims that neither of the two damaged components nor any other parts of the power unit had a design flaw or reliability problem that led to the breakdown.
That suggests a problem with the installation or operation, although Ferrari is keeping quiet about the precise root of the issue.
At the Miami Grand Prix, Leclerc switched to his second power unit of the year, indicating that he will at the very least need to convert to a third MGU-H and turbo.
Unless Ferrari decides a whole new set of components is worthwhile, it is likely that it may keep using the combustion engine, which seems to be unharmed.
With 16 races left and his first power unit having run four full grand prix weekends, it is all but certain Leclerc will need to employ a fourth MGU-H and turbo, at least later in the season. Ferrari has not yet revealed its strategy for Monaco.