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F1 2016 review: More disappointment, more changes for Ferrari
Motorsport.com's experts rate the Formula 1 teams' performance during the 2016 season. Today: Ferrari, which hoped to fight for the titles but ended up having another transitional year.
Edited: Dec 20, 2016, 1:05 PM
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Tech highlights
By Giorgio Piola and Matt Somerfield
Ferrari's season unfolded a little differently to what it envisaged going into the campaign, with wholesale changes made to the layout of the car that were supposed to put it on a level footing with Mercedes.
And while it seemed to have made progress in the opening few rounds, it became clear pretty early on that it wouldn't be able to take the fight to Mercedes over the course of the season.
Where it did excel however was its race starts, with the new rules surrounding the use of only a single clutch paddle catching many of the other teams and drivers out.
Ferrari was the first and only team to make a big physical change to its steering wheel, outfitting its wheel with a single wishbone paddle rather than the two smaller paddles used as part of the old system.
This much longer lever is thought to give the drivers a little more feel over the bite point of the clutch, something that had become an automated process prior to 2016.
Ferrari SF16H steering wheel back wishbone, detailed view
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Jon Noble - 7
Ferrari only had itself to blame for a hugely disappointing 2016 campaign, where it not only failed in its target to claim the championship but it did not even win a race.
The pressure it put on itself at the start of the campaign almost certainly played a part, but there were strategic errors and internal disruption that did not help either.
While end of season progress has offered it hope for the future, some have questioned the value of bringing updates so late in the year when everyone else has been fully focused on 2017.
Oleg Karpov – 5
Last year looked promising, but we shouldn't forget the car was built under Marco Mattiacci's management.
The SF16-H is the first car produced in Maranello during Maurizio Arrivabene's time. So maybe Mr. E is not entirely wrong when telling the Italian needs someone to assist him.
Changing the car's livery obviously wasn't enough. Probably it's time to do some more changes.
Glenn Freeman – 6
Ferrari's history is littered with seasons that promised much and delivered little, and 2016 is firmly in that category. Sebastian Vettel's patience with Maranello seems even shorter than Fernando Alonso's was, and the cracks in the mood at the team were clear in the second half of the year.
In many ways, keeping Kimi Raikkonen was a vote of confidence in Vettel – the Finn is effectively the world's most expensive #2 driver these days but he is capable of showing Vettel up if the German is too busy being stroppy in the cockpit.
Kate Walker – 6
Despite a confident pre-season in which the Scuderia was aiming for multiple wins in 2016, it never really came together for the prancing horses.
Podium finishes at seven of the first eight rounds were a promising start, but Ferrari was unable to compete for the win until the final round of the season, when a charging Sebastian Vettel put the fear of God into the Mercedes pit wall.
It was Kimi Raikkonen who had been the surprise star performer in red, with a run of strong performances that began right after Ferrari stopped their run of podiums.
Pablo Elizalde – 6
The Maranello squad needed almost no time to realise that its pre-season predictions of fighting for the championship would not materialise.
Ferrari spent most of the season playing down Red Bull's threat and eventually ended up being the third force behind it and Mercedes.
After undergoing yet another reshuffle, the historic Italian squad has no excuses for 2017.
Guillaume Navarro – 7
Although it occasionally rivalled Red Bull's pace, Ferrari lacked a bit in all areas to fight for wins this year – pace, organisation, opportunism, strategy, stability, development.
We won't see the impact of James Allison's departure and Sergio Marchionne's interventionism before 2017. The team also needs a real leader as a driver.
Erwin Jaeggi – 7
Ferrari went into the season with the hopes of competing for the championship again, but in the end it was a disappointing and winless year for the Scuderia. From being the second team on the grid at the start of the season they even slipped back to third position in the Constructors' Championship halfway into the year.
To make things even worse, Ferrari lost a key player in its technical department with the departure of James Allison, who left due to incredibly sad circumstances. The lack of progress in the second part of the year clearly left Sebastian Vettel frustrated, after the team was regularly on the podium during the first half.
Jacobo Vega - 6
A very disappointing season for the Italians. To be honest, I was expecting a lot from them after the great step forward they took last season. Last year we saw all its strengths and this year we saw all its weaknesses.
To me, Arrivabene is not the man who will take Ferrari back to winning and Sebastian Vettel needs everything perfect to deliver, which was not the case this year, and he seemed to be very nervous at some points. Let see if we have a victorious Ferrari in 2017.
Final score: 6.25/10
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