Breaking news
Formula 1
Ferrari's in-season development has "exceeded expectations"
Ferrari’s Formula 1 car development has “exceeded expectations” this season and the amount of downforce it has added has had knock-on effects, says team boss Mattia Binotto.
Scott Mitchell
Edited: Nov 12, 2019, 8:42 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The Italian team started the season with a car that had less peak downforce than its chief rival Mercedes as Ferrari pursued a lower-drag concept to give it a straightline speed boost.
However, Mercedes’ domination of the opening races of the F1 season – winning the first eight grands prix and starting the year with five one-two finishes – forced Ferrari to focus on adding downforce to its car and also reviewing its development process at the same time.
That kicked off in earnest after the French Grand Prix, where Ferrari dropped a new floor once it realised there was a slight issue compared to what it was predicting during development, and Binotto said the result since then has “exceeded expectations”.
Speaking before last weekend’s US Grand Prix, he joked that it was similar to how Ferrari started the season with “underperformance that was exceeding expectations”.
“It is showing eventually how some more downforce may help or not help the overall performance of the car,” Binotto told Motorsport.com.
“The level of sensitivity to downforce on this type of tyre is very high, and therefore I think even if you’re improving slightly you’re getting more than what you may expect.
“It’s also probably due to confidence, the drivers can feel better grip they will further improve their own performance.
“It’s the sum of things which is helping. At Singapore we brought our [new aero] package, it was not the only one, but it certainly was a significant one.
“If we look at the lap time gain we had at the next races, it’s slightly over our expectations.”
Read Also:
- Ferrari: No explanation for Austin slump yet
- Ferrari's top speed reduction "clear" in Austin - Honda
Ferrari topped five qualifying in five consecutive races after the summer break and was on pole again in Mexico after Red Bull driver Max Verstappen received a three-place grid penalty.
Though Ferrari’s qualifying edge, particularly in this spell, coincided with a controversial engine advantage and straightline speed gains, its progress since France is clear.
In the first eight races of the season up to and including France, Mercedes led the way with 100.08% of the outright pace, topping qualifying six out of eight times.
Ferrari trailed its rival considerably, with a 100.562% average boosted by two pole positions.
However, in the 11 races since, Ferrari boasts the greater average, improving to 100.158% while Mercedes slips back to 100.254%.
While that has often not translated into results on Sunday, and Ferrari slumped considerably in the US amid question marks over the impact of an FIA technical directive, Binotto says its aero performance relative to its rivals has changed.
“We have improved our car in the cornering, we have reduced the gap to the top competitors in cornering,” said Binotto. “So we are a lot closer now.
“We still have our advantage on the straight lines, so overall the package has improved and certainly in quali now we are often faster. In the race, we are certainly competitive.”
Ferrari was against Pirelli’s new 2019-spec tyres early in the season as it felt the trickier-to-understand compounds were affording Mercedes an advantage.
Binotto said a “combination of factors” meant Ferrari no longer had an issue.
“First we understand a bit more our car now, in terms of car set-up and balance,” he said. “We have improved the way we approach it.
“The aero package we brought in Singapore has been a significant step forwards which has helped the tyres be in a better position in terms of window, in terms of degradation as well.
“And I think on top of that I think we start to understand a bit more those tyres. We are extracting the car’s full potential, especially in quali.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article What next for Lewis Hamilton after F1 retirement?
Next article Prost admits Renault “still not in a very stable situation”
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Scott Mitchell
Alfa Romeo must do better in "chaotic" races - Vasseur
Formula 1
Formula 1 Jan 3, 2020
Alfa Romeo must do better in "chaotic" races - Vasseur
Honda: Verstappen relationship 'like a young Senna'
Formula 1
Formula 1 Jan 3, 2020
Honda: Verstappen relationship 'like a young Senna'
Key team personnel shouldn't be F1 boss - Ferrari
Formula 1
Formula 1 Jan 3, 2020
Key team personnel shouldn't be F1 boss - Ferrari
More from
Ferrari
Max Verstappen on Ferrari clashes: "I would never sign two number-one drivers"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
1 d
Max Verstappen on Ferrari clashes: "I would never sign two number-one drivers"
Latest news
“I was getting beat up” – How Daniel Ricciardo burned out on ‘humiliating’ F1 return
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 2 h
“I was getting beat up” – How Daniel Ricciardo burned out on ‘humiliating’ F1 return
Myers Riley Motorsports adds Andretti alongside returning Fraga for 2027 IMSA GTD campaign
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 2 h
Myers Riley Motorsports adds Andretti alongside returning Fraga for 2027 IMSA GTD campaign
Las Vegas GP reveals neon sign-inspired trophy design
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Las Vegas GP
3 h
Las Vegas GP reveals neon sign-inspired trophy design
Feature
Discover prime content
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Formula 1
By Kevin Turner
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe