Ferrari fast-tracks new front wing for Russia

With technical director James Allison back to work full-time following the death of his wife, the Maranello outfit is pushing hard to find the extra steps that can help it challenge Mercedes.

For this weekend in Russia, Motorsport.com has learned that Ferrari will introduce a new front wing for both Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen.

It hopes that the step will help it fully exploit the potential of the SF-16H and allow it to make up for the world championship points it has lost through reliability problems.

Engine tweaks

As revealed last week, Ferrari has also decided to go ahead with combustion improvements to its engine – which will require it to spend three of its remaining development tokens.

The modifications should allow it to raise the compression ratio inside the cylinder – which will lead to increased exhaust gas flow that will help the turbo perform better.

The hope is that not only will the changes deliver an out-an-out improvement in horsepower, but they will also help improve the efficiency of the Energy Recovery System, which has been singled out as an area that needed to be made better.

The changes to the engine mean that while Raikkonen will move on to his second power unit, Vettel will be switched to the third of the five he is allowed to use this year.

While such a situation may seem extreme at only the fourth round of the season, Ferrari insiders are adamant that the rotation system means the team's form will not be compromised – as the older units will still perform well at venues like Monaco and Singapore where power is not so critical.

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