Didn't they achieve that before at the Nurburgring?
Fernando in Turkey
- Thread starter MrBigBoss
- Start date
Didn't they achieve that before at the Nurburgring?
I don't think it was KERS, as I seem to remember it it was an aero update, that consisted of a heavily update front wing. In paticular it was the 'outwash' endplates that delivered a large chunk of time.
snowy
Champion Elect
Sorry, my mistake I thought the European GP was at the Nurburgring in 2009 it was of course the German GP.
Hamilton had got some points in the flyaways that season (except Australia, naturally).
2009 was a weird, weird season!
2009 was a weird, weird season!
Exactly right. It was rumored for some time that McLaren had a fundamental issue with the front wing and the way they were flowing the air past the car. Woking was the last to know.
The McLaren turnaround seemed so dramatic because the car was seriously flawed in the first half.
no-FIAt-please,
Here are the "various sources" :
http://www.tomorrownewsf1.com/f1-ferrari-toyota-et-la-f150-b-20717
http://www.omnicorse.it/magazine/8223/ferrari-iniziati-i-lavori-di-ristrutturazione-della-galleria-del-vento-a-maranello-
http://sport.virgilio.it/motori/formula1/ferrari-evoluzione-in-due-fasi-per-provare-rimonta.html
http://www.sport.it/motori/formula-1/ferrari-prove-tecniche-di-rimonta
http://www.derapate.it/articolo/f1-ferrari-il-piano-per-la-risalita/28175/
Autosport (print) also said that Ferrari have solved the issues.
Regarding Ferrari and the Wind Tunnel
Last year, Ferrari updated their wind tunnel. They upscaled it from 50 - 60% - this is believed to be the source of their problem - where the wind tunnel is not calibrated properly. Of course, this means that all their updates have little effect, as data from the wind tunnel does not match on track information - explaining why they were so surprised at their lack of pace in Australia. The FIA limit wind tunnel scale to 60%, and restrict wind speed to 50m/second (180km/h). FOTA restricts things like wind tunnel hours, expenses and server capacity for fluid-dynamic simulations.
Toyota's wind tunnel is regarded as one of the best in the world, and I think it would cost less for Ferrari to use that one rather than their own. The 2009 Toyota was a lot better than it's driver made it look - it deserved to win a couple of races, and their 2010 car was said to be really extreme as well. Initially, Ferrari used Toyota's wind tunnel, and according to Costa this was "to bring development programmes forward".
The launch-spec car Ferrari used in the first 3 tests was actually very good. The car had a good aero balance and all the F1 experts and spectators who watched testing all said the same thing: Red Bull and Ferrari are the best cars, several leagues above the rest. The problem for them occurred when they had the big aero update at the final test. Some of the updates didn't work and as a result the Ferrari is difficult to handle and lacking front downforce relative to the rear.
Ferrari have been working hard to identify what is causing the problems. Before the Chinese Grand Prix, Ferrari said they had an alternative development path in place, which they referred to as "Plan B".
Currently, Ferrari are using Toyota's wind tunnel until they fix their own, and next week they are due to test the Turkey aero package in Vairano. Based on what Ferrari have said since China, combined with all the Italian media reports, it looks like Ferrari have gone to plan B.
Unfortunatly for me all those links are in foreign languages which I can't read so I'll take your word for it... and who did you copy and paste that off?
They also put both Lotus-Renault and Mercedes as faster than McLaren. Sorry, but I'm afraid I will only believe that Ferrari have solved their 'issues' when I see it on track.
Having said that, at times it has looked like the Ferrari has been a ferocious beast in the race in the previous three races, with its biggest problem being that they have been too far back (and that DRS doesn't work). Alonso would have taken a podium in Sepang if it wasn't for his extreme clumsiness when attempting to pass Hamilton, Massa held on to Vettel for most of the race in Shanghai but fell so far behind simply because he was first to be overtaken.
82% of the Grands Prix in Formula One history have been from the first four places on the grid; not only has Alonso started fifth in the first three this year, his starts have been beyond poor.
I'm not sure Ferrari are far off, but press releases from Italian sites are never going to convince me that they are there!
Use a translator.
Fair point, but Renault and Mercedes were probably faster in testing, given Whitmarsh's comments and the pessimism from the drivers (although the lack of testing may have exaggerated the situation)
The important thing to take into account with Ferrari, is that the car has potential. Race pace shows that. Ferrari do need to improve on strategy and pit stops - twice Massa missed out on the podium because of this.
The lack of front downforce on the upsets the balance and makes the car understeer and difficult to drive. When Ferrari sort out the aero balance, the car will have more overall downforce and should be more driveable and lap times will decrease.Then there is the flexible wing - which should give Ferrari a few tenths and provide more front end grip. In addition, Ferrari are making changes to the rear suspension, which is supposed to improve airflow to the rear of the car - with the effect of more downforce.
I don't expect the general pecking order to change in Turkey, but I do expect Ferrari to be much closer to Red Bull and McLaren, with further updates in the next few races.
It'll be nice for McLaren to have someone else to bitch about, won't it?
I presume the other teams will have updates, of course, and it will be less reported, of course.
I suppose the legions of tifosi are Ferrari's blessing and curse. There's a pressure on Ferrari when they're losing that can not be replicated elsewhere. McLaren expect to win, but can you see the issue going to Parliament if they don't?!
Eventually, Ferrari will get it right. They've too much money and experience not to. Whether the teams in front of them will be too far clear when they do is the question!
My concern over Ferrari is the "retrenching" into being an all Italian team. The best cars they've had over the years have been designed by groups of mixed nationalities with (and this isn't meant to be a jingoistic statement) a strong British input. Whenever they go back to being "Italian" the cars are generally pants.
Well the "great" years were the Todt/Brawn/Byrne/Schumacher years; a veritable coalition of French, British, South African and German talent. That the latter three had been successful at Benetton before shows an enlightened "poaching" policy!
Being international in outlook is no bad thing if what you seek is the best!
RickD
Pole Sitter
I'm not too surprised, most people try to put Valencia out of their minds, I think it must be the nature of the circuit..
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