Joe Portlock – Formula 1Getty Images
- Ferrari finished sixth in the F1 constructors’ championship in 2020. The last time the team finished worse was in 1980 when the team finished tenth.
- Although there has been a lot of talk about the Ferrari engine getting better this year, Haas team boss Günther Steiner has said that he does not consider this a big step forward.
- In the pre-season tests in Bahrain, Ferrari newcomer Carlos Sainz Jr. set the third fastest overall time with a lap that was 0.651 seconds slower than Max Verstappen’s best time for Red Bull on the same medium tires.
If you’re a Ferrari fan, you probably don’t need to remember that the 2020 season was a disaster for the famous Scuderia. It was the team’s worst performance in the Formula 1 World Championship in 40 years.
Ferrari finished sixth in the F1 constructors’ championship in 2020. The last time the team finished worse was in 1980 when the team finished tenth.
The reason Ferrari dropped from second in 2019 to sixth last year is pretty clear. There was a secret deal with the FIA about what Ferrari did to its cars in 2019 as the team battled for the world championship. If there was no problem, as Ferrari suggests, there was no need for a secret deal.
Charles Leclerc is with Ferrari for the third time.
Dan Istitene – Formula 1Getty Images
And while the team had major aerodynamic issues in 2020, it was clear that the main cause of the poor performance was the engine. If you want to prove it, all you have to do is look at the performance of Ferrari’s two customer teams: Alfa Romeo Racing and Haas. Both finished the constructors’ championship behind Ferrari, so Ferrari’s aerodynamics obviously weren’t too bad.
The 064 engine in 2019 had a staggering speed, but after FIA investigation and the use of a second fuel flow meter, the 065 version of the engine was significantly slower, despite being “an advance in the combustion efficiency of its internal combustion engine,” a new turbocharger – and energy recovery system. “
This engine was revised as a 065/6 powerplant for 2021, which seems to have made up for some of the losses. Ferrari F1 engine chief Enrico Gualtieri has confirmed that there will be another new engine for 2022, as the engines freezing at the beginning of next season will mean the engines will have to run for three seasons before the new rules come in in 2025.
Carlos Sainz is joining Ferrari from McLaren, where he finished sixth in the F1 Drivers Championship last year.
Mark ThompsonGetty Images
Although there has been a lot of talk about the Ferrari engine getting better this year, Haas team boss Günther Steiner has said that he doesn’t think it’s a big step forward.
“It’s a middle step I think,” he said. “The engine is better than last year, but we don’t know what the other engine manufacturers have done. I trust Ferrari when they tell me the engine has been improved. “
In the pre-season tests in Bahrain, Ferrari newcomer Carlos Sainz Jr. set the third fastest overall time with a lap that was 0.651 seconds slower than Max Verstappen’s best time for Red Bull on the same medium tires. In the final qualifying of last season in Abu Dhabi, Verstappen was on pole position as guide and Charles Leclerc was 0.819 seconds slower. That suggests an improvement, but it doesn’t mean we’ll see Ferraris in pole position or win races.
“One of our priorities in Bahrain was to make the best possible use of the short time to understand the behavior of the SF21. We succeeded in doing this,” said Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto. “I think we have improved in many areas compared to last season. It’s hard to tell where we’ll be compared to our opponents as this test was even more difficult to interpret than usual.
“We have to carefully analyze all the data to be as prepared as possible for the start of the championship. I have to say in terms of data measurements everything went very smoothly and we have reached our mileage. Of course we know how the engine is running when you put it in the car you can see the speed on the track and ultimately the speed relative to the others. Now when I look at the first few days I think at least on the straights the speed is fine. It doesn’t seem like as much of a disadvantage as it was last year.
“We tried to develop the rear of the car as much as possible. I think what was more important these days was understanding the correlation between the wind tunnel and the simulations, i.e. collecting data and comparing it. I think we’re pretty happy with the correlation, which means that we have a good base at least for the next simulations and possible developments. “
In terms of mileage, the team had a relatively trouble-free test, doing 404 laps, or 1,358 miles, which was more than anyone but AlphaTauri and Alfa Romeo (422 laps each). However, there was a bug on the first day of testing where the engine failed before Leclerc parked the car. So it can still be a frustrating season for Ferrari fans and drivers. But hopefully the team won’t finish sixth again.
It is perhaps worth noting that this is Ferrari’s youngest driver line-up in Formula 1 since 1968, when the team was led by Chris Amon and Jacky Ickx. Both Leclerc and Sainz have long-term contracts with the team. Leclerc is 23 and Sainz is 26 and they are both smart and fast, giving the team time to fix the issues for years to come. This is the line that Binotto is pushing forwards. He hopes there will be occasions like last year when the drivers can get good results.
The team achieved three podiums in 2020 despite the car’s poor performance, so there is always hope, but there isn’t much that suggests we’ll see victories.
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