While the event did not give us a first glimpse into the new SF21 – this start will not take place until March 10th – team boss Mattia Binotto and drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz still gave us a lot of insights into the winter and what lies ahead.
Then here are the five most important results from the event a season ago when Ferrari knows it has to get better …
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF1000
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
The SF21 won’t be that slow on the straights in 2021
Ferrari’s 2020 campaign was derailed by a double blow from an engine failure and a dragged car design. The combination severely punished Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel.
Because not only were they slow on the straights, the deficit was so great that they were forced to reduce downforce in order not to be completely vulnerable – and that also hurt them in the corners.
Ferrari knew immediately last season that it had to be different for 2021, and that’s why there was a double boost. A brand new engine will debut this season to address the lack of power, and the SF21’s aero package has been redesigned to make it more efficient.
Team boss Mattia Binotto was confident of where Ferrari would get out of winter work.
“Based on our simulations today, based on what we can see from the wind tunnel in terms of dyno performance and the car’s drag, I think we regained quite a bit of speed on the straights,” he said.
“So I expect speed isn’t as much of an issue as it was. We hope to be competitive but we will only know when we are in Bahrain because it is always relative to what the others are doing. “
Lando Norris, McLaren MCL35, Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri AT01, Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari SF1000, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF1000, Lance Stroll, Racing Point RP20 and Kimi Räikkönen, Alfa Romeo Racing C39, at the restart
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
How Ferrari starts the season will decide a lot
While Ferrari knows it can’t afford to repeat last season if it takes a low sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship, the upcoming campaign won’t be one it can throw it all at.
The upcoming revision of the F1 rules for 2022 means teams will have to focus as much resources as possible on future cars. If you’re falling behind now, you’ll pay the price when the next season starts.
All teams have to juggle the division of resources between the current cars and their 2022 projects, and Ferrari made the decision to rearrange its efforts early on.
This means it can’t count on moving forward during the 2021 campaign. So how the year starts will pretty much determine how the rest of the season plays out.
“Auto 2022 is such a big change that at least a minimum of movement, design and projects needs to be developed. So most of the effort will be there, ”said Binotto. “So it’s very important how the car drives at the beginning of the season because it’s kind of the balance of power that we can see for the rest of the season.”
All eyes are then on Bahrain, as much depends on how the first runs in Sakhir go.
Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari
Photo by: Ferrari
Sainz faces a difficult task to be there from the first race
Carlos Sainz has secured a dream of getting a seat at Ferrari – but it’s a difficult time for any driver who changes teams.
New cost-cutting measures have reduced pre-season tests to just three days this year – half of what was offered last year. That means just a day and a half for each driver to prepare for the season.
The difficulty of fully reconciling a driver with new teams is complex and it didn’t help that Sainz was banned from taking the young driver test in Abu Dhabi last year. Ferrari has tried to help him along the way by getting him out in a 2018 car at Fiorano earlier this year, and he has also done some Pirelli tire tests in a mule car.
However, both he and the team understand that he is facing a tough challenge to get as far as he would like in the first race.
“My intention is of course to be 100% ready for the first race, but realistically speaking it turns out that it is very difficult to achieve this,” said the Spaniard. “There are always experiences and feelings.” that you have to complete race after race or race weekend after race weekend in free practice, in qualifying and in the races. [And things] that you always learn rather than test during the races.
“I mean, a day and a half of testing per driver won’t help for sure, but at the same time I’ll try to count on my experience with the team change lately and try to reach my maximum level.”
Binotto added: “It will take some time. So we don’t expect it to be 100% fully integrated at the start of the season, but again, every single day will be important here. I think he will be ready for the start of the season, if not 100%, very close.
“Because in the end he’s not a newbie. He’s a professional driver, he’s had a few F1 seasons on his back. I’m pretty sure he will handle the situation very well and be ready. “
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Photo by: Ferrari
Leclerc’s Covid winter did not throw the wind out of his sails
After Charles Leclerc avoided contracting coronavirus during the season, his winter preparations were derailed when he tested positive in January.
That meant a period of total isolation while he recovered and a lot of uncertainty about how badly he would be affected. After all, Lewis Hamilton didn’t seem all that big after catching COVID in Bahrain and returning in Abu Dhabi.
While the situation turned out to be annoying for Leclerc, the good news was that it had no lasting effects. Indeed, as he revealed at launch, he was closer to Ferrari and Maranello this winter than ever before.
“Fortunately, it didn’t hit me too badly, so I feel pretty good,” he said. “I did some physical tests shortly after COVID to make sure everything was back to normal, and it does. So it’s all good.
“I think I’ve never been in Ferrari as often as this season before the start of the season. We also did some tests on the old car etc so I feel very ready. “
Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari
Photo by: Ferrari
Sainz and Leclerc will not go to war with each other
Ferrari has had a headache in recent years due to some issues with teammates – especially the collisions with Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel.
Amid a battle for supremacy between two drivers at different stages of their careers, it may have been inevitable that the rivalry between them would at times intensify. When Vettel is gone and Sainz takes his place, it will be a clean affair for the team – and the first signs point to better harmony within the garage walls.
With Ferrari on its back foot after a disappointing 2020 and Sainz not burdened by the expectation that Vettel will see less than the world title as a failure, the message is one of the current Ferrari lineups that are the first to help the team’s individual expectations.
Leclerc said: “I think the most important thing is that we manage to separate what is happening on and off the track. Every time we get out of the car we have to work together to move the team forward. ”
Mattia Binotto, Ferrari team principal with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari
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Photo by: Ferrari
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
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Photo by: Ferrari
Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari
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Photo by: Ferrari
Mattia Binotto, Ferrari team principal
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Photo by: Ferrari
Mattia Binotto, Ferrari team principal with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari
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Photo by: Ferrari
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
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Photo by: Ferrari
Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari
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Photo by: Ferrari
Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari
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Photo by: Ferrari
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