Ferrari F2012

[bhall]

I mostly agree with the tire logic. I think Ferrari has largely brought their chassis up to par with the main contenders and just needs to maintain that status throughout the rest of the season. Race wins will likely come to those teams with cars that are well-suited to that particular track, and the championship will go to the team best able to mitigate the losses of not having the best car for a particular track. (I would not be surprised if this year's World Champion has no more than 2-3 wins.)

[amouzouris]

if ferrari continue their current rate of development though...by spa the car is gonna be 0.5 s faster than everyone else...

[bhall]

If they continue this rate of development of the F2012 through Spa, the F2013 will probably be more than 0.5 slower than everyone else.

[amouzouris]

If they continue this rate of development of the F2012 through Spa, the F2013 will probably be more than 0.5 slower than everyone else.

yes but if alonso is in the title hunt (and he will be) they will have to continue developing the car to allow him to take the championship..

[bhall]

Perhaps. The more I think about it, the more I think the cars will probably be pretty much standard by the end of this season anyway.

[TheGkbrk]

I think the good thing is Ferrari is fighting for victory in dry conditions and on a normal track. As Fernando said before the race both Canadian and European GPs will be big tests for Ferrari and the first test was successful.

Our car is competitive in most of the conditions and we use the tyres better than most of our close competitors. For the development, less drag and more straight line speed will be great. To get into more detail in the back of the car (exhaust, diffuser, rear wing, sidepods, floor, even engine cover) there is still room for improvement, also maybe DDRS for Monza and Spa and some front wing development to perfect the air flow from the front of the car. I think as our car gets better we will automatically understand the tyres better.

I am very positive about the current status of Ferrari and development. I hope we will win the title this year [-o<

[f1316]

Going back to the point about tyres, from what Christian Horner was saying it sounds as if it's a bit of a balancing act. If you focus your setup on getting the most out of the tyes for qualifying, you compromise the race performance, but if you go softer on the tyres - as Lotus do - you get better longevity in the race. So I'm not sure it's a question of updates on the car improving Ferrari's tyre usage, just that these tyres have a very narrow operating window and the teams will need to find a setup which is a good compromise between the two.

What stood out to me in Canada was that Alonso was consistently fastest in the first sector but consistently lost time in the final sector with the long straight. Whether this was setup or not is obviously not clear, but it would seem to indicate that top speed and therefore possibly drag is still an issue.

They've said that the internal aeodynamics will remain the same, so presumably overcoming this issue may involve some of the following:

- more work on the fw endplates to move the air flow around the tyres (an area Gary Anderson constantly says Ferrari is behind in)
- neatening up the coke bottle/exhaust area
- perhaps the DDRS

Please feel free to correct/add to that list as appropriate. I also renew my objection to not being able to work on engines in motor racing! Just seem completely backward and ignores an avenue that could be pertinent to road cars (and therefore cost effective as opposed to reductive). But it's a bit of a moot point, I suppose...

[Teechnical]

I believe new FW end plates itself would have 4-5 km/h boost.
This is not related to the F2012, but I clearly recall in 2009 Renault introduced new FW end plates in Nurburgring, and the car improved, as Alonso set the fastest lap in the race.

[myurr]

I believe new FW end plates itself would have 4-5 km/h boost.
This is not related to the F2012, but I clearly recall in 2009 Renault introduced new FW end plates in Nurburgring, and the car improved, as Alonso set the fastest lap in the race.

Correlation != Causation. Nor does an update in 2009 to a Renault relate to a potential upgrade to a 2012 Ferrari. The Ferrari end plates could be damn near perfect or a complete overhaul could give them a half second boost, we just don't know as we cannot see with our eyes how the air interacts between all the different surfaces of the car. Not even Adrian Newey can do that, he can make an incredibly well educated guess, but he cannot know with certainty that moving one element by 1mm will improve things without testing ideas back at base. I would say that were true even on his own car let alone looking at others.

Do you have anything other than a three year old anecdote to back up your assertion that a new FW end plate would give a 4 - 5 kmph boost in top speed? What would the effect be on downforce, or would that remain identical?

[Teechnical]

Not really, no.

[Owen.C93]

Try not to muddy the thread. There's quite a lot below average content in the thread for some reason.

[alogoc]

We here talk from Ferrari about how they are planing to improve top speed and how they are aiming for pole in Valencia!
You don't need to be genius to realize they are planning to introduce DDRS!?

[tonmeister]

At the very least we are not talking much about F2012´s front suspension anymore. It seems to me that the car´s pace in recent races has shout some mouths...

[Dragonfly]

Could it be that the new exhausts influence (increase) tyre degradation and wear and caught the pitwall unprepared?

[Gridlock]

Could it be that the new exhausts influence (increase) tyre degradation and wear and caught the pitwall unprepared?

I don't think they were unprepared, Massa had ruined a set in 40 laps and they wanted Alonso, whilst fighting Vettel and Hamilton, to do 51.