Scuderia Ferrari 2014

[LookBackTime]

An awesome video about the Ferrari F1 team and the challenges

[Emerson.F]

The two roosters in the hen. Will be fascinating watching these guys slug it out this season. Two legends imo. He who comes out on top will have bragging rights 'so to speak'

[mika vs michael]

Although Albert Park is not the best circuit to draw any definite conclusion on car performance, it does not look good for Ferrari. At the moment the order looks like 1. Mercedes 2. Redbull and 3. a pack of teams McLaren, Ferrari and Williams.

I suspect it may be another 1998 year. Back then it was McLaren vs M Schumacher...now it may be Mercedes v. Fernando Alonso like it was Redbull v. Fernando Alonso.

[MarkedOne8]

Well, the Q2 was disaster for Raikkonen, but it doesn't mean he wasn't fast enough for more tha P12. He wasn't any better in first Q session with Lotus in 2012.

Here's little graph that I've made in order to track Raikkonen's getting-used-to progress.



*Data from Free Practices in Australia

[mika vs michael]

I think this will be the last season for Domenicalli in Ferrari. I totally feel for Fernando Alonso. The most complete driver in the grid but Ferrari did not get up to the task once more. I wish Ross Brawn comes back.
At the moment Ferrari looks to be behind not only Mercedes and Williams but McLaren and Redbull as well. Maybe on the same boat with FI.

[TheGkbrk]

After another disappointing start to a season I really wonder what Ferrari is missing to achieve success. I mean I am sure everyone in the team is giving their best and working very hard for years. However the success is not there. It is like all the work of everyone is wasted. Very sad.
They have the drivers, they have the resources, they have the fans, the support but what stops them from being successful?

[CBeck113]

I'd say creativity and the balls to take the risky path. But all is not lost, so no dooms day vibes here, ok? It was one race, and if it is true that they were having electrical problems, then the car has some potential. We'll see...

[tonmeister]

No doomsday but as a longtime Alonso admirer, I feel bad for him. Not saying that the scuderia is not trying but for whatever reason something doesn´t seem to click...one too many years on a row. Of course there are still have many races to go but I´m already very disappointed. Montezzemollo talked about engine importance over aero. Here you have the opportunity and, if I´m not proved wrong, seems that Ferrari is down on Merc in bare Power. Last years it was down on Renault on mapping flexibiity...ohh please, enough already. Try to do something creative for once in the last few years. I think that Alonso really wants to end his career in Ferrari but it´s getting harder and harder to stay for him...

[mika vs michael]

What Ferrari lacks is an inventive and strong leadership. Back in the good days they had Ross Brawn Jean Todt and MS...now they have James Allison Fernando Alonso and that's it...they need a leader to organize the team and put all the pieces of the puzzle together. And that man could well be Ross Brawn.

Mercedes course (2012-2014) reminds me a bit the course of McLaren from 1996 to 1998. McLAren were steadily progressing year by year and when there was the big rule change, the equalizer, then they score. Ferrari as well took them 5 years to rise to the top from 1996 to 2000. From 1996 up until 2000 Ferrari was constantly improving and then started the domination. Could you say that for the 2009-2013 period? no way

They need a strong leader. Domenicalli failed and should be instantly replaced.

I mean they rehired Raikkonen, they could just rehire Ross Brawn. And they don't have to sack Domencalli. They could give him a position like the one Toto Wolff has and Ross Brawn will be leading the factory and race team.

[bhall]

Observed in a vacuum, I don't think there's anything particularly wrong with Ferrari's approach or output, especially given the complexities imposed by the new technical regulations. But, by the sport's very nature, teams in F1 don't exist within a vacuum; they compete against one another, and Mercedes is simply on another level.

And why shouldn't they be? By some accounts, they've spent upwards of €500,000,000 over the last couple of years in order to mount this challenge, right now. On the other hand, Ferrari and Red Bull, and by extension, Renault, have been busy competing for Championships.

It's a lot easier to keep an eye to the future when there's nothing worth looking at in the present, and Mercedes is now reaping the benefits of several years spent within such a paradigm. So, give them their due. It's no different than Red Bull's strategy in 2007 and 2008 to gear up for the change of regulations in 2009. Driven by expectations, both of itself and from its fans, to compete on a yearly basis, Ferrari has never had that luxury. The only other team with such a philosophy is McLaren, and Ferrari has consistently outperformed them over the same period of time.

I guess my message is this: relax. The power units are homologated, which means teams can only optimize what they've got. Despite rampant speculation to the contrary, there are no 900+ bhp monsters driving the Silver Arrows; they simply have their power units more sorted than everyone else at the moment. But, things change. And if Ferrari's wind tunnel woes are, indeed, finally over, things can change rapidly.

Remember 2012.

At least, these are the things I'm currently telling myself. Your mileage may vary.

[TheGkbrk]

I do remain positive as well. Just another year of hoping everything will be better. Maybe this year it will turn out to be so. Let's wait and see.

[mclaren_mircea]

Observed in a vacuum, I don't think there's anything particularly wrong with Ferrari's approach or output, especially given the complexities imposed by the new technical regulations. But, by the sport's very nature, teams in F1 don't exist within a vacuum; they compete against one another, and Mercedes is simply on another level.

And why shouldn't they be? By some accounts, they've spent upwards of €500,000,000 over the last couple of years in order to mount this challenge, right now. On the other hand, Ferrari and Red Bull, and by extension, Renault, have been busy competing for Championships.

It's a lot easier to keep an eye to the future when there's nothing worth looking at in the present, and Mercedes is now reaping the benefits of several years spent within such a paradigm. So, give them their due. It's no different than Red Bull's strategy in 2007 and 2008 to gear up for the change of regulations in 2009. Driven by expectations, both of itself and from its fans, to compete on a yearly basis, Ferrari has never had that luxury. The only other team with such a philosophy is McLaren, and Ferrari has consistently outperformed them over the same period of time.

I guess my message is this: relax. The power units are homologated, which means teams can only optimize what they've got. Despite rampant speculation to the contrary, there are no 900+ bhp monsters driving the Silver Arrows; they simply have their power units more sorted than everyone else at the moment. But, things change. And if Ferrari's wind tunnel woes are, indeed, finally over, things can change rapidly.

Remember 2012.

At least, these are the things I'm currently telling myself. Your mileage may vary.

They outperformed Mclaren, but that was only because of Alonso a more complete driver than Hamilton and a faster one than Button. The problem is their incapability to make a faster car. And there, Ferrari has a bigger problem than Mclaren. Besides the place in the constructor's and driver's championship, Mclaren had better cars than Ferrari in all this years 2009-present,with only one exception, last year, when mp4-28 was a total mess. Between 2009-present Ferrari had 12 wins and 5 pole positions. On the other side in the same period, Mclaren had 20 wins and 11 pole-positions. So the Mclaren cars had a total of 31 (pole-positions+wins) againts Ferrari's 17 (pole-positions+wins). It's almost double, and that are the facts that tells us something about the performance of the Mclaren cars vs Ferrari cars in all this Newey era. Yes, I recognise that Alonso is a better driver than Button (Button is inferiour to him borh as raw-speed and efficiency) and Hamilton (it's not so fast than Lewis but it's not very farr away, but it's miles more efficient and complete). Mclaren always turned the things around developing the car from a dog to a race winner (see 2009 (mp4-24) and 2011 (they were nowhere in testing) and they finished that years, with the second fastest car. Again this year, after a miserable mp4-28, they have a better car than everyone, except Mercedes. In the same time as pure performance, Ferrari only stagnated or went backwards, and believe me Ferrari's joker (Alonso in their car) is running out of time. In the Mclaren he would surely be champion both in 2010 and in 2012. I'm not an Alonso admirer, but until today I'm amased how he took the fight with Vettel until the very end in such an inferior car like their 2012 car. Imagine Alonso in the Mclaren mp4-27 (Mclaren's 2012 car) a car that took 8 pole-positions and 7 wins, faster or at least at parity with the Red Bull.... He surely would have those extra points needed at the last race to beat Vettel.

[zoro_f1]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRRx7DoeA2c

[bhall]

They outperformed Mclaren, but that was only because of Alonso a more complete driver than Hamilton and a faster one than Button. The problem is their incapability to make a faster car.

[...]

No offense, but I'm not especially interested in getting drawn into a...whatever. It's mostly subjective anyway, yanno?

But, I do want to quickly point out one little thing:

If a driver is quick in a car, it is, without exception, solely because the car allowed him to be that quick. Full stop.

The notion that certain drivers have a sort of supernatural ability to "lift the performance of a car higher than it ought to be," or however else it's termed, is a fantasy. It simply cannot happen.

Every car has a limit. Some of them have limits that are more difficult to reach than others. Sometimes the limits even change with the conditions. But, if a driver gets there, it's because the car got there. And until the day arrives when drivers are made to physically push their cars around a circuit in order to win, that's pretty much how it's gonna be.

Do you know what we call instances where a driver genuinely exceeds the capabilities of his car? Accidents.

[Chuckjr]

I have a few thoughts in regards to this matter. These are just my thoughts for conjecture, not ideas and facts I've picked up at other websites. Feel free to flush twice...it's a long way to Monty's office.

We all noticed from day one in testing that the Ferrari team went about their entire testing program differently than in past years as it has been mentioned in another thread here at f1tech. James Allison seems to be having a direct effect on the testing and evaluation of the Ferrari car. His methodical approach will be new to the team this year compared to past years and will offer new team organizational and car developmental options as they blaze into an update program here in 2014. I believe their development path will take a much more logical and expeditious approach IMO, and will bring the car up to speed much quicker than years past. As we all know, it's much easier to make a slow car faster than a fast car faster--it's easier to catch than stay ahead in other words. That's at least what I've observed over the years watching f1.

Additionally the Ferrari wind tunnel is in full working order now running 24 7 and seems to be, according to reports, of the highest technological caliber available. Something tells me they have both conservative and radical development paths to choose from atm, and now that it's clear they are far behind, maybe they enact the riskier and more radical update course should it exist? Who knows, but I think it's clear they will not be too conservative at this point considering they are struggling to pass the midfield currently.

Finally, it has to be noted that Fred is still in his prime - he still is dead center, and if Ferrari can give him a car that is somewhat competitive -- say within 3-5 10ths of the Mercedes, he very well may be able to extrapolate that last bit and become much more competitive.

One question I do have is what the hell is the matter with KR? I hope he gets more comfortable with the car soon!