How the Ferrari team works during a race weekend

Free practice, qualifying, race. How do the teams work during the race weekends? What are their procedures, how do their meetings work, which are the most important parts they have to take into account? What role do the drivers play in finding the set up and deciding the strategy? We spoke to Ferrari Team Manager Luca Baldisserri, who told us things we usually don't see.

Friday

Luca Baldisserri: "On Friday morning we have to consider that the track conditions are very different from the ones the drivers will find during the qualifying and in the race. So we just perform a system check in terms of its functionality. Usually we use the hard compound for the tyres, because the track is still quite dirty; there's hardly any grip and we want to avoid destroying the soft tyres.

"The second test session on Friday afternoon helps us to understand in which direction we have to work as far as the set up for the race is concerned. Usually both drivers work at the same time; there are hardly any substantial differences in the works of our two drivers, as long as we're not experimenting with something, but that's something that rarely happens (usually the test sessions are used for experimenting).

"After every test session we create check lists with the drivers. It's about the components: from acceleration to consistency in braking and the gear ration. Ten minutes later we're checking with Bridgestone as far as the tyres are concerned. The choice of the set up is made according to a cross-check analysis of the answers on our check lists and the information from our drivers.

"On Friday at 6:30pm we have a briefing with the drivers, where we decide Saturday's program. The meeting goes on without the drivers and we discuss the set up and the fine-tuning of the cars. Then we're analyzing the check lists to check the engine, the gearbox, the brakes and the car's system step by step. At the end of the day there's a meeting with Bridgestone, who hands over the data as far as the tyres used on the cars and a representative cross section of the other teams' data are concerned."

Saturday

"During the third session we're doing some long runs to check the set up of the car with fuel and we're simulating the first part of the race. Usually the teams, which don't make it into Q3, also run with a low fuel load, while the other teams have to find the right compromise between speed for the qualifying and consistency in the race. During the two hours prior to the qualifying session we're cross-checking the data collected Friday and Saturday to find the most efficient strategy.

"During the second and the third part of the qualifying we're deciding the strategy. The drivers have some laps, where they can complete their first stop. The faster driver in Q2 has the priority. The difference between a more aggressive and a more conservative strategy is 4/5 of a lap with high consumption. Up to ten with a more moderate consumption. In Q3 both drivers do three runs of three laps, of which one is clocked. At the end of the day, after the qualifying, there's a meeting with the drivers and another one to check the last things and to discuss the reliability. We're also taking other data into consideration, such as the data we collected during the tests on this track and data from simulations, to consider different characteristics of the actual car compared to the one from the year before."

Sunday

"Three hours before the race we have our last meeting. We're considering different race scenarios and considering that, what would be the tyre wear. We pick the tyres also according to the weather forecast and the temperatures. Then we have to consider the position on the starting grid and the drivers, who are in front or behind us. We're also coming up with different strategies for the start of the race.

"There are hardly any changes of the race strategy as long as there are no huge impacts from the outside (such as accidents, safety car, changes in the weather). After the race we have a debriefing. The drivers provide all the information from the race. It's mainly about the car's handling and the tyre wear. These are very important factors, to create records and plan the upcoming races."