During the first five races of the season, Ferrari has taken it very slow in evolving the F1-75 of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc. However, that will start to change in Barcelona.
Ferrari and Red Bull have been closely matched in the first five races of the 2022 season Formula 1 and the small details have unbalanced the balance in favor of one or the other.
In Bahrain and Jeddah it was reliability. In Australia the graining and in Miami top speed and tire degradation. But little by little it seems the balance is uneven in favor of the Anglo-Austrian team, which has further evolved its car.
“We saw that the asphalt conditions were very harsh, so the new wing was not the ideal option”
While, Ferrari has taken it in stride and has prioritized understanding the new car, limiting itself to making minor modifications to the floor and diffuser to reduce roll or pouring that this year almost all teams suffer.
Ferrari has to react
The time has now come for Ferrari to react and start increasing the performance of a car that has shown a lot of potential.
Mattia Binotto acknowledges that the result in Miami requires it, as Red Bull has gained some advantage. «I am not satisfied, one always tries to win and in Miami we did not achieve it. The disappointment is to see a Red Bull that has been a couple of tenths faster than us in these last two races ».
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“We are aware that we have to work and we have to evolve. They have developed the car a lot at this stage and my hope is that from now on they will have limited financial resources.”has extended Binotto, aware that the budget limit could play its role at the end of the season
«We will bring some novelties to Spain, hoping that they work correctly, and we will try to supply those two tenths that we are missing today. Barcelona is a track where you need the load. We will bring some developments and a specific wing, the one used in high load circuits. We have been focusing on this package since the beginning of the year. We’ll see if it works.”
“It will be an important package, not the most important of the season. It will be a technical confrontation it will last a long time and it will not be a single innovation that will make the difference»has clarified the director of Ferrari.
The low downforce rear wing for Miami
One of the few novelties that Ferrari had planned for these first races was a low-load spoiler with which to try to reduce the handicap of 10 km/h of top speed that the Italian team has with Red Bull.
However, the circumstances of the track meant that the wing was not finally used for fear of suffering excessive tire degradation.
“When we arrived in Miami, we saw that the asphalt conditions were very hard, so it was not the ideal option. We had to focus on tire degradation first instead of gaining time on the straight.”Binotto clarified.
Regardless, both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz are eagerly awaiting improvements to their cars, knowing they are losing ground to Red Bull.
“We need to keep pressing. Updates will be very important throughout the year. And I hope that we can take a step forward from the next race. But he has been tight since the beginning of the season », said the Monegasque.
Check the classification of the Formula 1 World Championship
“Perhaps we have taken a step back in terms of pace, the Red Bulls have been very fast and stronger than we expected at this circuit.. We have endured Checo and finished third. Now it’s Barcelona and we will bring improvements, to see if it is enough to withstand them, “concluded the Spaniard.
Photos: Scuderia Ferrari