There is no doubt that Ferrari has improved a lot this year compared to 2020, in which it suffered to finish sixth in the constructors’ championship after five Grands Prix with zero points. Let’s see it with the data in hand.
Ferrari’s 2020 season was truly disastrous and one of the worst in its history in the Formula 1, which ended the Italian team in a sad sixth position in the constructors’ championship.
This year things are going much better and, although by the standards of Ferrari things must improve even more, the truth is that the team has reversed a dangerous trend and is looking to the future with optimism.
This has been reflected Mattia binotto, who has reviewed the first 11 races of the 2021 season from various points of view.
The rate of classification
«If we take the average of the entire 2020 season, we were 1.4 seconds from pole. Today we are at 0.7 »says the Ferrari director to illustrate the team’s improvement in pure speed.
“It is still a distance that is not negligible and we are fully aware of it, but still, I think we have reduced the advantage as much as possible. That is encouraging because the direction is correct ».
Ferrari finished the 2020 season 1,169 seconds from the ideal average pole time, while this year it gives up an average of 0.616 seconds per lap.
Although Ferrari’s main deficit in 2020 was concentrated in the engine, the truth is that the Scuderia It had a lot to improve in all areas and, according to Binotto, that is still the case. «That 0.7 does not come from a single area. It is a summation of several areas, certainly the aerodynamics, the power unit, the general systems in the car.
«That is another important point: I do not think that we are missing a single area. Not only having one zone would be even worse because then it means that there is a lot to recover in one zone, which can be more difficult, ”admits Binotto.
The Ferrari director cites some somewhat oversized numbers, at least in relation to the numbers that we produce each year in engines. it is. According to our statistics, Ferrari finished the 2020 season 1,169 seconds from the ideal average pole time, while this year it yields an average of 0.616 seconds per lap (just under half a second compared to Mercedes and Red Bull).
RANKING OF AVERAGE TIMES IN CLASSIFICATION in 2021
Reference time: sum of all times of pole it’s from the season. The differences reflect the average time lost with respect to that reference.
Pit stops
Another area in which Binotto says Ferrari has improved this year is the pit stops. In 2020, the Maranello line-up ended the season with an average of 3,435 seconds per stopIn other words, the sixth fastest team on the grid and losing an average of 0.9 seconds per stop to the best, Red Bull.
This year things have been pretty good overall, but some very costly mistakes they have spoiled the average, as we can see in the recent report prepared on the matter. As it is, this year Ferrari takes an average of 3,190 seconds at each stop, better than last year but leaving the Italians as the penultimate team on the grid only behind Haas.
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Points awarded to the authors of the ten fastest stops in each race, using the same championship scoring system (25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1). Average calculated over time of all pit stops made by each team. Source: DHL InMotion.
«I always consider that a good pit stop is below three seconds. It may seem like a high number, but I always say that in a strategy it is important to be consistent – not just fast, but consistent – because what destroys a race is that sometimes you have a problem and your stop can last 4.5 or five seconds, six. These are the kinds of situations that are really difficult, ”introduces Mattia Binotto before presenting her data.
“If we look at how many times we have been under three seconds in 2021 so far, 84% last year 48%. So here again, it shows that the pit crew has certainly improved, our time and our pit stop quality, ”says the Ferrari director.
MORE EFFICIENT TEAMS IN BOXES in 2021
Points awarded to the authors of the ten fastest stops in each race, using the same championship scoring system (25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1). Average calculated over time of all pit stops made by each team. Source: DHL InMotion.
«Looking at the percentage of stops below three seconds, under pressure, etc., we were P8 in terms of ranking (in 2020), today we are P2. Those are the numbers that show that as a team, as a car, in general, there are certainly improvements in 2021 compared to 2020 and the direction is encouraging, ”he emphasizes.
It is true that, as can be seen in our previously linked report, that Ferrari has completed eight of the 11 Grands Prix with an average of less than 3 seconds per stop, but Silverstone’s mistake was very costly in the overall result of the season.
Points
We finish with the figures that really make the difference because they are the ones that determine the order of the general classification: the results of Sunday in the races.
In this sense, Ferrari’s improvement is undeniable and incontestable, since after only 11 Grands Prix has already far exceeded the spoils of 2020.
«We have achieved 163 points in the first 11 races so far, it was 80 points last year, more than double with the same number of races »says Binotto. «Last year we completed the season with 131 points. So we have more points after the entire season last year. That is certainly showing great improvement.
Not only that, because so far Ferrari has scored in all races except one (France) and add two poles and three podiums, showing that you are already close enough to the head to take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves.
Will the trend continue in 2022? It is a need for Ferrari that this is more so than any other team on the grid. History compels.