Mattia Binotto has reflected on the transformation process that Ferrari has undertaken, as well as the preparations and news for a 2022 season in which the Italian team must return to the top positions.
The 2020 season of Ferrari generated a crisis rarely seen in the ScuderiaSo the expectations generated for this year were really low and the usual pressure Maranello undergo to compete at the top has largely faded.
In 2021, the objective became to recover the good path, for which Mattia binotto He undertook a series of changes in the organizational field that should lead to a much more solid team capable of competing at the top.
“You have to look ahead and find out what’s going on outside, without even having trouble copying”
The Ferrari director has spoken about all this, looking to the future with optimism, but also with caution, aware as he is of the great potential of his two main rivals: Mercedes and Red Bull Racing.
The team improvement process
«The work began more than a year ago with the aim of understanding what our behaviors should be to improve, to return to being winners, champions.
“We intervene in the things in which we thought we were weak and that we had to improve. We identify four points on which we focus: open-mindedness, focus on error, sense of responsibility and, finally, being a team. Everyone was involved in this process: engineers, technicians and workers.
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«It is important not to be self-referential when setting goals: you have to look ahead and find out what happens outside, without having problems not even to copy ».
“Having the right tools at the factory will be essential to correct any defects and weaknesses, not just to prepare the cars for the race weekend. At the beginning of the season we will understand the solutions applied by others. We have everything we need to analyze, simulate and correct in a short time ».
The Ferrari of 2022
«If I think about our 2022 project, I see a lot of innovation in both the car and the engine. I see a team that from a design point of view has made a significant effort: we approach the new regulation with an open mind.
“It means that when we went to the wind tunnel, the first few times we tried every possible concept. Before identifying the best way, we take time to analyze, evaluate very different concepts, not intuitive and not at all obvious, with which to address the new regulation. There is a great discontinuity, the fruit of a more open mind than before.
“The open-minded approach will show through how we approach the concept of the car not only in the external forms, but also in everything that could be done under the body, in terms of design and suspension schemes.
“The project is going according to plan. We are achieving the objectives of our project. Will they be enough? Only the track will be able to say that. Next year there will be a strong change from the recent past. I imagine there will be surprises at the start of the season through the different interpretations of the rules. We cannot say if we will be competitive, because we do not have a crystal ball, but we respect the programs and we are working well.
The motor
«The power unit will be significantly different from the current one, except for the hybrid system, which we already introduced in 2021, in Russia with Leclerc and in Turkey with Sainz ”.
“I assure you that it has been an incredible effort, not only from a design and development point of view. The system is completely different and it has also committed us to homologation, transport safety and the use of new production technologies ”.
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There will be some changes to the hybrid system in 2022: The FIA has asked to introduce more control sensors and for this we have had to revise some parts, although the general system is very similar to the one we used at the end of the season.
‘The heat engine will be significantly different. We will introduce a new biofuel, with 10% ethanol, which has forced us to change combustion a lot. I can say that we have all lost more or less 20 CVs and we are working to get them back. There are many opportunities in the development of the power unit and for this reason we have changed it a lot ».
“I think the work done has been very good and we know that in 2022 everything will be frozen for the next few seasons. There is no doubt that having put resources into this issue was essential, in addition to laying the foundations for the future.