A critical look at Ferrari’s developmental process in 2012 Formula 1 season so far
Ferrari had the most complaining pre-season testing programme this year as compared to the other teams in the front as they failed to develop a competitive car for the 2012 Formula 1 season.
The Scarlet team struggled throughout all the three pre-season tests as they faced difficulties in designing the F2012’s aerodynamics which didn’t provide the desired downforce on track. Resultantly, they expected to face issues in the opening few races
of the current season while their technical director, Pat Fry even dismissed the likelihood of a podium finish in the season opener.
Nevertheless, Fernando Alonso of Ferrari has superbly restricted the probable damage for his team as he managed to attain competitive results even with an uncompetitive car.
At present, he is currently leading the drivers’ championship with 164 points and has a strong lead over his main rivals, Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull Racing.
It will be important to mention that the Italian team made some essential advancement concerning the aerodynamics in their car during the in-season test held at Mugello Circuit and came up really stronger in the races afterwards.
Although, they were encountered with some problems during the last race, nevertheless, Fry has said that they must keep on pushing hard in the second half of the current season to improve their position in this year’s world championship.
Moreover, he said that they have planned to make some essential developments in their car to increase the downforce and to improve the tyre management so as to score some crucial points in the Belgian GP.
“We have a few interesting developments that we will introduce at Spa, a track which, from an aerodynamic downforce point of view, is quite special, as indeed is Monza,” Fry said. “In fact, we will also have an aerodynamic and engine package specifically
suited to the Italian track. Therefore a lot of work has been done, but there is still also a lot to do: we must continue to keep up the pressure to a high level.”
In addition, he said that they must continue making the considerable progress in order to attain competitive results in the next half of the season.
Furthermore, he asserted that although they faced difficulties during the last couple of races, nevertheless, they have successfully limited the likely smash-up and have attained good results.
Over and above, he insisted that they know their problems and are positively looking forward to introduce the necessary step ups to make their mark stronger in the championship fight.
“Now we have a good understanding of the situation, therefore we only need to modify our development criteria and continue to push,” he added.
Currently, Ferrari is standing at fourth place in the constructors’ championship with 189 points. Besides, they have a reasonable lead over Mercedes and are just 3 points behind their main rival, Lotus.
It is to be noted that the team advisor of Red Bull, Helmut Marko expects that the lucky stroke of the Spaniard, Alonso will end soon. Nonetheless, if the most successful team in the history of the sport continues their developmental process to make some
sound step-ups in their car, they can surely maintain their lead in the drivers’ rankings.
Let’s see what they bring about with their developments in the remaining season after the mid-season break.
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