Ferrari working towards an improved 2012 season performance – Formula 1 news
Ferrari is optimistic of an improved performance in the 2012 season.
Ferrari had a forgettable 2011 season. They were clearly behind in competitiveness against the grid leaders, Red Bull and McLaren. Although they were still able to save themselves the blushes by finishing third on the constructors’ championship but their lag in performance was clearly visible.
Both their drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa could not perform as well as they would have liked to. Alonso still drove commendably throughout the season and won the Grand Prix at Silverstone, but his teammate Massa had a lot of issues during the season and has been given a warning by Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo to perform in 2012 or lose his race seat.
Principal Stefano Domenicali believes that the restructuring that has taken place within the team (replacing Aldo Costa with Pat Fry as technical director) is going to change a few things for the positive.
“When we see the stopwatch at the first qualifying for the first race, then we will know the answer,” said Domenicali, “but I see some things that give us optimism that we are doing a reasonable job. We try to look ahead and change the organisation in order to make sure in terms of ideas and teamwork in the technical office, the work of the wind-tunnel and simulation, we are more prepared. I'm optimistic because of this.”
He added, “Then, as always, we know that the first result where we compare our job with our main competitors is the first qualifying for the first race. But we are working in the right direction.”
Talking about the new regulation changes for 2012, Domenicali said that that was also an area where Ferrari were not as strong and so it is a welcome change for the team.
“In terms of regulations, what are the differences from last year and the year before? This year, the rules have changed so that the exhaust effect was an area where we were less strong,” he said further.
It would be interesting to see how Ferrari improve for the upcoming season. Speculations are that it is going to be a closely fought Formula 1 season, and that would not be such a bad thing for the fans and the sport.
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