Ferrari’s 2011 chassis clears crash tests
Ferrari was clearly at the top of the league in second half of the 2010 Formula 1, contrary to the first half. Although Ferrari had an awesome start to the 2010 Formula 1 season when Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa scored a 1-2 at the very first race of
the season but the team was unable to maintain its pace. Consequently, Red Bull and McLaren took the upper hand and outdrove Ferrari up till the German Grand Prix.
Felipe Massa was asked to back out and let Fernando Alonso through for the win at the German Grand Prix, in order to keep their championship hopes alive. This move definitely helped Ferrari score some vital points especially Fernando Alonso. But unfortunately,
Fernando was unable to maintain his championship lead at the grand finale in Abu Dhabi and as a result, Sebastian Vettel took the drivers’ title by just 4 points in the drivers’ standings.
However, Ferrari is quite confident about the 2011 Formula 1 season as they believe that both Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa are going to be active competitors for the titles. Since KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) is going to be legal in 2011, the
team is currently experimenting with the device ad they are hoping for a good competitive car.
The team recently ran some crash tests on their 2011 chassis and according to some media reports; the team successfully passed those tests.
The test was carried out in the presence of the FIA under the FIA’s guidelines. The encouraging results were quite a relief for Ferrari, since there were a lot of rumours that the team was facing safety issues regarding their 2011 Formula 1 car.
The new monocoque’s actual construction is the major change in Ferrari’s 2011 car along with new composite materials that have been used. Ferrari’s crash test Chief Davide Terletti reported recently that he investigated a crack that opened on the surface
of the monocoque. However, the problem won’t pose a significant threat, as it did not affect the team’s crash test at all.
Further crash tests will be carried out in the near future and it seems that after this success, the team is now even more confident about their 2011 car with further experiments scheduled.
Tags: