Ferrari technical director Pat Fry says the team aim to improve their performance in qualifying at Sepang this weekend:
“After the opening round in Australia, we have spent a lot of time analysing all the data acquired in Melbourne and one clear fact is that our race pace there was definitely better than the one we had in qualifying.”
“Much of that was down to how our car uses its tyres, so a major part of the analysis has focussed on looking at our one lap performance, when compared to long run performance in the race. In addition, we have looked at that other important factor, aerodynamics, to see in which areas we can unlock more of the car’s potential.
“The results of all these studies have provided us with the basis of a test programme which we will be working through in Malaysia.”
Fry said the cool temperatures at Melbourne caused problems for Ferrari: "It meant that many people, ourselves included, were struggling a bit with the tyres especially in qualifying, as we tried to get the most out of them, particularly the hard tyre on a single lap.
“I think the situation in Malaysia will be very interesting, as we can expect a 35C ambient temperature and a 50C track temperature, much higher figures than in Australia.
“Pirelli has told us that, as the circuit gets hotter, the performance difference between the two types of dry tyre will get smaller, but we have no experience yet of running in these temperatures. Finding out more about how the tyres work in these conditions on short and long runs will be a key element of Friday’s track programme in Sepang.”
2011 Malaysian Grand Prix
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Image © Ferrari spa/Ercole Colombo
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
5th April 2011, 10:40
Just put Rob Smedley in Massa’s car. As much as we all love Felipe, Smedley is already telling him how to drive …
BasCB (@bascb)
5th April 2011, 10:46
So much for Kaspersky telling us
when asked about areas that could need security IT for protection. And Ferrari has been doing it all the way :-D
wasiF1 (@wasif1)
6th April 2011, 2:47
Well they can as they want to control the driver.
RIISE (@riise)
5th April 2011, 10:43
What about the Massa weakness?
Klaas
5th April 2011, 12:59
Ferrari decided to focus on problems that can actually be solved.
Lee
5th April 2011, 18:27
comment of the day
Patrickl
5th April 2011, 19:31
Yeah, like that problem couldn’t be solved.
wasiF1 (@wasif1)
6th April 2011, 2:52
Second that.
dyslexicbunny
6th April 2011, 15:00
Ouch. Maybe we just need to find something that fires Massa up and remind him on Saturday of it.
ed24f1 (@ed24f1)
6th April 2011, 7:34
Massa’s problem is the same as Ferrari’s problem.
They are having troubles warming up the tyres, and as we saw in 2010, due to their driving styles, this affects Massa more than Alonso.
BasCB (@bascb)
5th April 2011, 10:48
I expected Ferrari to say it was a lot to do with temperature. I guess it is a big part of the picture, but Ferrari certainly were pretty far off the pace of at least 1 McLaren before it broke and 1 RB car before he started coasting.
infy (@infy)
5th April 2011, 11:09
Their race pace was pretty good. Massa was insanely slow compared to Alonso. You have to remember Alonso was 10th and still caught up to Massa by the time Button had.
BBQ2
5th April 2011, 11:46
Hmmmm, I think the IP Pat brought from McLaren is slowly exhausting. Now, all he needs to do is find excuses for his mediocre management capabilities ….. 8)
Icthyes (@icthyes)
5th April 2011, 12:13
I don’t know about anyone else, but Ferrari’s race pace left a lot to be desired as well.
Boo. It wasn’t that great to begin with.
Patrickl
5th April 2011, 19:33
Alonso lost 24 seconds in his first stint due to his starting troubles and being stuck behind slower cars (ie Massa).
After that he pretty much kept up with Vettel. Not sure what you thinkw was wrong with his race pace.
butterdori (@butterdori)
5th April 2011, 19:53
Alonso was driving the nuts out of his car while Vettel was more or less cruising after he pulled out some lead
Icthyes (@icthyes)
5th April 2011, 20:00
Given that he made one more stop than Vettel, he would have had fresher tyres, so no wonder his pace was comparable. Plus Alonso was fighting until the end for position, whereas Vettel was pretty much cruising.
dyslexicbunny
6th April 2011, 15:01
I’m really disappointed in the loss of difference too. Hopefully this is just a first season back concern.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
5th April 2011, 13:20
You can tell with statements like this that they would have loved to start off in Bahrain, the temperatures would have given all teams a better view of the tyres from the off.
Ferrari barely showed up in Melbourne. I’m sure that won’t be the case going forward.
Mike
6th April 2011, 1:25
HRT barely showed up in Melbourne.
beckenlima (@)
5th April 2011, 14:11
More or less this confirms some news that came from Italy. There are reports saying that they made some tweaks at the front suspension in the simulator and wind tunnel but can’t find any improvement.
It seems that the new weight distribution set by the new regulations to accommodate KERS is hurting them.
Hard to know with the heat at Sepang will help —maybe the track surface could help more —, as they state, but if the problem is really lack of downforce in the front of the car, the tracks demands can even hurt them more.
beckenlima (@)
5th April 2011, 14:15
“…Hard to know IF the heat at Sepang will help…”
verstappen
5th April 2011, 19:00
Just keep an eye on your rain radar and you’ll be fine.
the edge
5th April 2011, 20:22
McLaren getting Pedro could be the tactical move of the year
JamieFranklinF1 (@jamiefranklinf1)
5th April 2011, 22:26
Maybe Ferrari have got the Brawn GP factor this year, in that their tyres will only run well (and possibly last longer) in heat, but if it’s slightly colder than usual, then they will struggle.
McLaren have always been excellent with making sure they get the most out of the tyres, as seen in the Michelin days, so I expect them to excell with the Pirellis. If not, then they lose the one advantage they have over Red Bull.
ed24f1 (@ed24f1)
6th April 2011, 7:40
The problem I have with Ferrari, and some other teams as well, is that they are so caught up in sandbagging or whatever, that they don’t identify these problems in pre-season testing.
This is the second season in a row where they’ve seemed fine before the season, and then problems have generated after that with tyre temperature.
In particular, we saw last year that Massa’s biggest problem was qualifying runs, so why weren’t they sending him out on multiple qualifying runs to make sure the problem was fixed?
jean
6th April 2011, 7:56
The Red Bull Exhaust is the key to the success. Might use it exhaust gas not only the assist with down force but maybe with heating the rear tires as well.