That Panettone (Christmas cake) on the table is would go really well with my coffee right now, LOL. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Crisis time at Ferrari Why a so small panettone for Christmas ? Looks like Binotto just told Charles the last data from our next year car ..
LOL «Charles, the panettone, it represents the aero gains we’ve made... very small, désolé. Also, cost cutting because of budget restrictions.» «Charles and Carlos, you need to watch your weight, we need every gram of ballast we can get.»
Ferrari have been talkin about their 2021 engine for some time now. It seems their 2020 engine was a rush job after the late ruling from FIA. But apart from the engine Ferrari has much more significant problems. First of all is their idiotic low drag, low downforce set up. Really that only works at a few tracks. In an era where ultimate downforce is king (well, that's been the case since 90s really), to go into this direction is a true mystery. Had they stuck with the 2018 type car with the 2019 engine, Ferrari would at the very least have made a very serious challenge to the title if not won it. Anyways, that's all over. Their rear end sucks and now you need to use tokens to fix that, so that's #2 on the priority list after fixing the engine. Their overall car concept...well it doesn't matter much since 2022 will be completely new once again. Probably the wisest thing they could do is take their 2018 car and work on that, adapt that to 2021 rules and that's it. Or hope for the best that their 2020 concept evolved will make a bit of ground. I'd be highly surprised if they make an outstanding engine again to overcome to aero and chassis shortcomings. BEST case scenario we can hope for for 2021 is 3rd, and I think that'll be a stretch. The Tracing Point car gets an even better car, so should be fighting for 3rd with Renault and Mclaren. Renault made an unexpected step forward this year and will now have Alonso again. Mclaren is the one that could either ruin a lot of teams' dreams in 2021 or their engine swap will cause them chassis/aero issues. We should all prepare that Ferrari very well could only be 6th next year again.
Being realistic about what's likely to happen for 2021 has nothing to do with some other members here, who seem to actively root against Ferrari.
Don't count me as one of them. I would prefer Ferrari to do good and beat Mercedes rather than Red Bull. I guess it will take a few years for them to go over this chaos and reform a winning teams. With the rules changes from 2022, you never know.
2022 is the most realistic chance. If Ferrari has any brains, they sort out the rear end and upgrade the engine for 2021, and immediately put all their focus on 2022. With some luck Mercedes and Red Bull will have a real fight for the title, so they'll be otherwise pre-occupied.
The question on the subject is: How Mercedes has anticipated it for several years already and will bypass it in the future.
If you use Instagram and don't follow Sainz yet, you really should. He posted a video of his dead-last start at an indoor karting place. He added the music and sound effects from MarioKart. It's hilarious.
It seems that Ferrari seems to rely heavily on their new simulator. Staff sent to Haas will be replaced in part by simulation specialists.
....and we are supposed to feel confident....? Charles....maybe depending on the car..... Image Unavailable, Please Login Looks like Happy Potter is working on some sort of spell......
https://www.planetf1.com/news/charles-leclerc-ferrari-driver-status/ Ferrari say there is nothing in Charles Leclerc’s contract which guarantees him number one driver status at the Scuderia from 2021 and beyond.
Some FChatters have been saying this for quite some time......hope it happens. F1 Testing could be pushed to Bahrain instead of Barcelona. Teams gave a positive feedback about this plan. According to Motorsport Italy, the date has also been defined (from 12-14 March), so after the F2 test which is scheduled from 9-11 March.
They resisted this not too long ago in year's due to the additional cost. I think its much better to test in Bahrain. I would be happy to see this!
Plus Bahrain has two decent GP standard track configurations. Barcelona is somewhere that should be phased out of the calendar for testing and racing.
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/154593/how-ferrari-is-changing-its-engine-for-f1-2021 Ferrari is under no illusions that it needs to make gains with its power unit if it is going to return to the front of the Formula 1 grid. Its 2020 campaign was derailed by a combination of a car that was too draggy and an engine that was less powerful than the 2019 version. That performance deficit was the result of a raft of technical directives issued by the FIA ahead of last season to stop teams using clever tricks to get around fuel-flow measurement regulations. The extent of Ferrari's engine struggles came to light in 2020 pre-season testing, but any hopes of introducing major upgrades to the power unit during the campaign were derailed by a development freeze introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It meant Ferrari had to live through the entire season with the same power unit, with changes only possible over the winter. The team's 2021 engine is now in the advanced design stages, and it is understood it features some interesting developments that it hopes will deliver a useful power boost. Image Unavailable, Please Login Rather than going for anything revolutionary, Ferrari is understood to be looking at making incremental changes to all aspects of the thermal properties and electric powertrain, which it believes will add up to a sizeable gain overall. It is understood that Ferrari did evaluate a change of concept in going down the Mercedes route of splitting the turbine and compressor to sit at either side of the internal combustion engine. However, while the evaluation of that idea is continuing under a project group led by Wolff Zimmermann, who has been commissioned to look at innovative longer term solutions with Graz-based AVL, for now the two turbo components will remain where they have been previously. Instead, the key change that Ferrari engine chief Enrico Gualtieri will introduce is the debut of a 'superfast' cylinder head - which had originally been anticipated for introduction in 2022. The new design will help achieve greater fuel atomisation and a higher pressure in the combustion chamber, as teams to try to get close to the 500 bar limit laid down in the regulations. As well as a newly designed piston crown (which remains constructed in steel), and intake ducts on the camshaft, it is believed Ferrari has looked at the use of new alloys that will help ensure reliability is not compromised by the boost in performance. The new Ferrari engine will also not give up the wastegate valve (which can be removed this year for the first time), in order to exploit as much as possible the aerodynamic effect of the blown exhaust. Image Unavailable, Please Login Reliability problems with the narrow exhausts also appear to have been resolved as, thanks to a new gearbox, the 'Coke bottle' area of the car will be larger and therefore the pipework has to be crammed into a smaller space. Engine cooling systems have also been revised, in a bid to change the radiator design used in 2020 that ended up producing too much drag in the sidepods and further hampering the straightline speed of the SF1000. The new Ferrari power unit is also believed to have a slightly smaller turbine than the one used on the 065/2, in an attempt to improve electrical charging. The idea is to have a more efficient energy recovery system, so that the delivery of about 160hp of the MGU-K can last longer throughout the lap. This will be important in trying to reduce the overall deficit to Mercedes.
my interest in F1 is going the way the Scuderia's results are! In the Schumacher era, the rules were constantly evolving to thwart Schumacher's/Ferrari's success. Today, rules are frozen to preserve Hamilton's/Mercedes' success. Some design changes are prevented, some are "permissible" with the use of tokens, while others that passed inspection are overruled and mandated... Ferrari announcing mid-season 2020 that 2021 is not likely to bring victories either sure didn't whet my appetite for a 2020 repeat. Formula-1 travels to Saudi Arabia (Aramco sponsorship)? Is that the real reason for the elimination of grid people (formerly known as grid girls)? Is it going to be indoors in that heat? 2020 was surprisingly entertaining! I loved some of the coulda, woulda, shoulda, Monday morning sports questions... *Seeing Russell in Hamilton's Mercedes!!! I was hoping to see more of that! Hey, maybe once the championship is secured, the championship driver should be "retired" and the one with the worst results gets put in their car?? What if the driver/car combo is a random draw every race? *It was actually fascinating (at least to me) to see the double races in 2020! How many times have said if they could only do it over... Now we know!
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/154657/sauber-set-to-extend-ferrari-partnership-to-2025 Alfa Romeo Formula 1 team owner Sauber is set to extend its partnership with Ferrari through to 2025, ending suggestions of a switch to Renault support, Autosport has learned. Sauber has been a Ferrari customer F1 team since 2010, and forged closer ties with the Italian manufacturer by adopting the name of its sister brand, Alfa Romeo, in 2019. The existing deal between Sauber and Ferrari is due to expire at the end of this year, leading to suggestions the Swiss outfit could be a potential option for Renault as a new customer team. But Autosport understands that a deal has been agreed between Sauber and Ferrari for a new engine supply deal from 2022 to 2025. Although the agreement is yet to have been signed, plans are already in place for a continuation of the partnership. The design of the 2022 Sauber chassis has commenced accounting for the dimensions of a Ferrari power unit and gearbox, pointing to an extension of the current agreement. Renault lost its final F1 customer squad, McLaren, at the end of last year, and is interested in working with new partner teams in the future, leading to suggestions it could link up with Sauber. Although team principal Frederic Vasseur has maintained a good relationship with the Renault team where he briefly worked in 2016, the shareholders of the Sauber squad are eager for stability by continuing to work with Ferrari. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I disagree, here. The rule stability is present to make it easier for the back runners to catch up to the front runners. Rule stability menas that over time the engien power become "more equal", aero stability means that one can copy/re-engineer another teams aero to catch up,... It is when there are great changes to the "formula" that one team gains a significant advantage if they understand some point better than the other teams.
