If the mission for Ferrari in 2020 was to sacrifice some straight line speed in favor of gaining slow-corner speed, then they may have achieved that but have they sacrificed too much speed down the long straights?
According to 4-time champ, Sebastian Vettel, the Ferrari is doing what they want it to but they are slower than they would like down eh straights.
“We can feel the car is better, I think sector three feels better,” Vettel said.
“We also know that it does come with a trade. We still have some work to do, we are slower than we want down the straights because we are a bit draggy.
“We are aware of that, but the objective was to put more downforce on the car which I think we did.
“Sector three does feel better, but obviously getting out of sector three and down to Turn 1 doesn’t feel as good as last year.
“Certainly in the corners is where you feel the difference, and where we improved, but it looks like others are even a bit faster.”
The unfortunate news is that while they may have made gains in the corners but so have the other teams. In some ways it boils down to Ferrari seeking cornering speed (which Mercedes had last year) and Mercedes finding straight line speed (which Ferrari had last year). Who has done it better? Have Mercedes and their new DAS system achieved both?
“We worked very hard over winter, and I think our car is a step forward,” said Vettel.
“Currently it does come with some more drag, but we are aware.
“We are pushing as hard as we can to get rid of the drag and make it more efficient. But we also believe that come race day, it gives us an advantage the way it is set up now, so we will see.
“It will be key to develop the car, especially since it seems that we’re not the very fastest right now.”
Interestingly one would have to look at the long-run pace of Ferrari to see if they are in as much trouble as some have suggested and only time will tell. Int eh end, Vettel says the team are leaving the strongest impression during this year’s testing sessions.
Hat Tp: Autosport
MIE once explained to me that you can’t have both power and maneuverability and you have to make a compromise. This doesn’t quite look like the right compromise. Maybe they need something in-between.
However, if it’s true that Mercedes did prove that you can have both, then why not?
Remember last year, Ferrari focused on straightline speed, and Merc on the corners. Now it seems Ferrari tried to do what Merc did last year, but they went too far in that direction. Just my opinion.
Haas’ “sandbagging” in testing is so convincing they’ve even convinced themselves.