After a nightmare weekend for Ferrari in Montréal, the Maranello team plan to accelerate their upgrade timeline. Bringing major upgrades as early as Barcelona.
Going from the top step in Monaco to a double DNF. Leaving Canada with no points and an unknown power unit issue leaves the team in a tough spot.
The Maranello team seemed to struggle from the beginning of the Montréal race weekend. Sacrificing qualifying pace to improve their race pace has left them with the weakness of tyre temperature.
Ferrari have found it difficult to bring tyres up to temperature, in some races benefitting their long stints. However, in Canada, in cold and wet conditions, it was a huge downside for the team.
This wasn’t the end of the problems for Ferrari, as in the race on Sunday, Charles Leclerc faced a power unit issue which cost him 1.2 seconds a lap and forced him to retire from the race.
Technical Director Enrico Cardile, admitted Ferrari is aiming to bring a new floor and other small updates for Barcelona.
After bringing their first set of upgrades in Imola, the team immediately began working on the next set. Originally, the plans were to introduce a large upgrade package for Silverstone.
Although, with other teams making progress and the Barcelona track being a good reference for testing unknown parts, Ferrari decided to accelerate the upgrades.
By bringing the upgrades in Spain, it also allows them time to adjust them before the next sprint weekend in Austria.
The team principal, Fred Vasseur, has been open about wanting to fix the issues in the concept and direction the team went in for 2023. Imola’s upgrade package was their first big step in the right direction.
With a new floor being introduced, the aim would be to increase the load and the aerodynamic balance of the SF-24. The new floor is estimated to bring 10 load points. As well as a lot more efficiency for the SF-24.
However, if Ferrari intend to bring the upgrades early, they would have to work hard for it. They would want to take three new floors, one per driver and a spare. Nevertheless, it takes 7-8 weeks to complete a floor upgrade. So it all hinges on Ferrari’s ability to speed up the process.
With other teams, including Ferrari’s direct rivals of Red Bull and McLaren bringing upgrades in Barcelona, no doubt Ferrari will be eager to match their progress.
[adrotate banner=”3″]
Get 10% off all official F1 Merch at TheRaceWorks.com using code ‘EF1‘ at checkout.