Mugello coming up and the rumor mill is in full swing, especially in regards to the Ferrari. It's safe to assume Ferrari are bringing different sidepods and a different exhaust arrangement, but there is conjecture about different rear suspension components as well. Looking forward to seeing what they have in the bag as I suspect they will unlock at least 3 tenths from all this. Mercedes have a smaller and lighter gearbox housing which will further tighten that area and place less stress on the rear tires. Merc is also updating the second air intake for the gearbox supposedly cooling the gearbox a different way now. And finally there is rumor of a different exhaust position. I hear nothing about Red Bull, Mclaren, or anyone else. Pretty tight lipped.
I read somewhere Ferrari is also going to test another but more completely packaged version of the rear wing(s). Jenson was quoted as saying that they weren't bringing any major updates and that's why he was sitting it out to be at a promotional event in Hungary. Hamilton will be there to see if he can better understand why the pirellis are degrading on him so rapidly.
He will? Autosport reported Oliver & Gary were doing all the driving at this test - I started a thread questioning the wisdom of so doing; http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=364376 I guess we'll see next week. Cheers, Ian
Don't see how a new gearbox can reduce stress on the tires unless they changed the rear geometry at the same time?..... Messing with suspension pickup points can be a very risky business at this stage IMO. Cheers, Ian
I've heard it's simply a lighter housing which lowers the CoG a bit and tightens up that area yielding more flow. I agree they should be very careful in changing the geometry of the pickup points. I believe Costa has his handywork all over this one if that's the case though.
You want LdM gone, right? How much influence do you really think he has over the team? I'm not trying to be clever here, but I really don't see that replacing the Chairman (?) is going to make the slightest difference to the team, but I could be wrong..... Other than his occasional foot-in-mouth episode in the press and what I suspect to be rah-rah speeches to the troops on occasion (which may or may not be a good idea) I guess he's no more than a figure head - At least within the team. As for Stefano, I guess I'm one of the few not calling for his head - I don't think Flav would work (as you said, one of 'em would be dead and the other in jail PDQ). Who else is there? Furthermore, he didn't design the car - Maybe Nick T needs the bullet? But again, to be replaced by who? Cheers, Ian
I do believe that the buck stops with him. While he doesn't run the show day to day I think that his desire to make Ferrari an authentically Italian team has resulted in some, shall we say, missed opportunities. In short, to him it seems that winning is not enough in and of itself. If one agrees with that then one has to accept that there may be no winning at all. That's a personal call. What benefit is there in gaining the world at the expense of one's soul and all that.
Agreed. However, it does seem he's backed down a little on the "all Italian" bug he had up his ass. Maybe he's (slowly!) realizing he needs the best, regardless of nationality at last? I dunno - He's been a pretty good leader for many years now and as has been said, even Ferrari don't have any God given right to be winning all the time. I guess I just don't like rocking the boat without good reason. Cheers, Ian
Why did he go "All Italian" in the first place? To further his own agenda in Italy's political scene? It's scary to think his ego is so inflated that he could do something so outlandishly stupid.
Maybe he wanted to show that when it comes to winning it's all Ferrari, no matter who works for them. And that it didn't depend on foreigners. Why did he push Michael into an early retirement? Was Schumi stealing too much of Ferrari's (and Luca's) limelight?
Luca is a very smart man..those who underestimated him payed a heavy price (Ron Dennis and Max Mosley are 2 good examples). H was smart enough to turn Ferrari fortunes in the early 70s, and then again in the 90s, by bringing Todt and leting him run the show....i really would like to know what happened betwen that made Todt leave...and why didn´t he put Brawn in charge....i reallly think something bad went trough his mind, and since then he as made some crapy decisions, on the other hand, Ferrari as a constructor as never been stronger, the road cars are getting better and better, and it was Luca himself who saved FIAT from going down the drain, so i think the man is still worth it.
Ego? Hubris? Chauvinism? National Pride? Patriotism? In the end the motive is secondary. At least until it compromises the ends. There's no doubt that luca has made Ferrari what it is today. In fact it may not be an overstatement the Ferrari wouldn't have survived as an independent entity without him. That being said, if he left the foreigners in place on the Scuderia there would probably be more wins and more championships.
I think that the "All Italian" was just a "coincidence". He promoted the number 2s to fill the gaps, and some of those number 2 (Aldo Costa and Domenicalli) were Italians, but the chief of aero and engine were not and he didn´t care, and I suppose that the same goes for many more. How long could he get Todt´s old team together anyways? It wasn´t going to last forever. But probably some of the things he said were motivated by his political ambitions. I think that the influence of Luca right now is less important than a few years before. Actually, isn´t Amedeo Felisa running the road car division now?
"There will be no new chassis" 30 April 2012 - 11h51, by GMM* Ferrari will not run all of its planned car improvements at the Mugello test this week. "My information is that the new single seater is not ready," reported Livio Oricchio, the correspondent for O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper. There has been speculation that, following Ferraris troubled start to the new championship with its F2012 car, the changes for the forthcoming Barcelona race will be so sweeping that it might be called a "B" version. But technical director Pat Fry reportedly told Oricchio that Ferrari designers are "staying with the (current) front suspension"; a reference to the Maranello based teams innovative use of pullrod technology this year. And the well-informed journalist Dimitris Papadopoulos adds that, even though the Mugello-spec Ferrari will have a new nose, sidepods and wings, "there will be no new chassis".
I know Dimi and he is extremely reliable. That guy is the James Bond of F1 inside information. I wasn't expecting F2012 to be a new chassis, matter of fact I don't think anyone was. Just new sidepods, wings, and nose. Anyone care to wager they'll have a super DRS? I have heard that's what the new nose is incorporating.
They won't find .600 without a miracle or a magic bullet. .2-.3 is a more realistic goal with these updates, and then they have to hope other teams haven't found more than that! Such as Mercedes and Red Bull who are really pushing.