That was interesting. The position of the intercooler seems like an almost obvious improvement based on how much cooling should improve not being positioned on top of the "oven"
I don't like how they report on Ferrari technical changes. It seems that it should remain confidential. I don't hear anything about what Merc is changing.
There are actually no real details of Ferrari's technical changes in the linked article, only "Giorgio Piola's exclusive illustration of what Ferrari may have changed". As for the rest of the "details", it's all just general talk from an ex-Ferrari employee.
I would think that being relatively close to Merc Ferrari wouldn't go and do a radical change. This article is showing otherwise, isn't it?
We shouldn´t read too much in this. I´ve read other articles about Ferrari going the split turbo route like Mercedes. Who shall we trust? Anyway, if this is true, it does look like the most obvious choice: keeping the turbo as is, moving the intercooler to allow variable lenght intake trumpets and moving the ERS forward to leave more free space in the rear.
Presumably their engine test rig is working over time doing circuit simulations. Merc will find extra power (a lot according to them, worryingly). Ferrari shouldn't aim to be on equal power with them but to go beyond that (and not have the engine blow up in the process).
+1 Was just about to note the same. Develop the power, then worry about how long it will last....... Cheers, Ian
Actually, the reality was that McLaren didn't have the most powerful engine on the grid for any amount of time, at any stage of the season, and the bloody thing still only lasted for two seconds! However, the note of caution in your post is correct - Making the PU reliable whilst making it the most powerful on the grid is not as easy as some are making it out to be! As the old adage goes: "To finish first - First you have to finish!"
How much of an increase has Mercedes found over the winter? Or, did they decide to rest on their laurels?
I was under the premise that F1 engines are running down on revs to conserve fuel. As per stupid F1 rules. So maybe reliability is not too much an issue?
I don't think anyone's saying it's "easy".... Nothing about F1 is easy. Just if you've got the power, reliability should follow. It's hard with no testing for sure, but we know they're doing complete race simulations on the dyno. +1 Cheers, Ian
IIRC, the regulations limit 'em to 15K. They'll run that when 'needed'. They're building engines knowing those parameters. And then race within those same parameters. Same for all. Cheers, Ian
Unfortunately... it seems a lot: Mercedes F1 engine producing over 900bhp with more to come in 2016 Who knows if it's talk... but if it's true, the reported increases by Ferrari thus far (if true and/or accurate) would close the gap to the 2015 Mercs... maybe. So all things being equal at this point, it appears Merc may have made another big jump so it's very likely we'll have a repeat of last season.
Let's hope that the increase in Ferrari HP is augmented by the changes to the chassis. The relocation (lowering) of several components, the tightening of the rear bodywork and the return to push rod front suspension should help make up a big chunk of the difference to Mercedes.
Not so sure on that. Look at the Brazilian GP for instance, Vettel was close to the Mercs, with Rosberg leading Hamilton and Hamilton chasing him hard, vettel finished what, 12 seconds down? 2015 final spec engine wasn't a huge amount down on power. Mercedes will almost certainly be the car to beat, but I really do think that Ferrari has made a big enough leap to challenge them at most if not all tracks. Every single time Mercedes got some real competition in the last 2 seasons, they've messed up. They panick. Ever since dumping Ross Brawn.
Most of the season... Ferrari was not a real challenge. There were the 3 wins... a couple other races...like the Brazillian... where it was not close... but in the ballpark. Beyond that, I think Ferrari was fairly well-dominated and by significant margins. If Merc pulls out a another big step like they're suggesting, I'm just not sure Ferrari is going to close last years gap and this winters. I for one am hoping I'm absolutely 100% wrong.
