Why is Ferrari not competitive in F1?

Besides the first 2 races of 2020, they haven't been that bad in my opinion . In 2017 and 2018 , they were almost there , had a pretty good car that performed well at some of the tracks , maybe not utterly dominant , but good enough to win . And for whatever reason , when MB upped their game, they cracked , like they were afraid to win but i am sure there is more to it . There is politics in all sports and F1 is super political and cutthroat as we have witnessed over the years . Ferrari's politics seem to be worse than the other teams , tough to really gauge from the sidelines but enough people who were exposed to the team politics, whether driver , mechanic or engineer have voiced their opinion over the years there must some truth to it .
My guess is that the politics affect all sorts of decisions, and trickle down to the drivers eventually . An organisation is as good as it's weakest list , so till they find their weak link , they will struggle along and get bashed .

 

Ferrari admits FIA clampdown cost engine performance
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/ferrari-engine-clampdown-cost-performance-2020/4838165/?ic_source=home-page-widget&ic_medium=widget&ic_campaign=widget-6

Ferrari Formula 1 boss Mattia Binotto has given the clearest admission yet that the Italian team's power unit has been reined in by an FIA regulation clampdown for 2020.

 

But why a clampdown was imposed by the FIA ?

 

I think it all started or at least was a precursor when Max stated "Ferrari is cheating."

 

The original fuel flow regulator sampled the flow rate every 2 milliseconds (or so) at fixed timing.
The new second fuel flow regulator performs the same number of samples but at random points in time.

With the original flow regulator, if one had a variable fuel pressure precisely timed so the pressure was higher when the regulator was not looking and was them back down to normal when it was, you could squeeze more fuel through the "regulator". Now, with the second regulator, you can't.

 

Yes, I Know.

But we haven't been told what the FIA actually found in Ferrari's engine.

They should have come out in the open with a technical report explaining what was the problem.

The lack of transparency is damning for the FIA.

 

Did the FIA found that? They haven't said anything.

 

I see.

I don't think that report will be available to the public per the FIA (Todt).

I realize what your saying and I'm sure other teams want transparency on the matter regarding the clampdown but......well....there it is.

 

Intersting.....first time I read this about how to "circumvent" the original fuel flow meter.

 

All we know at this point in time is that the FIA put a second random time fuel flow device in the system.

 

I would say they’re very competitive. As to why they’re not winning.... Management.

 

Toto has words for Binotto lol - https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/ferrari-engine-claims-********-story-wolff/4839480/

 

Mercedes technical director James Allison believes his former team Ferrari is burdened by the pressure of its heritage, which manifests itself in bosses having a short-term mindset that ultimataly leads it ‘astray’.
Allison has enjoyed two spells at Ferrari, once during the ultra successful Michael Schumacher era, and then a second run from 2013 to 2016.

Since then he has helped Mercedes continue its run of championship successes, so is well placed to judge the strengths and weaknesses of both outfits.

With Ferrari currently on the back foot after a difficult start to the 2020 season, scrutiny has already been put on the management decisions being made at the team as it looks to recover.

For Allison, however, the one factor that is hard for Ferrari to break away from is the huge pressure that everyone at the team faces because it has the Italian nation behind it.

“Working at Ferrari is in many ways an unalloyed joy but the country is so pro the team, the brand is so strong, the history and heritage of Ferrari is so important that you do feel that you are part of something that is itself important and that is a real strength for that group,” explained Allison at the Hungaroring.

“But it’s also probably their biggest burden that they carry too because along with that affection and joy that the nation shares in Ferrari’s successes comes a great deal of pressure when things are going poorly. And that pressure is externally applied from the press in a much more intense way than any other F1 team.

“It is internally applied from just everyone who feels the duty to be living up to the great performances that the team has showed in the past and it is, I think, most powerfully internally expressed by a top down leadership style that at Ferrari is probably more exaggerated than in other teams.

“That tends to make the team make short term decisions and can lead it astray, instead of building fundamental strengths that will carry it from year to year.

“So it is a real mixture of these heady highs and base lows which have, at their root, the same origin which is the huge desire within the team and without, for the Ferrari brand to be fighting at the front of the field.”


Ferrari has faced a double whammy this year of its engine taking a hit in performance because of better checks over fuel flow and energy management, while the team’s move to a higher downforce car has resulted in a car that is too draggy.

It introduced a heavily revised package at the Styrian Grand Prix and is hoping it can make progress this weekend in Hungary.

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/allison-ferrari-short-term-mindset/4838761/

 

Yep, Ferrari‘s problem is that people care about it.
As Lauda said, when Ferrari win your heart goes boom boom boom, when Mercedes win, nobody really gives a ****.
Our strength and our weakness.

 

I treat them the same.

 

#Montezemolo e la #Ferrari: “Organizzazione da cambiare. Binotto troppo solo”

Excerpts from the article

Montezemolo: "When they replaced me they told me that it didn't matter to have positive balance sheets, they said you had to win on the track... At least in my day when Ferrari didn't win we stayed in the fight until the last race!"


"Today's problem arises first and foremost from organisation. Ferrari has it totally different from the other teams. Mattia Binotto is too lonely. There are no other teams organised like that."

"Binotto, who is a young novice as technical director, is responsible for sports management, driver management, technical area and must also take care of politics."

"In my days I had built a team with the best of the best. There were Todt, Brawn, Byrne, Martinelli, Domenicali... Formula 1 is like great international football, you don't look at passports to win, you have to look for the best."

"In Ferrari in recent times the talents have left. First Allison, then Sassi and they all ended up at Mercedes!"

"I'm very worried [about Ferrari] because it won't be easy to get out of this situation because we should already be working on 2022 when everything changes."

"I see it difficult to develop the car and think about the future, also because a new nose and a wing are not enough to change the competitiveness of this car. I think it is necessary to take the situation by the horns, make bold choices and make them quickly!"

"The drivers are not at fault. But I would never have cut Vettel so far in advance. Too much pressure has been put on Leclerc and it is difficult to involve Vettel now as he will leave the team."

"I was sorry that Ferrari vetoed my Formula 1 presidency. Ecclestone had called me and I would have accepted with pleasure. My father used to say to me: 'Whoever is jealous of the past hasn't understood anything.'"

https://topspeedblog.it/montezemolo-e-la-ferrari-organizzazione-da-cambiare-binotto-troppo-solo/

 

Thank you for finding that.

 

And then fired them all!

 

I just think back when it was a 21 year wait for a world champion title. From 1979 till 2000 Ferrari was a disaster. But that don’t help any.

 

I don't disagree with his outlook on the current situation, but he was a bit of a megalomaniac in his own right. He ran Schumacher off prematurely (just to get Kimi R) and it went south from there. Also, as listed above, he ran off most of those guys he was crowing about.

 

Except they won constructors titles in 82/83 even in 82 with a dire season in terms of events.

 

Where the hell is Camilleri? He should take care of the politics like Montezemolo and Marchionne used to do while leaving Binotto to care about the car! If someone has to go it’s him!!!

 

The Scuderia is down 50 HP !!!!
FIFTY HORSEPOWER !!!
FIVE. ZERO.
50 !!!!!!
10x5 !!!

I knew about the oil and fuel however what ERS management are they talking about?!?!

Binotto needs help. Politically at the top to battle Mercedes monopolizing the management of the sport. He needs help with managing the people. He needs to be free to engage engineering more deeply.

Cost it cooling?

changing radiator layout ?!?!?

we are screwed. Royally.

Go to 8:52

 

Interesting article...

https://www.corriere.it/sport/formula-1/notizie/ferrari-spy-story-dietro-crisi-altri-casi-sono-agguato-35c5793e-cb8b-11ea-bf7a-0cc3d0ad4e25.shtml?intcmp=emailNLcor_ore12_22072020


Ferrari, a spy story behind the crisis and other cases are lurking

The impotence of the Federation (but a technician admits industrial espionage), the story of the Racing Point, and of the affiliated teams: the credibility of sport is at stake

by Giorgio Terruzzi

Ferrari, a spy story behind the crisis and other cases are lurking

There is a spy story at the origin of the evils that afflict this Ferrari. Triggered by the victory of Leclerc in the Italian Gp 2019, obtained by using a very powerful engine on the Monza lines. Too powerful according to the competition which, like Ferrari, seeks and exploits extra horses, working in those indecipherable areas that make up each power unit. Last fall, a surgical industrial espionage operation took shape, triggered by an antagonistic team of Ferrari with the complicity of someone who knows the most secret aspects of Ferrari. To admit it is a technician of the International Federation (FIA) who claims anonymity while telling how the federal investigation on the instigation of a team got underway. With some contradictions since the way to obtain that information was illegal.

Difficult overtaking

This is the sensational background from which many moves derive. FIA itself is aware that all motorists operate beyond the limit with minimal risks. So much so that even in the Ferrari case, an irregularity has not been discovered. In any case, the information sent to the federal technicians was used to impose a "secret" compromise on Maranello, with the consequent elimination of a series of developments, given as irregular by those who had supplied the "stolen" information. The aerodynamic troubles that the reds are now showing are the result of that agreement.

In practice, a step back of dozens of horses which made the design of a car designed for a more powerful engine inadequate. Which forced the Cavallino technicians to a not happy redesign, to be combined with a "clean" engine. According to many insiders, the only "clean" engine in the race today. Because the background of this story shows how impossible it is for the Federation to verify in depth what is happening in the workshops. Except blown, in fact. Which guarantees many teams to travel undisturbed by increasing the power of the power units.

Evidence is needed to determine an infringement. And these tests can only emerge if someone spies or confesses. What happens on the engine front is similar to the Racing Point theme. F1 drivers smile at the idea that it was possible to copy the Mercedes 2019 using photos. We are talking about details at the fraction of a millimeter for very sophisticated components. Still, we are still at mere suspicions, with the FIA admitting some superficiality in the analyzes, aware of the earthquake that could generate a data transfer charge, destined to involve the world champion team too. On the other hand, if the principle should pass, there is the risk that in 2022 all the teams linked to Mercedes could take to the track with identical and very fast cars. McLaren and Williams, as well as Racing Point.

At stake is the credibility of the entire F1. While Ferrari faces a long technical journey with the awareness of having suffered a serious interference in its computers and the hope - not very solid - that the Federation can do justice, practicing attention and independence beyond any pressure. By identifying, even in the absence of spies, who, while traveling among the rules, goes far beyond the rules.

 

The Scuderia need a heavy hitting politician to battle this.