Brawn has admitted that their lack of performance has been the result of chassis deficiencies as well as problems with their inferior Bridgestone tyres.
Hmm lets see... problems... - chassis could not generate enough heat into tires. - Ferrari's sidepods make more drag than cars such as McLaren? - 2004 aero level was too high to be regained this year where as the others had an easy task to equal the aero performance (weaker than the F2004) of their 2004 cars. Finding more downforce on the F2005 would make it a better car?
In 20/20 hindsight it seems to me that the problems were deeper than tires. The problem is that there is no one to compare tire data with except Jordan and Minardi as benchmarks, which is like none at all. If Ferrari could get even only a couple of sets of Michelins they could tell more accuratly if tires were the core problem.
RE: Imola, don't forget Kimi was set to run away with the race but dropped out early. Glad to get to the truth of the matter. They dropped the ball, but it must be hard to sustain dominance over such a long peroid of time. IMO, the tendancy becomes let's see how little work we can do an still beat them. Weren't they all on holiday for a month around January 05? I just hope their failure this year lights the competitive fire for next year. Luckily I think the v8 will call for enough of a packaging change that it will level the playing field from this year, at least to some extent.
Also, post race stories in the Italian press made reference to reports that Alonso was nursing an ailing engine during his fight with Michael. Never the less, it was still a spectacular battle to watch with the nose of the Ferrari almost touching the tail of the Renault as they went through Acque Minerali. Lets hope they get it right with the 2006 car. John
Just as I have been saying since the start of the season. It is always the performance of the entire package. No one can simply state that it is just the Bridgestone, just the chassis or just the engine. It is the way all the components of the package interact with each other and their limitations. The rule changes this year simply took away all the competitive advantage in certain fields that Ferrari had. This season has been an absolute Farce, thus making this years championships hollow and worthless!
The other teams didn't have any trouble adapting to the new rules so in reality to rules have nothing to do with Ferrari blowing the big one this year. They only have themselves to blame. Ross pretty much admitted it.
I think I read that one of their primary aerodynamicists left before the 2005 season. True? If so, that could have been a factor.
Just been talking to an F1 design engineer & he's sure Byrne didn't have a lot of input to the 2005 car. Also told that Narain Karthikeyan is going to be replaced by Davison ASAP, he's 2 seconds a lap quicker than Tiago Monteiro. (this maybe news already though, but hes saying like yesterday if they can make it happen) .
No Rory Bryne didn't design the car, his future replacement Aldo Costa (sp?) I believe designed it, they didn't go far enough. I think perhaps they hired Impy for Aero and that is why he hasn't posted much any longer. Actually one of the Aero guys left for McLaren, although Adrian Newey designed the current MP car.
The fact of the matter is that overall performance of a racecar is not just the aero package, or just the tires, or just the engine. It is the complete package that performs or does not perform. As a stand alone component, the Bridgestone tires are perfect. It is just the way the tires interact with the rest of the package and it inherent limitations is was cause the lack of performance in the F2005.
Costa and Byrne have always worked together. Costa got more responsabilities within Ferrari, Byrne remained in overall charge. The philosphy behind the F2005 isn't one of Costa, it's one that Ferrari used over the past few years. Aldo simply is the continuation of this philosphy. Byrne would not have designed a car different from the F2005. If the F2005 is not good enough, both Costa and Byrne, are at blame. In 2004, John Iley (who was with Renault before) was hired to be chief aerodynamicist at Ferrari. Nicola Tombasis left Ferrari because he had to join the army, after that he chose not to go back to Ferrari but rather line up with McLaren. ps: Byrne is staying at Ferrari till February 2007, and therefore will remain having the role he had in the design and development of the F2005 for the F2006.
I don't think he even reads what he writes. Don't waste your time Tony, it's a clear case of if you can't dazzle them with your brilliance, baffle them with bullsh$t
Yeah it looks like BAR has kicked poor Ant to the curb. I think my grandma would be faster than Monteiro at this point....
If he accidentaly hits the Pit Road Speed Limiter again, my 1999 Mercury Cougar can beat him! The Davidson thing kinda surprises me. Davidson has driven the wheels off that car in testing, and was kicking butt last year on the Friday sessions. But with BAR having too many drivers for the seats, I can see why he would look elsewhere to get a Sunday ride. If Button can stay @ BAR, then they have RB, and maybe make Sato the Friday driver (keeps him off the road on Sunday's for his own personal safety, but still part of the Honda/Japan thing they want)
