Ferrari in a Rather Unfamiliar Territory

Ferrari finds itself amidst the worst start to an F1 season in almost two decades. It is yet to score any points this season and have shown kinks in their usually insulated amour. Both the Ferraris retired in Australia. Whereas in Malaysia, Felipe Massa started a miserable 16th nullifying his chances while Kimi Raikkonen suffered on a ludicrous tyre call.

The KERS that melted Montezemolo is livid and fuming. Domenicali summoned a crisis meeting immediately after Sepang. Luca Baldisserri has been shunted to the factory from the track and the pragmatic Chris Dyer has donned his vacant boots.

This move comes in time for the Chinese Grand Prix where Ferrari has enjoyed phenomenal success.

Ferrari has always been on the podium in all 5 Chinese GPs till date with 3 victories contributed by Rubens Barrichello (2004), Michael Schumacher (2006) and Kimi Raikkonen (2007).

However, nostalgia wouldn’t suffice this year. Ferrari will have to conjure something spectacular in order to show signs of a turnaround.

First was sent out on wet tyres...

The Shanghai International Circuit is an archetypal Hermann Tilke track with a mix of a very long straight and a host of fast & slow corners. Unlike yesteryears, Ferrari may grapple with the desired combination of a powerful yet reliable engine. The opening two corners of the circuit are fiddly and atrociously slow tightening turns that induce drivers to lose a chunk of time and can be the pivotal factor in setting a quick qualifying time.

The adjustable front wing flaps need to be modified optimally to counter these slow turns. It’s awfully lengthy banked turn leading onto the back straight puts an unreasonable strain onto the left side tyres. At the same time, the circuit is not so gentle on brakes, with heavy braking observed at the approach to the first two and last two turns. Also, give the fact that the current edition of the Chinese GP is being held earlier than previous years, Bridgestones super-softs / mediums may grapple in colder temperatures. This arduous mix may prove to be a little too much for Ferrari to improve in a fortnight.

then... Ferrari has ignored the diffuser saga and has been burning the midnight oil. Test driver Marc Gene was seen piling on the miles at Vairano carrying out aerodynamics & KERS specific tests. We may witness some improvisation to the front wing, the front wheel flanges and the turning vanes as a result of this in the Chinese GP.

Ferrari isn’t an outfit that goes down into the night without putting up a fight. Let us hope lady luck smiles on Ferrari and we see some scarlet magic again.