2020 SEASON PREVIEW
NO ROOM FOR
COMPLACENCY56 GP RACING MARCH 2020
engineers had to work hard on Friday evenings
to optimise oreven revise a setup that hadn’t
matched expectations in the early free practice
sessions, losing precious preparation time for
qualifying and the race. Mercedes, which had a
more thorough understanding of its car concept
and a better-correlated simulator, wasted less
time firefighting. To challenge such a well-drilled
organisation for the championship will require
Ferrari to operate on a similar plane, and nobody
knows this better than Binotto.THEREWAS A LONG PERIODof radio silence
over thewin ter, and as testing season approached
the few rumblings comingfrom Maranello
seemed more negative than positive. This appears
to signal a more prudent approach than this time
last year, when the expectations of the engineers
proved to be overly optimistic. Ferrari later
admitted that it thought the SF90’s performance
in testing, where it was consistently quickest until
Mercedes arrived with a more definitive car spec
in the final days, meant it would be around threetenths of a second faster per lap. The eventsof
Melbourne torpedoed that assumption.
This year thefew rumours emanating from
the factory about the new car suggest the
aero “numbers” don’t fully satisfy the project
managers – a situation thatseems the opposite
of the overconfidence that prevailed 12 months
ago. It’s difficult to determine whether this is
a deliberate tactic – to under-promise and
then over-deliver – or if progress really isn’t
in line with the targets.
There have also been some rumours ofadevelopment projectwhic h had to be t erminated
late, anda race against timeto get toMelbourne
with all the definitive partsready to be installed
on the car.At the time of writing, thepre-season
tests are yet to happen; it may be that we have
to wait for Australia to get all the a nswers.
Despite the rumours, there are many people in
the paddockwho believewe’re on the eve of the
most competitive season of the hybrid era, and
that Ferrari will be in the game to the end. We’ve
believed that and been disappointed before. But
this time that faith may be rewarded...ReggioEmilia’sTeatro
Municipalehostedthe
launchofwhatFerrari
hopeswillbethecarthat
endsitstitledroughtPICTURES:FERRARI2020 SEASON PREVIEW
NO ROOM FOR
COMPLACENCY56 GP RACING MARCH 2020
engineers had to work hard on Friday evenings
to optimise oreven revise a setup that hadn’t
matched expectations in the early free practice
sessions, losing precious preparation time for
qualifying and the race. Mercedes, which had a
more thorough understanding of its car concept
and a better-correlated simulator, wasted less
time firefighting. To challenge such a well-drilled
organisation for the championship will require
Ferrari to operate on a similar plane, and nobody
knows this better than Binotto.THEREWAS A LONG PERIODof radio silence
over thewin ter, and as testing season approached
the few rumblings comingfrom Maranello
seemed more negative than positive. This appears
to signal a more prudent approach than this time
last year, when the expectations of the engineers
proved to be overly optimistic. Ferrari later
admitted that it thought the SF90’s performance
in testing, where it was consistently quickest until
Mercedes arrived with a more definitive car spec
in the final days, meant it would be around threetenths of a second faster per lap. The eventsof
Melbourne torpedoed that assumption.
This year thefew rumours emanating from
the factory about the new car suggest the
aero “numbers” don’t fully satisfy the project
managers – a situation thatseems the opposite
of the overconfidence that prevailed 12 months
ago. It’s difficult to determine whether this is
a deliberate tactic – to under-promise and
then over-deliver – or if progress really isn’t
in line with the targets.
There have also been some rumours ofadevelopment projectwhic h had to be t erminated
late, anda race against timeto get toMelbourne
with all the definitive partsready to be installed
on the car.At the time of writing, thepre-season
tests are yet to happen; it may be that we have
to wait for Australia to get all the a nswers.
Despite the rumours, there are many people in
the paddockwho believewe’re on the eve of the
most competitive season of the hybrid era, and
that Ferrari will be in the game to the end. We’ve
believed that and been disappointed before. But
this time that faith may be rewarded...ReggioEmilia’sTeatro
Municipalehostedthe
launchofwhatFerrari
hopeswillbethecarthat
endsitstitledroughtPICTURES:FERRARI