Last year they were the closest challengers to Mercedes and often the team to beat on a Saturday, but where is Ferrari ahead of the first race of the season this weekend in Austria? Here’s everything you need to know about the Scuderia before the lights go out on the Red Bull Ring …
How did the winter tests look?
After the promise of pre-season testing a year ago, when Ferrari looked comfortably the fastest team heading to Australia, it was something of a change this season.
During testing, Ferrari did not appear to have the pace of Mercedes or Red Bull, and sometimes even seemed in danger of being threatened by Racing Point.
READ MORE: Should we expect to see a different Ferrari from the tests in Austria?
As an area where they had a clear advantage for much of last season, much of the focus was on Ferrari’s straight line speed in Barcelona. Again, that was a change, as they were wasting time for Mercedes on the straights, but there was a tradeoff as the car appeared faster in the slower corners.
Ferrari fans will hope that the power unit has simply been significantly rejected during the preseason and that there is still a good performance there, but team principal Mattia Binotto did not suggest as much when speaking and warned that he would hope they were not a challenge. for victory. of the first race
READ MORE: How much will the cars have changed since the test when they arrived in Austria?
What has happened since then?
Maranello has been very busy since the season stopped, as one of the first factories that was forced to close due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Ferrari was rapidly helping to produce respirator and respirator parts as well as mask accessories, drawing on all its expertise in rapid prototyping and manufacturing, while donating € 10 million to authorities facing the crisis.
From Formula 1’s perspective, they made headlines in May when they announced that Sebastian Vettel would not be staying with the team beyond the end of this season, and they quickly confirmed Carlos Sainz as their replacement.
Ferrari was also vocal in the discussions on cost cap and regulatory changes in response to the current crisis, and finally accepted the rules that have been adopted since then.
As one of the teams to test a 2018 car, Ferrari has been understanding how they will need to react to new protocols on the track. But they also provided proof of the Mugello circuit after it emerged as a potential venue if more races in Europe are added to the current schedule.
What have the drivers been doing at the break?
While Vettel is one of those drivers who would expect him to get off the radar during such a shutdown, he has been in the spotlight for much of the break as speculation about his future continues. He has yet to comment himself, but his next move will definitely have been a priority in recent months.
The German got a driving simulator at home and even participated in an online event, but if he has appeared in others, he has done so under a different name.
READ MORE: ‘Naivety’ helped Leclerc beat Vettel in the first year at Ferrari, says Webber
Charles Leclerc, on the other hand, has been extremely active. After signing up for Twitch, he’s been streaming all sorts of feats, including our Virtual Grand Prix series where he won multiple races, and also recently starred in a short film filmed in Monaco.
A bit of go-karting in South Garda Karting was his first step in driving a real car, which also included taking the Ferrari 2020 for a spin around the streets of Maranello in the early hours before he and Vettel split up one day on the 2018 car in Mugello.
CLOCK: Leclerc and Vettel return to the track in Mugello’s Ferrari test
Charles Leclerc: Life in the running of the bulls
How are you looking for Austria?
We can really only judge Ferrari by what we saw in the tests, and based on that, they are not in good shape. Austria is a circuit that would be strong for them if they had been hiding the performance in a straight line, but if not, they will probably go to one of their weaker circuits.
There are few low-speed corners in the Red Bull Ring, and both Mercedes and Red Bull looked strong during the preseason, with the latter having a good record in Austria.
READ MORE: Our Writers’ Predictions and Hot Shots Before the New Season
And in a further blow to the team’s chances for Austria, team boss Binotto admitted on Tuesday that the team had to take a “significant development turnaround” on this year’s car, after it failed produce the speed they had. waiting on the tests.
Because the required changes are so critical, the team will compete in Austria with the car seen in testing in February, before introducing updates to the third race of the season in Hungary. “We know that, at the moment, we do not have the fastest package,” Binotto said this week.
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What will be your goal for the season?
Ferrari’s goal must always be to win championships. This is the most historic name on the grid and the most successful in Formula 1 history, so anything other than disappointing.
But there seemed to be a lot of pragmatism during the winter. Last year’s road felt like a missed opportunity, with Ferrari struggling to replicate its preseason form until the summer, and they came up this year trying to learn from those mistakes, because it’s not good to have a fast car if you can’t exploit it.
READ MORE: Leclerc says he ‘has the speed’ for 2020 title bid
The victories in the race and the second place in the constructors’ championship will be the minimum objective if we see a true reflection of the pace of Ferrari in Barcelona.
If they can really pull off their first upgrade package on the first try, then the title isn’t entirely out of the question, but right now they would have to say that they are the third favorites behind Mercedes and Red Bull.
