Ferrari To Race Anvil Wing in Hungary

Ferrari comes to Budapest after
two less than perfect race weekends, especially the last Grand Prix
where the team was not competitive enough to fight for victory. Since
Hockenheim, the team has carried out an extensive in-depth
investigation, both at home in Maranello and during the four day test
at Jerez de la Frontera, into what was behind this lacklustre showing.
Data analysis was the main item on the agenda behind the factory walls
and there was daily communication between the factory and the Spanish
race track, to exchange views. A great deal of effort went into this
analysis, as the team carried out comparisons between set-up options,
as well as mechanical and aerodynamic parts that have been developed
over the past six weeks or so. The fact that ambient and track
temperatures at Jerez were very high and the abrasive nature of the
track surface certainly did not make this analysis a straightforward
task. However, by running the comparison tests in consistent conditions
in terms of temperature and wind – especially with Kimi on Thursday – a
meaningful analysis was possible. The synthesis of those investigations
is that in Hockenheim, it was not the car itself that had something
wrong with it, in that the package was not worse than the previous one:
the major difference was tyre related and for a variety of reasons,
Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa were unable to get the best out of the
tyres during Sunday’s race, even if there had been little sign of this
difficulty over the previous two days of practice and qualifying.

"Despite
the fact the last two races have been negative for us, the Scuderia is
definitely not in crisis," maintains Team Principal of the Gestione
Sportiva, Stefano Domenicali. "The team is still leading the
Constructors’ Championship and theoretically, one of our drivers could
again be back at the top of the Drivers’ classification on Sunday
night. We are on a similar points tally to last year, we have won half
the races so far and indeed, taken half the pole positions. Just as we
never felt we were unbeatable after our French GP victory, so too, we
do not feel all is lost after the British and German events. The entire
squad is doing its best to overturn this situation. We have come from
behind before and in fact, we have emerged as the top team at the end
of the season, having been in much greater difficulty than we are now.
If we look at where Ferrari was in 2007 after ten races, today we are
in a much better position and this year, there is one more race than
last, which gives us even more opportunities to fight back."

As
for the characteristics of the Hungaroring, they are well known: it
requires, along with Monaco, the highest downforce configuration and
Bridgestone will bring the same tyres as they did to the Principality,
namely the "Soft" and "Super-Soft." The F2008 was very competitive in
this trim, so there is no reason to think that should not be the case
this weekend. As usual, a strong qualifying performance is a vital step
on the road to victory, with overtaking very difficult at this circuit,
but again, looking back to Monaco, the Ferraris were very competitive
there on the Super-Soft tyre used for the one lap discipline. Usually,
the race is based on a two stop strategy, although last year, some
drivers did three, and starting the race on the clean side of the track
can be a significant advantage on a track that always stays dirty off
the racing line. It takes time to rubber in, which can cause tyre
graining on the first day of practice, diminishing as the weekend goes
on. As far as engines are concerned, Kimi will have a new one for this
race, while Felipe’s will be having its second outing.

Tomorrow,
Luca Badoer will carry out a shakedown at Fiorano of the cars that will
be used in Budapest. For the first time on a race weekend, the F2008
will be fitted with, amongst other new components, the "anvil" engine
cover, after Massa felt in Jerez that it brought some benefits. The
team will travel to Hungary with its usual determination to aim for the
win, with the added incentive that it’s always good to go into the
"summer break" on the back of a great result.

Well, as Kimi didn’t try this shark fin durig his test in Jerez, he’ll be a busy man on Friday this weekend. At least he’ll have a new engine, whereas Felipe has to use his one from Hockenheim. So, my bet is on Kimi to try and pull out a strong qualifying position for the race as his race paces always seems competitive but limited due to his qualifying performance. If it’s hot, and with the soft tyres, Kimi should be able to have a better weekend. We’ll see what he has to say in his column though, which should be released soon.