Ferrari working hard to improve F2012 DRS for qualifying
1 November, 2012
Nov.1 (GMM) Ferrari is focused on improving the rear wing and DRS system of its 2012 car, as Fernando Alonso pushes to rescue his dwindling championship challenge to Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel.
Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport said that the Italian team has acknowledged that while Red Bull is not far ahead in terms of race pace, the F2012 is struggling primarily in qualifying.
“The problem is the rear wing,” read the report. “In the DRS position it is generating too little top speed.”
Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo is quoted by Italy’s La Stampa: “If we always start from the third or fourth row, then everything becomes difficult, if not impossible.
“How do you recover if you are already ten seconds behind after five laps?” he asked rhetorically.
An analysis shows that Alonso was gaining less than a 4km/h boost from his conventional DRS on the straights in India, compared to almost 10km/h for Vettel.
But AM&S reckons that Ferrari has run out of time to introduce a Red Bull-like ‘double DRS’.
The team’s technical boss Pat Fry is quoted by La Gazzetta dello Sport: “We are working like crazy to bring improvements to Abu Dhabi and then all the way to Brazil.
“Starting higher up means we can put pressure on the Red Bulls. So far Sebastian [Vettel] has been driving away too easily.”
Subbed by AJN.
Related posts:
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- Red Bull: Car is working well but there are areas we can improve
- Ferrari in race against time to sort out problems on F2012
- Ferrari F2012 chassis revamp may require new FIA crash test
- Ferrari: We have to improve our qualifying
@nowheremen + @fool
Even Alonso agreed that Suzuka was not Raikkonen’s his mistake.
you are both lamers, and alone with your denial.
@noweherman..
I agree.
Lets hope Ferrari and qualify a bit better from having a more complete car. They have race pace…but they need some more qualifying pace.
I agree with Ahmed Ginnah statement. He is right, and Kimi4wdc is incorrect.
Mark you have some weird ideas.
All of which are full of BS.
Alonso was taken out by Renault on purpose to tighten things up.
If he had finished in the top three in both those races, he would still be leading with little chance of anyone catching him.
Your eyes are as blind to race politics as they are to seeing the racing itself.
Racecar engineer legend Carol Smith once noted that after going over reams of data, he found a few extra clicks in top speed rarely meant as much as improvements in corner exit speed, particularly the earliest on the throttle out of corners, crosses the line first at the end of the day. The theory is simple enough: If you spend more seconds in corners, improving there is more important than improving in the straights where you spend less time. If Ferrari has figured a way to use double DRS to offset increasing down-force in low speed segments, they will improve Q3 position. If they just add MPH, they will not change Q3 results as much. Red Bull knows this, McLaren knows this.. Now we’ll see if Ferrari has finally figured this out. Alonso also needs to work on strategies and techniques to nail that one-lap result, which is where Vettel really excels, both in Q3 and early race laps – effectively making laps 1-5 extensions of Q3 performance.
@ahmed
Suzuka’s DNF was Alonso’s fault. Deserved DNF for trying to take Kimi out of the track just weeks after he was winging and crying when Vettel did the same to him.
Sad, sad Alonso, while good old Ayrton used to prove himself inside the track with overtakes and balls, this guy gets away crying “was Ferrari’s fault”, “vettel’s fault”, “grosjean fault”, “kimi’s fault”, “petrov’s fault” (gotta love last year’s Abu Dhabi LOL).
Pathetic.
@ahmed You got it other way around.
Alonso is there cause of Red Bull and McLaren misshaps. Alonso as usual took the most of the circumstances.
You have to be in denial to lay blame to his two retirements, considering how much luck he had in the first part of the season.
Ferrari is where it is because of Alonso, he has the ability of wringing every bit of everything from the Ferrari and challenge the McLarens and Reb Bulls. OH YES, do remember that Vettel is where he is because of Alonso having 2 DNFs. through NO fault of His or Ferrari. Do also remember that BOTH the DNFs, one by a Renault (Grosjean) and the other by another Renaulkt (Kimi) . Judging by Alonso’s track record this far, it leaves no doubt in anyone’s mind that Alonso would have been on the Podiums of either of those 2 races or thereabouts. Vettel (Renault) now leads the points table by a small margin, otherwise – you do the maths.