Scuderia Ferrari SF90

[tranquility2k4]

Something I'm wondering is related to the rumour and also the video footage we saw of Ferrari during testing where the car would seem to dip excessively under heavy braking - there were rumours of them losing drag on the straights and then running closer to the ground in the corners for more grip. I don't know if you remember Vettel going off at turn 3 (I think it). At the time I wondered whether something had gone wrong with this dipping under heavy braking - maybe the car had dipped too much. Maybe they were worried about this, especially at a bumpier circuit like Albert Park and so they had to undo this development. Mark Hughes did say a lot of their time loss was under braking and traction out of slower corners.

The other theory is their PU running in a conservative mode because of the reliability issues they had relating to that in testing. Certainly the back of their bodywork was opened up a lot more since testing.

[dfegan358]

Very disappointing race from Ferrari. Seems to be multiple factors contributing to poor pace.

Was there power unit issues just discovered during FRee practice or just appeared in race?

Seems like there is a lot of potential in this car. I do think Australia is very unsuited to the Ferrari vs Mercedes but there is huge concerns with the way Ferrari went through the tyres and Vettel spoke of a lack of grip.

Ferrari rebounded last year and were fast in Bahrain. Although this year there is power unit concerns which we don’t know the full extent of. Or maybe they are just slower than we though

[Jambier]

- Engine cutting in straight line since qualy at least
- Bad tyre usage
- Bad setup

I hope they will figure out quickly the engine issue.

I'm absolutely sure than the "true" 2019 Ferrari, with a working engine and correct setup will be in front of Red Bull.

Question is, how will it stand against the Mercedes? Hope we will find out in the next race, or China at worst

[Giblet]

People are talking about deployment issues, but could it also be harvesting issues due to less extreme braking situations at this track?

[dfegan358]

all these reports of battery issues/ running out of K -energy whatever you want to call it is quite surprising to me. i believed ferrari had an one of the best battery recharging systems. maybe it can be solved with software/mapping i dont know.
PU issues is not what i was expecting, obviously these same problems were the cause of the reliability issues we seen in barcelona

[jumpingfish]

Most likely, this is a complex of problems: the loss of balance + partly engine overheating due to tight layout + safe mode + did not find the key to the tires, all this gives such a big 1 minute lag in the race and misunderstanding of the true cause of poor speed (if they are not for media pretend to be fools, supposedly do not know)

[timbo]

People are talking about deployment issues, but could it also be harvesting issues due to less extreme braking situations at this track?

I thought there was a harvesting problem indeed, since they were loosing time under braking.

[jumpingfish]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyIkzgRkKD8

Remember those qualifying attempts on preseason testing.. Let's close eyes for "it is testings" , "nobody knows fuel level" etc.
Seb was slower on third sector. Someone said Ham could save his tyres for pushing on S3 and gain an advantage there (0.202sec). But what if this is was early sign that Ferrari has problems with slowspeed corners?

[F1NAC]

https://i.imgur.com/r9zafFI.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyIkzgRkKD8

Remember those qualifying attempts on preseason testing.. Let's close eyes for "it is testings" , "nobody knows fuel level" etc.
Seb was slower on third sector. Someone said Ham could save his tyres for pushing on S3 and gain an advantage there (0.202sec). But what if this is was early sign that Ferrari has problems with slowspeed corners?

Didn't Seb do better S3 time in another run?

[GPR-A]

https://i.imgur.com/r9zafFI.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyIkzgRkKD8

Remember those qualifying attempts on preseason testing.. Let's close eyes for "it is testings" , "nobody knows fuel level" etc.
Seb was slower on third sector. Someone said Ham could save his tyres for pushing on S3 and gain an advantage there (0.202sec). But what if this is was early sign that Ferrari has problems with slowspeed corners?

Vettel improved by 6 tenths in S3, over his 2018 S3 time in qualifying. He did 32.691 in 2018 and 32.034 in 2019. It's not that, they have lost the performance.

[jumpingfish]

https://i.imgur.com/r9zafFI.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyIkzgRkKD8

Remember those qualifying attempts on preseason testing.. Let's close eyes for "it is testings" , "nobody knows fuel level" etc.
Seb was slower on third sector. Someone said Ham could save his tyres for pushing on S3 and gain an advantage there (0.202sec). But what if this is was early sign that Ferrari has problems with slowspeed corners?

Didn't Seb do better S3 time in another run?

I can't remember all his runs but on video comparison Vettel was ahead of Ham before last corners but lost his advantage in the end

[jumpingfish]

https://i.imgur.com/r9zafFI.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyIkzgRkKD8

Remember those qualifying attempts on preseason testing.. Let's close eyes for "it is testings" , "nobody knows fuel level" etc.
Seb was slower on third sector. Someone said Ham could save his tyres for pushing on S3 and gain an advantage there (0.202sec). But what if this is was early sign that Ferrari has problems with slowspeed corners?

Vettel improved by 6 tenths in S3, over his 2018 S3 time in qualifying. He did 32.691 in 2018 and 32.034 in 2019. It's not that, they have lost the performance.

https://i.screenshot.net/4m41wu8

https://i.screenshot.net/y4xj6sj

I mean Barcelona circuit on preseason 2019 testings and comparison between Vet and Ham on their fastest laps..

[munudeges]

Utterly baffled how they can have problems like that now. If they have problems at that race there are obviously several others where things will be even worse. Cooling issues at this track which should be well known just makes no sense. Could be problems with the PU, they could also be trying to preserve some reliability [probably unlikely] or they could have fallen foul of some FIA loophole they were using before. If it's happening to other teams, the plot thickens.

The FIA had certainly cracked down on something last year after their battery system was questioned which meant they fell away from the championship completely, along with just being poor generally. It almost felt like the team had given up after that. It was quite bizarre. One thing is for certain, they're not going to get anything past Mercedes. Everyone else are really home garage operations next to their engine outfit. If, hypothetically, this is the case one wonders how much of the PU Ferrari might have to change physically.

If their PU does turn out to have been built on a foundation of loopholes there is one man with a very clear target on his head on that one. Absolutely incredible.

[Espresso]

https://i.imgur.com/r9zafFI.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyIkzgRkKD8

Remember those qualifying attempts on preseason testing.. Let's close eyes for "it is testings" , "nobody knows fuel level" etc.
Seb was slower on third sector. Someone said Ham could save his tyres for pushing on S3 and gain an advantage there (0.202sec). But what if this is was early sign that Ferrari has problems with slowspeed corners?

Vettel improved by 6 tenths in S3, over his 2018 S3 time in qualifying. He did 32.691 in 2018 and 32.034 in 2019. It's not that, they have lost the performance.

https://i.screenshot.net/4m41wu8

https://i.screenshot.net/y4xj6sj

I mean Barcelona circuit on preseason 2019 testings and comparison between Vet and Ham on their fastest laps..

Apart from the electrical problem which handicapped Seb, resulting in almost not being able to use mode 1. LeClercs race speed shows the car still has what it needs.

Focusing on balance and stability I think crucial difference is last season the 'overnight test drivers team en factory engineers'.
That resulted in some setup changes that 'suddenly' improved Ferrari's performance on Saturday.
It was great Ferrari could optimize the car overnight to any track in any weather condition.
That part of the team was valuable, outperforming any other competitor team.

Looks to me that's the missing link this year. Giovinazzi and Kvyat moved out, replacement not giving quality feedback.

[djones]

Utterly baffled how they can have problems like that now. If they have problems at that race there are obviously several others where things will be even worse. Cooling issues at this track which should be well known just makes no sense. Could be problems with the PU, they could also be trying to preserve some reliability [probably unlikely] or they could have fallen foul of some FIA loophole they were using before. If it's happening to other teams, the plot thickens.

The FIA had certainly cracked down on something last year after their battery system was questioned which meant they fell away from the championship completely, along with just being poor generally. It almost felt like the team had given up after that. It was quite bizarre. One thing is for certain, they're not going to get anything past Mercedes. Everyone else are really home garage operations next to their engine outfit. If, hypothetically, this is the case one wonders how much of the PU Ferrari might have to change physically.

If their PU does turn out to have been built on a foundation of loopholes there is one man with a very clear target on his head on that one. Absolutely incredible.

I agree with this totally. And I think a lot of people underestimate how much advantage the loophole last year gave them in pace. Without the loophole on the battery side of things, the PU was noticeably behind Mercedes in my opinion.

That weak (relatively speaking) PU is now what they have to live with this season. So they have to totally rely on the chassis and aero making up the pace... just like Redbull have had to do in the hybrid era.

Maybe this pushed them into a gamble on the aero side of things (i.e. the front wing concept). If the recent BBC news article is correct then this was the wrong direction and limits development.

I would not be surprised to see a spec-b at some stage with more conventional front wing.