2021 Ferrari F1 Team

[wowgr8]

Nothing from the tests really suggested anyone outside of RB and Mercedes will be out front and Alfa/Haas/Williams towards the back. Everyone in midfield ran similar times and similar race pace programs.

I meant that going off last year if we assume McLaren and Aston Martin are the benchmarks in Class B, nothing Ferrari did in the tests caught the eye and said "Ferrari will be at the front of that group". But it's only testing, I'm not saying Ferrari will be fighting at the bottom of midfield

[f1316]

I think it’s possible “catching the eye” was not their intention. Leclerc’s run on the C3 at the worst part of the day certainly caught my eye but the fact that it was done at the least conducive time for eye-catching times and possibly with a larger than usual rear wing/suboptimal DRS use are also intriguing.

No one’s saying they’re going to win or even compete for the championship, but I’d suggest there’s enough there (coupled with the unusually positive noises coming out of the team) to add intrigue.

[Schippke]

I don't think Ferrari was looking for headline grabbing times, but in saying that I don't think Red Bull were either; For example, I don't expect Alpha Tauri to be right up there with Red Bull come 2 weeks time if the final day of testing is anything to go by.

Regarding Ferrari, my only 2 concerns are Carlos Sainz getting up to speed (not doubting his ability at all) quickly and the strategists on the pitwall. I think the concerns about the PU are hopefully put to rest somewhat after the rest, with all 3 Ferrari powered teams running reliably for the most part (aside from Charles having an issue 10 minutes out of Lunch time Day 1).

Despite the positive test, I'm not expecting miracles. If the rumours of a 30-40hp Power Unit increase are true, then that's definitely a positive... but relative to the rest of the grid it'll potentially equal out somewhat you'd imagine... I think they'll be there as the 4th-6th fastest team for the most part, maybe occasionally fighting for top of the midfield. In saying that, the Midfield looks so close now so a few tenths could truly make the difference now from 5th... down to 16th.

[JPBD1990]

I’m expecting Ferrari to be in the 3rd to 4th window. I’d say best of the rest, but McLaren to look to be back on song. Other than McLaren, nobody else really looked amazing. Of course everyone is looking at AT, but I think they’ll settle back into the mid-mid pack as they always do. AM looked surprisingly bad, but possibly similarly to Mercedes - just keeping everything under wraps to get the headlines come race 1. Would certainly be a sound strategy for a new entrant and a big brand.

Either way, I think Ferrari has moved decisively forward vs last year. I don’t expect anything outrageous - definitely won’t be leading the way or even fighting red bull, but I’d expect the odd podium appearance, and hopefully a good battle with McLaren for best of the rest.

[Vasconia]

I am afraid, from a Ferrari perspective, that Mclaren will be a very hard rival this season as they look very strong and confident. The Mercedes PU will be a boost and aero seems to be very well designed. I don´t what will happen with AM but I expect a great battle between those teams and maybe Alonso with Alpine.

[JPBD1990]

Alpine look in Siberia, IMO. Didn’t see anything of note from them

[Jambier]

I still like what I see with the Ferrari, but not sure that the engine is on level with other, despite good gains

Let's see but for me the battle will be Ferrari vs McLaren for the third place indeed

[wowgr8]

I still like what I see with the Ferrari, but not sure that the engine is on level with other, despite good gains

Let's see but for me the battle will be Ferrari vs McLaren for the third place indeed

I would be completely amazed if the Aston Martin isn't at that level or higher, they get too much Mercedes help to be ignored

[SmOgER]

I still like what I see with the Ferrari, but not sure that the engine is on level with other, despite good gains

Let's see but for me the battle will be Ferrari vs McLaren for the third place indeed

It's hard to say now obviously regarding EPU but judging by the Alfa's (Kimi) laptime it looks encouraging.

[wowgr8]

Do you think it's possible we'll see Ferrari and Alfa be the only teams that better their qualifying times from last year? Especially at the power sensitive tracks

[Schippke]

Do you think it's possible we'll see Ferrari and Alfa be the only teams that better their qualifying times from last year? Especially at the power sensitive tracks

Regarding anything with a Ferrari Power Unit, we should see some noticeable gains at all tracks; Even on the less power sensitive tracks, the drivability of the PU is important and if Ferrari have made the expected strides in that regard too, then they all should be faster everywhere... I'd go as far to say even Haas will have a noticeable improvement in their pace, thanks to the new PU alone irrespective of its rookie driver lineup.

I think we'll see a fair few teams improving their times from last year, though it'll depend on the track. Whilst this years tyres are harder/heavier and the new regulations were put into place to reduce downforce by around 10%... these wizards of engineering will get around a lot of that, if they haven't already. So I reckon on some higher downforce, lower speed tracks (Budapest for example) we mightn't see much of an improvement, if any... but somewhere like Spa and Monza, with lower downforce and more power at their disposal, they might very well all be faster again. Again, I could VERY well be wrong; Just pure speculation.

[Hammerfist]

Binotto on testing so far. He is happy with progres with the PU and the SF21. I don’t think Ferrari can match RB or Merc but third place in 2021 must be the target.

Obviously we know how the engine is running on the dyno," said Binotto in Bahrain.

"When you fit it on the car what you may have a look at on track is the speed and eventually the relative speed to the others.

"When we were here last year in Bahrain for the race and for qualifying we’ve been very slow here on the straights – we didn’t enter into Q3 and we were very distant from pole.

"Now if I look at the first days I think at least on the straights the speed is alright. It doesn’t seem to be such a disadvantage as it was last year."

But the Scuderia boss also pointed to optimized aerodynamics on its new SF21 that have led to progress overall.

"We know it’s not only power, it’s the drag of the car as well – as we often said last year – but let me say that both of them contributed in improving our speed on the straights and today we feel it is not anymore a disadvantage."

So far in pre-season testing, Ferrari hasn't delivered any headline lap times, but Binotto nevertheless underscored the "smooth" sessions enjoyed by the team in Bahrain.

"We knew that with only three days it would be very busy and very intense – it has been very busy and intense," he said. "I think so far it has run smoothly.

"The main priority was certainly to understand the car behaviour, mapping in all the conditions, and that is where we focused our energy. I think so far we collected a lot of data."

I highly doubt Ferrari will be 3rd best team in 2021.

More like 4 or 5.

I have a feeling Ferrari will be the major suprise of 2021. We can't forget that they are the only team that can spend resources similar to Redbull and Mercedes. The power unit has been vastly improved, but people like Carlos Sainz are downplaying it imo. Everyone is downplaying themselves. That is what pre season testing is all about; not show your hand. So I wouldn't expect them to keep languishing in the midfield for too long. I think once the season starts taking shape, it will be clear that Ferrari is back in the big 3.

[Seanspeed]

I have a feeling Ferrari will be the major suprise of 2021. We can't forget that they are the only team that can spend resources similar to Redbull and Mercedes. The power unit has been vastly improved, but people like Carlos Sainz are downplaying it imo. Everyone is downplaying themselves. That is what pre season testing is all about; not show your hand. So I wouldn't expect them to keep languishing in the midfield for too long. I think once the season starts taking shape, it will be clear that Ferrari is back in the big 3.

There is genuinely no evidence to suggest this will be the case, though.

So you're at least accurate in that you say it's just a 'feeling'. Which feels like it may be strongly built on wishful thinking.

[wowgr8]

We are talking about an alchemy that must be sought on every track, but whoever finds it can greatly benefit from the behavior and durability of the tires. It is no coincidence that Ferrari has opted for light rims that tend to reflect heat like Haas, Red Bull and AlphaTauri, while all the other teams (Mercedes, Aston Martin, McLaren, Alpine, Alfa Romeo and Williams) have chosen dark wheels that on the contrary, they tend to retain the temperature, also having rims with embossing that serve to heat the air inside the tires.

Wow I hadn't a clue Ferrari kept the rims silver for heat dissipation purposes, I also hadn't picked up on the fact that the teams who use black rims are also the ones who have the ribbed rims to help absorb heat from the brakes, it's interesting.

[Schippke]

I have a feeling Ferrari will be the major suprise of 2021. We can't forget that they are the only team that can spend resources similar to Redbull and Mercedes. The power unit has been vastly improved, but people like Carlos Sainz are downplaying it imo. Everyone is downplaying themselves. That is what pre season testing is all about; not show your hand. So I wouldn't expect them to keep languishing in the midfield for too long. I think once the season starts taking shape, it will be clear that Ferrari is back in the big 3.

Theres a few contradictions in your statement there! Technically speaking, they have a similar amount of infrastructure as Mercedes and Red Bull, but they're limited by the budget cap with what they can spend... plus a lot of the car is forcibly carried over from last year, with the majority of it locked in for this season. You can bet your bottom dollar that a lot of that money will be going towards 2022, which makes perfect sense since that is their best chance to fight at the front once again.

Regarding the Power Unit, it most likely has improved... but it isn't like Renault, Mercedes and Honda have been sitting still either; Any gains made by Ferrari will be reigned in somewhat by the others. In saying that, if Ferrari were forcibly restricted in anyway last year due to the FIA and whatever their agreement is (that itself is pure speculation that is going around), then they might've been able to close the gap more...

You said so yourself; Everyone is downplaying each other and talking up their competitors in Winter Testing; Sainz is no different. What is positive is that it is a different echo from the team compared to last year, where they were expecting to struggle from the get go... now they seem somewhat more confident of a stronger showing, yet they're till shying away from being able to fight for wins. You're right too in saying pre season testing does include not showing your hand... you think we've seen what Red Bull, McLaren, Aston Martin and especially Mercedes can really do?

If Ferrari start the season as the 3rd best team, I'll genuinely be surprised as much as I am impressed, given the tightness of the regulations for this year... but compared to where they were last year vs. the likes of McLaren, Aston Martin and Renault (Alpine), they effectively were behind them. One thing Ferrari does have going for it is that they can now run the car in the way it was intended to this year, and not have to compromise the whole setup of the car to compensate for the lack of power. That alone should make them more competitive, though will it be enough to overhaul the likes of those that were ahead last year? Potentially... but my feet are firmly on the ground at this stage!