what's wrong with ferrari??

[-shr3d-]

hey all,

yeah i think ferrari will admit now that while the 2003GA is better than last years car, it hasnt had quite the performance increase that we saw from 2001 to 2002 but it is a study in diminishing returns as they say...

also notable that Mclaren thought it was going to be a big step as well as they pushed for a quantum leap with the MP-18 which has proved to be one step too far...

as for the thoughts of whether it is better to still be racing the F2002, i think Mclaren are the best illustration on this in that whilst the MP-17D is still fairly competitive, they seem to have developed it to its maximum and arent quite at a race winning pace now...
lets hope they find something else in time for the US gp or it shall be a 2 horse race...

[Panikos]

A couple of thoughts from watching Monza

1. Ferrari carries equal if not better engine vs Williams
2. Engine can take max stress for longer periods vs the Williams (I hope)
3. Williams know that they have the upper hand in Indi and Suzuka
4. Michelin has not optimised revised tyre - TOYOTA - RENAULT - WILLIAMS

[Steven]

well I'd like to make some remarks about that Panikos...

I really doubt that Ferrari is a better engine than the current BMW. In my opinion it is only the chassis that makes the difference, where as far as I can imagine by the shape of the car, the Ferrari has a lower drag coefficient, this needing a little less power to reach top speeds.

Second, I was fearing the whole GP that Monty's engine would break, but fortunately it didn't. I think they have now proven that the engine is as reliable as Ferrari's

And to close up here... for the tyres, Montoya already said he is happy with the new tyres, that Michelin did a good job, but that there was simply not enough time for them to make them all as good. He particularly complained about the difference in performance between his tyres in the second stint and his other race-tyres.
I think if Michelin can produce tyres as efficient as Monty's second race-set, the Schumi win was for sure a one-time event

[-shr3d-]

im with you on the engine front tomba......... although i dont think there is a great deal between them now......as i said in a previous post, jpm himself has said that the BMW motor this year is probably not as strong as last years......wonder if he has changed his mind now that they are winning.....hehe.....
ferrari definitely has a lower drag coefficient and the car was specifically designed with that in mind but note the significant difference in rear wing angle that JPM was running compared to MS and there wasnt a great deal of difference in their top speeds...

the layout of monza is better suited to the bridgestones too with their design brief based around camber thrust which i believe helps when jumping chicanes (correct me if im wrong....i making an slightly educated guess there.. ) whereas the Michelin is designed to maximise the contact patch......perhaps too much.........hehe