Scuderia Ferrari, the only team to be present in Formula 1 since its inaugural season in 1950, begins each year with the goal to win the Drivers’ and Constructors’ championship. Anything else, like last year’s third place behind Red Bull and McLaren, is considered a failure.
In the second official test of the year, which was held at Barcelona, Fernando Alonso posted the second fastest time at the end of the final day. This bodes well for the brand-new F2012 and the Scuderia’s chances of attaining its goals, right?
Well, the answer is “no”, at least according to the team’s technical director Pat Fry: “We are disappointed with the performance level seen at these tests and I think we have a lot of work ahead of us”, he said.
That’s quite a surprise, not only because of Alonso’s time, but also due to the fact that Ferrari had focused on developing its 2012 car since last August, when it gave up fighting for last year’s titles.
Fry, though, believes that even a podium finish at the first race of the season is, at this point, impossible. “In the hunt for the podium in Melbourne? At the moment I’d say no”, he replied when asked about the new car’s performance.
Though the times posted at the pre-season tests are not necessarily revealing about a car’s true performance, Fry is quite candid about what needs to be done.
“We must improve the level of aerodynamic downforce on the car”, he commented, adding that last week’s decision to change the design of the exhausts meant the team “took a few steps backwards”.
Don’t write Ferrari off as a contender for this season just yet, however. The team’s technical director believes that, despite the changes imposed by FIA on the design of the 2012 cars, reverting to the previous exhaust design, working on new parts (like all teams) and try to raise the game on time for the 2012 season premiere on March 18 in Melbourne.
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