Everyone at Scuderia Ferrari knows that the 2015 F1 season will be hard for them as they will try to catch up with frontrunners Mercedes, who have dominated the last season.
Right after its end, Ferrari parent company FCA’s CEO Sergio Marchionne appointed a new principal, Maurizio Arrivabene, who reorganized the team, replacing a lot of key people that have failed in their mission to create a competitive car.
Now, Gazzetta dello Sport reports that the Scuderia has made two moves, which may help raise its game considerably.
First, they have decided to invest €40 million (US$47 million) on a dynamic platform that will enable in-factory testing of the whole car-engine package. This will, hopefully, allow the team to make up for the limited on-track testing imposed on all teams by the FIA.
This platform will be developed in collaboration with Austrian company AVL that, strangely enough, has close ties with rival Red Bull Racing. In any case, the platform will be housed in a special building and be connected to a driver simulator.
The second breakthrough is finding a loophole in the regulations concerning the engine freeze. It was Ferrari’s technical director James Allison who found that the FIA had not stipulated a homologation deadline, thus allowing for manufacturers to spread their allotted development time throughout the whole season instead of a set pre-season deadline. This, of course, also applies for all engine suppliers, i.e. Mercedes, Renault and Honda.
“Ferrari consists of 1,000 people who want to win”, Marchionne told the Italian newspaper. “We have already achieved a good result by being able to make changes to the engines. I consider that an accomplishment.”
Ferrari also announced that its new F1 car will be launched on Friday, January 30, on the company’s website and social platforms.
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