Ferrari fans given a boost with Valencia test

Ferrari have given the Tifosi a massive boost after topping the time sheets for all three days at the recent F1 tests in Valencia. The Ferrari F10 at the hands of Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso set the pace as the 2010 season got under way with the opening round of testing. And after a disappointing season in 2009 then the performance in testing has given the Tifosi a massive boost of optimism for the up coming season.

The Valencia tests were always going to be a big event for Ferrari, the debut of the new F10 along with the long awaited return to the cockpit for fans favourite Felipe Massa who suffered injury in Hungary last season as well as the Ferrari debut for new driver Fernando Alonso. It was a great three days for Ferrari fans to see all these things come together, and the Spanish public off course loved it with over 35,000 fans packing the stands on Wednesday to see their national hero drive for Ferrari. Off course there was also the side issue of a certain Michael Schumacher making his debut for the Mercedes team to add that little bit of extra spice to the test session.

However most eyes were on the performance of the Ferrari F10, media rumours started from one source in Italy had spread around the internet suggesting that the F10 was not going to be good enough and that Ferrari had already started plans to replace it with a "B" chassis. However according to James Allen there is no real problem with he F10, but they might well have plans to upgrade the diffuser with a newer design, which would also include a car redesign to work around it, if this is true or not remains to be seen, but the test seemed to suggest there was no major problem with the F10 and that if Ferrari are planning to improve it in such a drastic way then we should be in even better standing.

Felipe Massa was first to take to the wheel of the F10 as he drove on Monday and Tuesday to give the team initial feedback and a good comparison with the Ferrari F60. Massa's initial response was very positive, he stated the car was already much better than the F60 (thankfully) and that the increase in downforce was a great positive. Felipe was to top the times on both days he tested and after the test he was very happy with the way the car is developing and reacting to driver input as well as set up changes and the increased fuel load. Fernando Alonso was to say similar after his opening test on Wednesday, Alonso however was not keen to suggest Ferrari were the quickest, once again he remained cautious to the fact that the new fuel levels makes judging testing times even harder than before. But he was very happy with the car and delighted to have thrilled the fans with such a strong performance.

It is only testing, and it has only been 3 days but 3 days is a long time in F1 especially when you have suffered a season like 2009 so it's natural that the Tifosi feel boosted and are once again full of confidence that 2010 can be a winning year. Ferrari are off course not going to rest on their laurels, nor are the other teams (and Red Bull have yet to show) but the overall feeling coming from the opening test is that the Ferrari F10 is the quickest car at the moment, however it should be noted that Valencia is not a great circuit to test a F1 car on, it does not offer much more than 2nd and 3rd gear corners, so the next test at Jerez should give the teams a much better look at how their car performs. But until then the Tifosi remain confident that things are going in the right direction.