Ferrari F2012 Development News Thread

**Corey** · 23rd April 2012, 00:55

Couldn't they have the exhaust right on the floor and start blowing out of that slot (in referral to F10's design)?

**Hornet** · 23rd April 2012, 04:47

Originally Posted by Cathay Pacific

Couldn't they have the exhaust right on the floor and start blowing out of that slot (in referral to F10's design)?

That's what they were all doing last year, which was known as the exhaust blown diffuser (EBD). This year, the FIA wanted to banned that concept completely, so they changed 2 rules. 1 is regarding the engine mapping, and the other is regarding the exhaust placement which no longer allow the team to place the exhaust that low.

**croALOfanclub** · 23rd April 2012, 06:43

This is going to be main topic in the next weeks!

**croALOfanclub** · 23rd April 2012, 07:03

http://www.myweather2.com/Motor-Raci...it.aspx?sday=7

Mugello weather from May1

**medeni73** · 23rd April 2012, 08:08

Can someone with spanish language skills confirm this translation of Alonsos words
http://www.as.com/motor/articulo/esp...asdaimot_2/Tes

"Cuánto podemos mejorar en Barcelona? Ya dije que podría ser una décima, dos, una y media, pero también es posible que estemos en la misma situación que hasta ahora. Veremos..."

"How can we improve in Barcelona? I said it could be one tenth, two, one and a half, but we may be in the same situation as before. We will see ..."

Well if he expects just max 2 tenths from updates then its "good night Ferrari" for this season, we can pack our things and start looking for good TV subscriptions for season 2013....

**Hornet** · 23rd April 2012, 10:20

Originally Posted by croALOfanclub

http://www.myweather2.com/Motor-Raci...it.aspx?sday=7

Mugello weather from May1

I'm going into a fit of rage if it rains there when we're in dire need of testing the new parts

Ferrari is providing the circuit for free right? Maybe they should postpone any day that rains or something

. This is so important.

T van R · 23rd April 2012, 11:01

Originally Posted by Hornet

I'm going into a fit of rage if it rains there when we're in dire need of testing the new parts

Ferrari is providing the circuit for free right? Maybe they should postpone any day that rains or something

. This is so important.

As i always see in yahoo weather forecast site, extended forecasts (more than 4 days) are not accurate. Even often yahoo weather forecasts change every moment. So these forecasts are based on extended forecasts & they are not accurate & they will change because the weather in earth is always changing. It is too soon to judge if it is going to rain in Mugello on 1,2,3 may or not.

**Hornet** · 23rd April 2012, 11:36

Originally Posted by T van R

As i always see in yahoo weather forecast site, extended forecasts (more than 4 days) are not accurate. Even often yahoo weather forecasts change every moment. So these forecasts are based on extended forecasts & they are not accurate & they will change because the weather in earth is always changing. It is too soon to judge if it is going to rain in Mugello on 1,2,3 may or not.

True, I certainly hope its not accurate. What worried me is that they forecast all 3 days to have rain. Even if just 1 day is correct, it would take away precious testing time... I certainly hope all 3 days are wrong.

**anialonso** · 23rd April 2012, 13:57

Originally Posted by medeni73

Well if he expects just max 2 tenths from updates then its "good night Ferrari" for this season, we can pack our things and start looking for good TV subscriptions for season 2013....

In China with a normal updates they made 0.3 gain in laptime..
I am definetly sure that the package in spain should be worth more than that..
moreover if they sort the exhaust issue that will help a lot in overall performance

**anialonso** · 23rd April 2012, 13:58

Stefano Believes Ferrari targeting podiums on return to Europe

http://en.espnf1.com/ferrari/motorsp...ory/76879.html

**Greig** · 23rd April 2012, 13:59

If we can sort out the traction it will give us a whole chunk of lap time.

**anialonso** · 23rd April 2012, 14:00

hey guys,need some info..
if we are going to see the major upgrade at spain then are we going to only test the exhaust at mugello..
wouldn't it be nice to test the upgrades at the test itself and fine tune them for spain..

**anialonso** · 23rd April 2012, 14:01

Originally Posted by Greig

If we can sort out the traction it will give us a whole chunk of lap time.

The new exhaust might solve that problem..

**F2002** · 23rd April 2012, 14:03

Originally Posted by anialonso

Stefano Believes Ferrari targeting podiums on return to Europe

http://en.espnf1.com/ferrari/motorsp...ory/76879.html

If he wants the championship for real, the target should be pole positions and race wins, not "podiums".

Or is he preparing us for more bad news?

**Greig** · 23rd April 2012, 14:05

Podiums include race wins

**F2002** · 23rd April 2012, 14:08

Originally Posted by Greig

Podiums include race wins

True.

Domenicali has a habit of using the word to mean something other than race wins, maybe some us have become too skeptical about him.

**scuderiafan** · 23rd April 2012, 17:59

Originally Posted by anialonso

hey guys,need some info..
if we are going to see the major upgrade at spain then are we going to only test the exhaust at mugello..
wouldn't it be nice to test the upgrades at the test itself and fine tune them for spain..

I think they will test as much as they can at Mugello, but they will be making pieces and whatnot all the way until Barca, and test those there.
Edit: here you go.
http://www.ferrari.com/English/Formu...de-Europe.aspx

**AvantiAlonsoWDC** · 23rd April 2012, 20:13

Originally Posted by anialonso

The new exhaust might solve that problem..

Are we giving up on the initial exhaust concept and only focusing on Sauber-like exhausts?
I have the impression that we'll use the test to compare both exhaust configurations and finally choose. Hopefully improved acer ducts will work and solve our problems ...

**Crucial_Xtreme** · 23rd April 2012, 23:36

Originally Posted by AvantiAlonsoWDC

Are we giving up on the initial exhaust concept and only focusing on Sauber-like exhausts?
I have the impression that we'll use the test to compare both exhaust configurations and finally choose. Hopefully improved acer ducts will work and solve our problems ...

The last word from Domenicali was they were still working on the original solution but wouldn't be able to test it until Mugello. As for the other updates, we must remember there is one update for Mugello. There is another for Barcelona. If those work as intended, there is another evolution in Canada. It's a 3 part upgrade. I'd venture to say there will be more than just exhaust in Mugello, but there will be more in the pipeline that won't be ready until Spain. Which is fine, I don't mind the team taking all available time to get the car right. We just need the Mugello test to go as planned and work as expected.

**Hornet** · 24th April 2012, 05:54

Originally Posted by F2002

True.

Domenicali has a habit of using the word to mean something other than race wins, maybe some us have become too skeptical about him.

I don't blame you. Stefano is sometimes a very cryptic person. Last year he said 2011 will be the last disappointing season for Ferrari. He probably meant something else.

Just kidding. Don't kill me.

**stefa** · 24th April 2012, 06:46

Originally Posted by medeni73

Can someone with spanish language skills confirm this translation of Alonsos words
http://www.as.com/motor/articulo/esp...asdaimot_2/Tes

"Cuánto podemos mejorar en Barcelona? Ya dije que podría ser una décima, dos, una y media, pero también es posible que estemos en la misma situación que hasta ahora. Veremos..."

"How can we improve in Barcelona? I said it could be one tenth, two, one and a half, but we may be in the same situation as before. We will see ..."

Well if he expects just max 2 tenths from updates then its "good night Ferrari" for this season, we can pack our things and start looking for good TV subscriptions for season 2013....

This is so no good... It is not that I am playing smart now, but I was also thinking how can just 0.3 sec will help us?! We need at least 1 sec! If these are really FA words, thank we can kiss this season good buy, and start working on F2013. But this time with people who can actually know how to build race car.

**anupa2k** · 24th April 2012, 07:35

can any one tell me why didn`t Ferrari use the same approach as that of Redbull when redbull tested with two different exhaust configurations at shanghai.
I thought Ferrari will do the same at Bahrain so that they can have clear..if not atleast a direction in terms of further development and this would have helped them at Mugello also...

**croALOfanclub** · 24th April 2012, 07:52

Originally Posted by anupa2k

can any one tell me why didn`t Ferrari use the same approach as that of Redbull when redbull tested with two different exhaust configurations at shanghai.
I thought Ferrari will do the same at Bahrain so that they can have clear..if not atleast a direction in terms of further development and this would have helped them at Mugello also...

because the arrangement in inside the sidepods(radiators...) are different and would not allowed to run RB,Sauber style exhaust until modified internals!

**croALOfanclub** · 24th April 2012, 08:02

Originally Posted by stefa

This is so no good... It is not that I am playing smart now, but I was also thinking how can just 0.3 sec will help us?! We need at least 1 sec! If these are really FA words, thank we can kiss this season good buy, and start working on F2013. But this time with people who can actually know how to build race car.

the gain that will be provided by the Mugello/Barcelona updates can not be characterized whit accurate number like 0.3 or 0.2,because in theory whit a working exhaust that is still crucial for rear downforce it could allowed team to work whit a wider range of set-up such as softer rear suspension stiffnes that allows better traction and whit better traction out of slow corners you have better top speed at the straights!
So the gain from exhaust may well be around 0,3 but whit set-up options you then have,it could also be 1 second!

edit:word is Ferrari is currently running very stiff rear end whit lover rake due to poorly working exhaust!

**Greig** · 24th April 2012, 09:35

In wake of Ferrari technical director Pat Fry’s recent frank assessment of the urgent need to change the “methodologies” used at the team in order to become successful again, Stefano Domenicali has now confirmed the process of making such deep-seated change is firmly underway – although stressed it would be a long-term project.

Ferrari’s disappointing start to the season, which has happened despite a change in design philosophy for 2012, appears to have crystallised for the Maranello hierarchy the need to overhaul its fundamental approach to designing and developing F1 cars. Speaking on Monday, Domenicali, Ferrari’s team principal, said the plan was to make root and branch changes to the working practices at the team and confirmed that president Luca di Montezemolo was taking a key active role in the process such is its importance to the outfit’s future.

“We are intensifying the process of changing our working procedures in all areas and, at the same time, we are strengthening our efforts in areas where we are weakest, such as aerodynamics,” he said on Monday night. “It’s a long term project and one that President Montezemolo is studying at first hand and it is vital to the future of the Scuderia. Formula 1 has changed so much these past few years and we have not always been up to speed with these changes. In this area too we need to step up a gear.”

Fry had already pinpointed the aerodynamics department as a pivotal area for improvement after being left trailing by Red Bull in particular in recent years and on the eve of the Bahrain GP weekend it was revealed that well-respected former RBR, McLaren and Benetton aerodynamicist Ben Agathangelou was joining the team from Marussia. But although Ferrari is thinking long-term in a bid to return to world championship-winning ways, the team is also working hard to improve its more immediate competitiveness after a difficult start to the season with the F2012.

With teams having another full two weeks of development time ahead of them prior to the start of the European season at Barcelona – including the first in-season test for three years at Mugello next week – Domenicali admits it is a crucial fortnight for Ferrari. However, he suggested that not every update currently planned to feature in Spain might be ready to roll out on the track at next week’s test in Italy.

“The coming days will be very important, during which the primary objective will be to push as hard as possible on the development of the car: next week we have three days of testing at Mugello, but it’s not definite that all the updates planned for Barcelona will be seen then,” the Italian said. “We must try and make the most of every minute available to us to increase the performance of the F2012.”

However, while Ferrari’s employees have returned to Europe knowing they have much work ahead of them, the situation has been put into perspective by the tragic news that reached the team in Bahrain on Sunday that a 32-year-old employee who worked in the gearbox department at Maranello, Matteo Vignali, had died of a heart attack that morning.

Following Sunday’s race Domenicali admitted the team were in a “state of dismay” and tonight Ferrari added: “After such a long time away, it’s good to be home and back with one’s nearest and dearest: it is all the more appreciated at this time of sadness at the death of a colleague and in many cases a friend, Matteo Vignali, who passed away suddenly yesterday morning. There were few dry eyes at the Sakhir track yesterday nor in Maranello today at the factory and many will be in Sestola tomorrow afternoon to say a final farewell to Matteo.”

http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2012/0...tandard-again/

- Seems that maybe we have lost focus a little and while Luca Di has been talking about too much aero in F1 these days we have not worked to improve our aero department.

**Hornet** · 24th April 2012, 10:06

Originally Posted by anupa2k

can any one tell me why didn`t Ferrari use the same approach as that of Redbull when redbull tested with two different exhaust configurations at shanghai.
I thought Ferrari will do the same at Bahrain so that they can have clear..if not atleast a direction in terms of further development and this would have helped them at Mugello also...

Red Bull had that downwash sidepod design since the last week of winter testing, so its just a matter of bringing it to Shanghai, and in Bahrain, they simply close the gap at the bottom.

Something tells me that Ferrari will redesign their sidepod, perhaps as far as removing the acer duct, which is why we won't have that new parts until next week test.

**Fiondella** · 24th April 2012, 10:32

Originally Posted by Greig

In wake of Ferrari technical director Pat Fry’s recent frank assessment of the urgent need to change the “methodologies” used at the team in order to become successful again, Stefano Domenicali has now confirmed the process of making such deep-seated change is firmly underway – although stressed it would be a long-term project.

Ferrari’s disappointing start to the season, which has happened despite a change in design philosophy for 2012, appears to have crystallised for the Maranello hierarchy the need to overhaul its fundamental approach to designing and developing F1 cars. Speaking on Monday, Domenicali, Ferrari’s team principal, said the plan was to make root and branch changes to the working practices at the team and confirmed that president Luca di Montezemolo was taking a key active role in the process such is its importance to the outfit’s future.

“We are intensifying the process of changing our working procedures in all areas and, at the same time, we are strengthening our efforts in areas where we are weakest, such as aerodynamics,” he said on Monday night. “It’s a long term project and one that President Montezemolo is studying at first hand and it is vital to the future of the Scuderia. Formula 1 has changed so much these past few years and we have not always been up to speed with these changes. In this area too we need to step up a gear.”

Fry had already pinpointed the aerodynamics department as a pivotal area for improvement after being left trailing by Red Bull in particular in recent years and on the eve of the Bahrain GP weekend it was revealed that well-respected former RBR, McLaren and Benetton aerodynamicist Ben Agathangelou was joining the team from Marussia. But although Ferrari is thinking long-term in a bid to return to world championship-winning ways, the team is also working hard to improve its more immediate competitiveness after a difficult start to the season with the F2012.

With teams having another full two weeks of development time ahead of them prior to the start of the European season at Barcelona – including the first in-season test for three years at Mugello next week – Domenicali admits it is a crucial fortnight for Ferrari. However, he suggested that not every update currently planned to feature in Spain might be ready to roll out on the track at next week’s test in Italy.

“The coming days will be very important, during which the primary objective will be to push as hard as possible on the development of the car: next week we have three days of testing at Mugello, but it’s not definite that all the updates planned for Barcelona will be seen then,” the Italian said. “We must try and make the most of every minute available to us to increase the performance of the F2012.”

However, while Ferrari’s employees have returned to Europe knowing they have much work ahead of them, the situation has been put into perspective by the tragic news that reached the team in Bahrain on Sunday that a 32-year-old employee who worked in the gearbox department at Maranello, Matteo Vignali, had died of a heart attack that morning.

Following Sunday’s race Domenicali admitted the team were in a “state of dismay” and tonight Ferrari added: “After such a long time away, it’s good to be home and back with one’s nearest and dearest: it is all the more appreciated at this time of sadness at the death of a colleague and in many cases a friend, Matteo Vignali, who passed away suddenly yesterday morning. There were few dry eyes at the Sakhir track yesterday nor in Maranello today at the factory and many will be in Sestola tomorrow afternoon to say a final farewell to Matteo.”

http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2012/0...tandard-again/

- Seems that maybe we have lost focus a little and while Luca Di has been talking about too much aero in F1 these days we have not worked to improve our aero department.

Shocking news and oh so young. Condolences to Matteo's family at this very sad time. RIP