First Barcelona Test 21st-24th Feb 2012 - news and pics

[Gerhard Berger]

Well, it is what it is at this stage.

Makes you wonder if producing a radical car was the right way to go.

[Rosso Corsa]

He's been correct on far too many occasions for me to believe that he's making things up, but the comment about a Ferrari victory in Melbourne being unlikely is just his opinion. ...[/URL]

He seems to be correct so often because what he says is so ambiguous. It's the art of horoscope writing, nothing more. And nobody believes horoscopes (do they????).

[Kyss4k]

Makes you wonder if producing a radical car was the right way to go.

It was.

[Ferrari2183]

Makes you wonder if producing a radical car was the right way to go.

I think it was but it might not pay dividends this season. That's ok though.

[Jose Lorca]

Makes you wonder if producing a radical car was the right way to go.

Well the alternative was evolving the F150 and still being 3rd fastest, several tenths behind Red Bull. The only way to take Newey down is to take an aggressive approach to car design.

He seems to be correct so often because what he says is so ambiguous. It's the art of horoscope writing, nothing more. And nobody believes horoscopes (do they????).

Not really - he's been very specific about some things - and correct about those things.

[Fer12]

Makes you wonder if producing a radical car was the right way to go.

Ferrari is laying the foundation work for the future...
With so many new recruits this year its always takes time to get things running smoothly...
To build a completely NEW car from scratch in 6 months n get it to the stage we are right now can only be done by FERRARI...
when Newey designed the RB5, it took them nearly a season to start winning consistently & our car is way more complicated than theirs ever was..
The glory days of shumi era are coming back...
only now we have a Matador to bring the Bull down...

[FerrariF60]

Not really - he's been very specific about some things - and correct about those things.

really??? you think so?? i think is a bunch of crap he's making up, wanting us to believe...
if he's so RIGHT, where is that Rory Byrne floor he's been talking about ever since the launch of the car that's supposed to be made up of very light composite materials and supposedly give us 4 TENTHS of a second or more in combination with a special diffuser??? HUGH?? where the F*** is it?? is it EVER going to show up?? is it going to show uup at this last test in BCN?? or was it just another fantasy of this JOSE F*** LUIS....that he KEEPS dreaming every now and again???


personally like i said, i won't be listening to any of these rumors, tweets, etc....unless it comes straight from Ferrari people themselves, and i'm quietly waiting for us to show up in OZ and show everyone what we're made of....AMIN!!!

[Gerhard Berger]

I do agree with your points, but it's just when you look at what happened in Silverstone with the limited off throttle blowing, then one might think an evolved F150 (without the tyre heat up problems) could have been strong and up there with the Red Bull.

[FerrariF60]

Ferrari is laying the foundation work for the future...
With so many new recruits this year its always takes time to get things running smoothly...
To build a completely NEW car from scratch in 6 months n get it to the stage we are right now can only be done by FERRARI...
when Newey designed the RB5, it took them nearly a season to start winning consistently & our car is way more complicated than theirs ever was..
The glory days of shumi era are coming back...
only now we have a Matador to bring the Bull down...

VERY WELL said, i could not have put it any better myself

FERRARI will take the fight to Red Fools, and will do that in such a way that it will surprise everyone...

[chandran2313]

VERY WELL said, i could not have put it any better myself

FERRARI will take the fight to Red Fools, and will do that in such a way that it will surprise everyone...

+1

[Jose Lorca]

really??? you think so?? i think is a bunch of crap he's making up, wanting us to believe...
if he's so RIGHT, where is that Rory Byrne floor he's been talking about ever since the launch of the car that's supposed to be made up of very light composite materials and supposedly give us 4 TENTHS of a second or more in combination with a special diffuser??? HUGH?? where the F*** is it?? is it EVER going to show up?? is it going to show uup at this last test in BCN?? or was it just another fantasy of this JOSE F*** LUIS....that he KEEPS dreaming every now and again???

Be patient, we haven't tested it yet.

I do agree with your points, but it's just when you look at what happened in Silverstone with the limited off throttle blowing, then one might think an evolved F150 (without the tyre heat up problems) could have been strong and up there with the Red Bull.

Our success in Silverstone was mainly because the RB7 was designed around the exhaust. It wouldn't be the same with the RB8.

[ClaudiuCojo]

We should keep our expectations in check people, the fact that we are Ferrari and have 300 engineers working on the car doesn't mean we will be fastest in Melbourne, other team have equally dedicated and smart people working day & night to win.

The logical conclusion is that we will be 3-rd fastest in Australia, the only question is by how much.

[Grillo]

I do agree with your points, but it's just when you look at what happened in Silverstone with the limited off throttle blowing, then one might think an evolved F150 (without the tyre heat up problems) could have been strong and up there with the Red Bull.

I agree with you but this season Red Bull and McLaren won't have the problems they had in Silverstone last season. If F2012 is a good design it will be easier to evolve the car through out the season further up than an evolved F150.

[FrankAlfa]

LOL, all these "Monday Morning Quarterbacks". The team has hired six or seven highly regarded Engineers over the past year, not droves of new people! Please, it is wrong to say Ferrari is much different than before because they are not. The big changes have been the direction of Pat Fry to have the team approach problems and using faster processes to design and develop the race car. Rory Byrne & Nicolas Tombazis are working much more closely and innovatively to reach further for much higher goals then Aldo Costa ever did during the last few years. Ferrari have strengthened the Wind Tunnel personnel by put a new leader in charge. I think the biggest improvement at Ferrari has been Pat Fry's directing the Engineering Staff to reach for much higher goals and to work on multiple solutions at the same time. The other hires in Stratagy and Composite Construction are key areas for Ferrari to have greater depth and only improve the ability for the Ferrari Team to develop the car even faster than before. It is about Ferrari being at the zenith of the design curve and staying there. Ferrari have produced a very complex car and they have a very deep, well seasoned team of Engineers to design and build the race car. When you add two, excellent drivers to pilot this new tool and the chances of winning are much better than before.

Ciao.

Forza Ferrari!!!!

[Gerhard Berger]

Incase people are worried about people writing off Ferrari, here is what Sam Michael said last year after the penultimate test in Barcelona:

Very subjectively, I'd say you've got Ferrari and then Red Bull at the front at least four tenths faster than anyone else, then I think you've got a pack which is Renault, Toro Rosso, Williams and even Sauber, then another three or four tenths back to Mercedes and McLaren, then another step back to the new teams. That's definitely what the picture was in Barcelona.

It tells you everything you need to know about predictions based on pre season testing.

[snoopy]

According to some analysis of the lap times on day 4 specifically the afternoon runs, the changes made by ferrari at lunch time made a big impact. enough to make it the second quickest car behind redbull. Lets hope the updates for the next test close the gap.

http://www.circusf1.com/2012/02/la-v...a-red-bull.php

[chandran2313]

According to some analysis of the lap times on day 4 specifically the afternoon runs, the changes made by ferrari at lunch time made a big impact. enough to make it the second quickest car behind redbull. Lets hope the updates for the next test close the gap.

http://www.circusf1.com/2012/02/la-v...a-red-bull.php

After reading the above link, I am going to have a good night sleep. I am not going to think too much any more. Just wait until Australia quali!
Forza Ferrari
Good luck to all of us!

[Nova]

Predictions are just that...they dont mean anything...
No one will really know until after 3 races, mabey 4.
One thing is for sure, we're ether going to win..or we aint

[FrankAlfa]

I think Sam Michael is the only person I have read that puts Ferrari in front with Red Bull! This is EXACTLY what I wrote earlier today. There seems to be a strong underlying feeling by the other teams that Ferrari are VERY FAST. This may be why Red Bull asked Ferrari to share the track with them at the next test session? Ferrari have created something much different from the other teams this year and we may see that the "carry over" designed cars from last year are a bit behind based on the new rules without the EBD. I think McLaren & Red Bull are at the front with Ferrari but this last test session is very important for Ferrari to move their car one step further and strongly eclipes both of the last year leaders. The Floor is the key!

Ciao.

Forza Ferrari!!!!

[Agasthya]

I think Sam Michael is the only person I have read that puts Ferrari in front with Red Bull! This is EXACTLY what I wrote earlier today. There seems to be a strong underlying feeling by the other teams that Ferrari are VERY FAST. This may be why Red Bull asked Ferrari to share the track with them at the next test session? Ferrari have created something much different from the other teams this year and we may see that the "carry over" designed cars from last year are a bit behind based on the new rules without the EBD. I think McLaren & Red Bull are at the front with Ferrari but this last test session is very important for Ferrari to move their car one step further and strongly eclipes both of the last year leaders. The Floor is the key!

Ciao.

Forza Ferrari!!!!

That was a Sam Michael quote from last year.

[FIAT PALIO]

Incase people are worried about people writing off Ferrari, here is what Sam Michael said last year after the penultimate test in Barcelona:



It tells you everything you need to know about predictions based on pre season testing.

Everybody knows Ferrari is sandbagging big time.........they know they got a rocket to take the bull by its horn.

[Grillo]

I would not take those reports too seriously, either good or bad.

Remeber:

When the flag drops the BS stops.

That's always like this.

[Fer12]

Everybody knows Ferrari is sandbagging big time.........they know they got a rocket to take the bull by its horn.

We do have a good car,but i doubt we wil be on the same pace as red bull from the word go...few races down the line, Newey will be getting some serious Ass whopping..

[gazoz]

We do have a good car,but i doubt we wil be on the same pace as red bull from the word go...few races down the line, Newey will be getting some serious Ass whopping..

i actually think Ferrari is a lot stronger than they have shown maybe even on par with RB but they are still exploring where RB have a quick car already which doesn't need fine tuning like Ferrari, so the only reason i see RB as ahead is because there is a lot of unknown with Ferraris racer , we will soon see so all theories and predictions mean nothing

[FIAT PALIO]

We do have a good car,but i doubt we wil be on the same pace as red bull from the word go...few races down the line, Newey will be getting some serious Ass whopping..

If they have Newey ...........then we have Rory....

[medeni73]

really??? you think so?? i think is a bunch of crap he's making up, wanting us to believe...
if he's so RIGHT, where is that Rory Byrne floor he's been talking about ever since the launch of the car that's supposed to be made up of very light composite materials and supposedly give us 4 TENTHS of a second or more in combination with a special diffuser??? HUGH?? where the F*** is it?? is it EVER going to show up?? is it going to show uup at this last test in BCN?? or was it just another fantasy of this JOSE F*** LUIS....that he KEEPS dreaming every now and again???


personally like i said, i won't be listening to any of these rumors, tweets, etc....unless it comes straight from Ferrari people themselves, and i'm quietly waiting for us to show up in OZ and show everyone what we're made of....AMIN!!!

and how do you know the "Byrne floor" WASNT there??? Can you provide us with valid info that Ferrari DIDNT use advanced materials??? Do you expect from Ferrari to go public and say "hey guys look at our giga mega floor that makes the difference! come on copy/paste it!!!"...
so relax, I dont say I believe what this guy says but we dont have any info that tells otherwise too... After all he is just another person on internet like you and me who can write whatever he likes on his tweeter and its up to you how serious you will take his writings, but he isnt obliged at any point to be responsible for his writings and to prove to someone if his writings are true or false, he never said that he's Ferrari official so...
Anyhow my opinion (no I dont have any insider info its just the result of my thought process after reading all kind of informations about Ferrari on test days) is that we will struggle in first 3-4 races and only then we will see if this season will be ours to fight or not....

[Rishu]

[Corey]

Why did we drop the nosehole back in 2008?

[theforce]

I actually feel a lot more comfortable knowing that car has been slowly improved over the past two tests. If we were problem free from day one, then I would be worried.

[rochas]

I agree. This slow improvement might be similar to the process Mclaren went through last year. Besides all the aero improvement at the end of the day the driver must feel comfortable with the car in order to attack and produce good lap times.