Looking at the handling of the Merc, RB and Ferrari it ist clear that there are big gains to be made whereas Merc is largely focussed on smaller elements to extract any additional performance. I don't expect them to be making the same sizeable steps as us given where we are relative to them.
From the on boards either the ICE is way too aggressive with respect to the torque delivery, or the software managing the ERS is very immature in terms of its development and ensuring ERS feeds in gradually.
I am not sure what is causing the sudden increase in torque coming out of the corners, the turbo or the ERS kicking in, but the team would definitely know.
I hope it is the ERS as it would be an easier fix.
Also Ferrari are missing a trick with the MGU-H that Merc have covered and I think this is where we are losing with respect to the top end speed.
Last edited by Ferris; 31st March 2014 at 23:20.
That's a Caterham in front of Kimi. A CATERHAM that has a better top speed and BETTER TRACTION. Look how much he's pulling from Kimi in the traction zones!
A couldn't find an onboard with the Mercs from the race. Kimi is doing 301-303 km/h at the end of straight, anyone has an idea what the other cars are doing?
Rumours are that Ferrari gained 20 HP since Australia, ERS problem possibly solved for next race
Can't believe it's that bad. Caterham with supposedly crap Renault engine? Huh? Shouldn't be able to do that to us even if our wheels were made from wood! Hello luca have a look if you're suffering with hypotension!
Some positive news guys
#Ferrari to bring a F14 T–B only in Spain, little updates in China, but only in Europe the car'll receive a totally new aero package
Also apparently the PU ran at only 60% in aus and 70% in malayasia. Aiming for 80 in china and 100 by Europe.if true I think it's quite positive for once.
Any improvements are good, so I hope it's true, regarding the aero
But I am more worried about our power unit at the moment though. It is said that Merc's power unit is not just more powerful, but it's more drive-able as well hence their advantage even in rain. So here we can see how big a role the PU have this season.
It's limited what the teams can do to improve the PU this season (homologation, same PU for multiple races, etc). Can software changes really account for such a huge difference?
Kimi lost around 10 D/F pts when the tire carcass damaged the underneath of the floor and the diffuser of his car.
As for news regarding B-spec car in Barcelona, i would say thats stretching things a little. Our strength is that the car has moderately high D/F levels when we consider we are yet to exploit central exhaust in aiding upwash, (RW might get updated). I want to see some nice details to floor( which would mean we are adding to the diffuser performance) and FW should be updated at every track so as to optimize it accordingly.
People here scared of our lack of top speed shud remember that our car recorded the highest in speed trap ( 349.6 kmph IIRC) , so whatever testing we were doing , we did figure out the best package for Bahrain in terms of drag/downforce combo.
Loss of traction maybe a consequence of PU as well, sudden torque generation during upshifts may cause wheelspin and hurt taction. Revised engine map will help in that cause.
The basic PU configuration may be homologated, but we can makes 5 changes to their individual components. If there is performance to gain from that, we sure are looking into it for some time.
The fuel flow sensor issue just tickles me. Its apparent that FIA will succumb to the pressure and usurp their Gill-sensor somewhere into the season. Mercs have already bought around 15-16 of this in the market and spent a lot in optimising it. I have no doubt we are working on our mule too.![]()
Last edited by PadGeT; 1st April 2014 at 09:09.
F1 show biz 2016 :
Toto - "Ferrari are a real threat" .... Nico - "Awesome, everything is just awesome" .....Lulu - "Mental strength man, lifestyle man, I'll drive at 400% as ever man".... and then suddenly a wild Bull out of nowhere slams into a Ferrari.
I'm wondering the same thing, Hornet, but the software presumably can't make up for any outright power deficiency compared to Merc and Renault power units. I think Kiwi Nick's observations above appear to be quite correct, the fact that Kimi lost out so much trying to get the power down when following a Caterham is testament to the lack of driveabilty of our car. I would have thought that the software experts out there could advise us one way or the other as to how much difference it can make, and whether we have the right people working on it at Ferrari.
I would find it quite surprising if the PU ran at only 60-70%. It would indicate either a woeful lack of preparation or a very cautious attitude to the start of the season. It's more than possible that this could be down to software reasons (deliberate or otherwise) down to an understanding of how to apply the power through engine maps or any self-imposed limiters.
If true, then perhaps there are some quick gains that can be realised quickly. I'm sure Mercedes are much further ahead in this area and won't be able to replicate the same gains.
I doubt it's 60 or 70% capacity. It's just not going to happen in the world of f1. I don't believe spec b car for Spain either, remember the infamous fersauber back in 2012, or the red flame update on the car which was suppose to change everything. These never came about, and neither would a spec b car.
All Ferrari would and could do is chip away and close the gap slowy. But honestly I don't see this year being any good. You can't close a 1 second game to merc. I love Ferrari, but I'm realistic
Monisha Kaltenborn team boss wanted the position no longer talk nicely : "We still have some catching up in terms of performance. " The Ferrari - driving and being overweight are the largest construction sites . The motor is too heavy, delivers too little power . In addition to a lack of speed on the straight , the problems manifest with loss of time in slow corners .
Yeh but he other teams are not just waiting around either, merc and red bull will get stronger.
"If I was driving for Red Bull [from 2008] probably I would have more championships, but because they were dominating between 2010 and 2014 probably I would never have driven for Ferrari. I am very happy and very proud to drive for Ferrari, all my time there.
http://grandprix247.com/2014/04/01/e...m-june-onward/
Must be an April Fools joke!!!
This is referring to the ERS and not the ICE. So we still haven't ironed out our ERS issues completely yet. It's taking a long time to resolve. This explains why we're down on power. There are significant gains to be made once we solve it but we're moving very slowly but steadily. I hope this cautious approach if it is that doesn't backfire us.
We seem to only be using a fraction of the allowable rev range. Maybe we run out of air volume above the high 11 thousand range, or its a fuel flow problem, but when the RPM stops climbing in 7th gear, the speed will not increase either. Maybe the drag begins to over come the ability of the engine to continue acceleration.
I wonder what the Merc engines are revving to during the race...
Could it be that ERS unit is runned at 70% with purpose? If the ERS power kicks in too aggressively and when used at 100%, it would make the car just uncontrollable.
Or is there some info why the ERS is not at full use, or is it even sure that we don't already take all out from it?
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