F1, in sporting terms, means suffering: a tormenting condition caused by the dissatisfaction of not being able to hold one’s desires in one’s hands. Failed ambition destroys the mind. But in the silence of one’s self, working with genuine passion, anything is possible. Enzo Ferrari himself used to say that one cannot grow old, as long as they still have goals to reach.
A glimmer
“We have to try to understand. The technical project lives up to expectations, but on a practical level we are still missing something. Squandering the available material would be absurd. On the other hand, we worked very hard “.
Confrontation was necessary. In the GES they knew what to do and the actions in this regard were already under consideration for quite a while.
“I think you are right Mattia. We have everything to win. Not doing so would lead to the umpteenth disappointment that frankly we cannot afford“.
The work inside the Ferrari factory was hectic. Knowing how to act was the first step towards solving the problems. Yet awareness alone was certainly not enough. A little bit more was needed. An element that the others, the Anglo-Austrians, had possessed for some time. An intrinsic feature. An innate one, and damn useful for the mere achievement of the coveted goal.
Spark
That morning the dawn never seemed to arrive. When it did, a dull light filtered softly through the office windows.
“We are an engineer. I think I have the solution in my hands!“
The door swung open, without notice.
“Excuse me for the intrusion. I hope not to disturb. The night produced something really interesting. There are a couple of things that could mitigate the design complexity and solve most of our difficulties.“
The fingers behind his back were crossed, but the decision by which the message was delivered lit a light. Behind the round frame a stricken look asserted. Without saying a word, a nod of the head started operations. Hope was rekindled. Now, it was just about keeping it alive…
4.50 AM
Emerald green had fallen to the ground. A thud accompanied by some off-key note had awakened him. The fright didn’t last long, just long enough to watch the acoustic Takamine lie on the ground. Soon sleep seemed to have exhausted its strength. He was sitting on the bed. He scratched the back of his neck and started thinking about his dream.
Taking advantage of the fresh cognitive ability the conjectures ran fast. Ferrari, what a team…a glorious team…capable of truly epic feats…the history of Formula One…the most loved team.
“It doesn’t win anymore, though”.
The negative concept was there. More realistic than ever. Despite the efforts made, in fact, for several years now the result has always been the same: to lose.
Factual
Ferrari is a consolidated reality. It has grown dramatically in the past decades, so much so as to produce millions of euros despite the scarce verdicts of the track. Sponsors are competing to have a place on the body of its cars and perhaps, to the management, the one that speaks little and counts the money, in a certain way it would be fine as well. Despite this, the racing department does not rest.
Rolled up on himself, he works in unison to achieve the longed-for goal. Then, one day, the FIA arrives. It overturns the regulatory body and the good opportunity presents itself. The huge proclamations waved in profusion are respected and the technical path, the right one, is finally taken.
Futurable
Four races. There are many world championship events to give an answer. Great Britain, Austria, France and Hungary. Yes, because although the world championship is still long, the change of trend prevails. Necessary to reiterate a concept perhaps unknown to most: in Maranello they really believe in the world title. They strongly desire it despite the circumstantial phrases according to which, in 2022, a result other than victory would still be evaluated positively.
As always in life, words leave the time they find. Binotto knows this. Technicians and engineers know this. The mechanics as well. The whole GES does too. So what does Ferrari need to get what it desires? Simple: it is necessary not to make mistakes anymore. Or, at the very least, mitigate errors and maximize the product. In short, concretize
According to information gathered by FormulaUnoAnalisiTecnica, countermeasures are ready to dampen the Red Bull momentum. There will be several updates that will be proposed in the near future. The intent is to widen the set up window to increase performance in the high fuel configuration. The target speaks for itself: to correct certain behaviors in the race and put behind the blue racing cars.
The recent past has highlighted a rediscovered Ferrari characteristic: the ability to update the car, which is crucial to making progress. Confidence, in this sense, seems very high within the GES.
The last thorn stuck in the chest must be removed. We are talking about mechanical reliability, a concern on which you cannot depend when you are immersed in a fight at the top. In this regard, some technical adjustments will guarantee stability, an essential factor in proposing the best version of oneself, always, on every track.
Red Bull, on the other hand, does not stand by and watch. Milton Keynes engineers are working on the front end of the RB18. Leveling up the front will allow for more fluid behavior in slow corners, where the rotation of the car revealed uncertainties which, in fact, negatively affected performance.
Meanwhile, the “weight loss” factor continues to be the object of attention. If it is of interest, we talked about it in the morning through a detailed writing available at this link.
The challenge promises to be tough. It is useless to hide it. Although the opposition enjoys the favors of the prediction, subverting the trend is still possible. The time is there, the means to do it as well. Ferrari is aware that their behavioral skills over the weekend must be strengthened. They are also practicing on this, in Maranello. The reason? Stop filling your eyes with other people’s victories…
F1. Autore: Alessandro Arcari – @berrageiz
Translation by: Beatrice Zamuner – @ZamunerB
Foto: F1 – Scuderia Ferrari
