Ferrari admit reliability focus has compromised power on SF1000

Ferrari

Ferrari admit reliability focus has compromised power on SF1000

They are not as fast as they were last year

Martin Macdonald

Sunday 1 March 2020 10:45

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto admits that the team’s quest for a more reliable car in 2020 has compromised the power available on their latest championship challenger.

Last year, the Scuderia enjoyed the fastest car on straights, but this was coupled with cornering and reliability issues.

In an attempt to combat that, a higher focus has been put on stability and reliability this winter, which has left them with some gains to be made to reach the pace of Mercedes.

Binotto explains that the speed deficit is coming from two things - engine performance and drag.

“I think it's a combination of the two,” he responded to Motorsport.com when asked to give a reason for the issues.

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“I think in terms of overall performance on the power and the engine, we are not as strong as we were last year. We were somehow focused on our reliability and that is somehow compromising eventually the performance.

“But the drag is significantly affecting the speed. I think when you look for better speed you need to look for the drag and the power of the engine itself. We will work on both items for the future no doubt.

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“Drag is the one you may eventually address earlier compared to the power unit: for that you need to wait for the second power unit.”

At testing in Barcelona over the past couple of weeks, Ferrari were accused of not displaying their true engine performance by Mercedes, but Binotto has reiterated that this was not the case.

“We are not hiding. That is our true performance,” he insisted.

“I think it's difficult to split on the streets what is drag and what is power, but certainly we we are down on speed compared to other competitors.

“I think that's affected by one way from the drag and the other from the reliability programme that we have in place.”

Ferrari’s preparations for the 2020 Formula 1 campaign have been hampered by the outbreak of the coronavirus in Italy, with public access to their Maranello compound and car museums restricted for the time being.