Scuderia Ferrari is still a construction site. As reported by German automobile magazine ‘Auto Motor und Sport’, in Bahrain the Ferrari drivers lost speed, especially in the second part of the race. In the final stages, the McLaren drivers drove half a second faster per lap, while Yuki Tsunoda from Alpha Tauri also made up time on Carlos Sainz.
The first assumption that the red cars put too much stress on their tires was not confirmed. The wind is suspected, which was stronger compared to Saturday. The SF21 may react more strongly to wind influences than the competition. Another aspect which was identified by the Maranello engineers is that in medium-fast and fast corners there is still room for improvement.
Regarding Imola, Ferrari is confident of having an even better chance to fighting McLaren as the Italian side already went better last year than in Bahrain. In addition, the Maranello team will bring a small aero upgrade: the engineers want to test detailed changes to the wings and the floor on Friday. There are also new parts back in Maranello, but they will not be used on track until Portimao.
After an initial analysis, Scuderia Ferrari sees itself in a position to fight for third place with McLaren and Alpha Tauri behind the top teams Mercedes and Red Bull. Alpine and Aston Martin currently pose no threat from behind in the narrow midfield.
The last word in the development of the SF21 has not yet been spoken. Ferrari plans to develop the current car for another two months and only switch focus to 2022 completely in June. The battle for third place could also be decided by who has the last word in terms of updates on the 2021 car.
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