After falling behind chief rival Mercedes at the start of the season, Ferrari said it was evaluating different solutions in its bid to get back on level terms in the championship fight. However, it admitted that any new development concepts would take several weeks to determine and put into practice.
Ferrari almost claimed its first win of the season in the previous race in Canada, where Sebastian Vettel won on the road but was hit with a five-second time penalty. The Montreal circuit played to the strengths of the SF90, which has better straightline performance at the expense of downforce in the corners.
Heading to this weekend’s French GP at Paul Ricard, where it expects to struggle more compared to the race in Canada, Ferrari is banking on unidentified upgrades making a big difference to its development plan rather than transforming its on-track performance immediately.
“Following Canada we definitely want to get back on track and go racing with our rivals once again,” said Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto. “In France we will have a few small evolutions, elements that represent for us a useful step in defining the direction we will take in developing the car.” – he explained.
Charles Leclerc also reflects on the next round of the 2019 Formula One season: “France – it’s a pretty new track to me, strangely, as it is very close to my home. I have some great memories from last year’s event which was the first time that I was there. It was also the first time that I made it to Q3 in Formula 1, which is something that I will never forget. The track is quite atypical, with huge run-off areas. You can really push the limits in free practice without taking actual risks because the walls are quite far away. I really enjoy driving at Le Castellet and look forward to being back there.” – the Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver explained.
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