The lack of changes in regulations for the next year will make it difficult for Scuderia Ferrari to return to the top, according to former Formula 1 driver Mark Webber. The Maranello team look to have made a huge step back from last season in terms of pace. Sebastian Vettel was knocked out in Q2 at the season opener while Charles Leclerc only managed P7.
Things weren’t going much better on Sunday until a number of Safety Cars gave Leclerc P2. However, Vettel’s struggles and the Monegasque’s pace suggested that they may even be below Racing Point and McLaren in the pecking order.
With regulations largely frozen for this season and next, teams won’t be able to make huge strides in terms of development. Webber says that, if he were at the team, he’d be concerned.
“The thing that would concern me is the stable regulations,” the Aussie told Channel 4 when asked whether he’d sign for Ferrari at the moment.
“Every now and then you get a reset for your engineering team to have a chance to reposition the car at the front of the grid. Ferrari were phenomenal last year for reasons where we think there might have been something flaky going on with the rules and technical regulations. So there has been a new engine reset there and those stable regulations would concern me as a Ferrari driver because you need an opportunity to get out of it [with new regulations].” – he exlained.
Ferrari’s often strong pace last season was largely down to the straight-line speed provided by their engine.
The power unit was so impressive in fact that an investigation was conducted regarding it. While the FIA didn’t find the team guilty, it’s believed that the technical loophole Ferrari was exploiting to get so much power has been taken away this season.
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