Is Ferrari starting to scare the opposition again? If so, it is a good sign in view of the 2022 Formula 1 season. The decision not to continue with yesterday’s test using the SF21 that should have been driven at Fiorano by Robert Shwartzman was not dictated by the FIA, but by the intervention of a team that put pressure on the International Federation to ban the use of last year’s single-seater.
But who was the team that wanted to make things difficult for Ferrari after the Maranello team had announced a four-day test session on their home track with last year’s cars? Nothing is certain yet, but some rumors suggest that a Mercedes-powered team and one cannot rule out the possibility of being Mercedes itself.
In the last meeting of the Sporting Advisory Committee, an unanimous agreement was reached between teams to use the 2021 cars, while the regulation would require the use of a chassis of at least two years for the “Previous Cars”, since the ground effect cars represent a new beginning for everybody and there can be no technical transfer from a test with last year’s F1 car.
The FIA has not yet ratified the regulation change in writing and, therefore, when the Scuderia has formalized the plans, there were those who immediately got in the way, blocking the Maranello team’s program, although Haas has already taken advantage of this opportunity with Nikita Mazepin in Bahrain, without any protest being raised.
Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection from Puma!
From a formal point of view, the request is impeccable (why is the FIA never efficient?), but it is evident that the tests are carried out in the pre-season and if the opportunities are not exploited they become only lost opportunities.
It is the sign of how the 2022 season is already starting with a high level of pressure, even before the ground effect cars have been seen in action, measuring what the threshold of competitiveness of each may be, but maybe it is also the sign that Ferrari is again seen a potential threat. One thing is certain, the operation has achieved its goal: if they wanted to disrupt Ferrari’s plans, it has hit the mark, because it was difficult for the SF71H to start running in the morning, so another half day was lost.
The car had already been delivered by the Scuderia to Ferrari Corse Clienti because it would have concluded its active role and there is a need for preparation that is not only technical, but also a facelift: the car, in fact, must be sticker with the 2022 sponsors so it could only take to the track in the afternoon.
