Breaking news
Formula 1
Ferrari expects no "significant" improvements soon
Ferrari does not expect to be able to improve its 2019 Formula 1 car in any "significant" way "for the time being".
Jonathan Noble
Published: Jun 4, 2019, 8:33 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The team has gone from setting the pre-season testing pace to failing to win any of the year's first six grands prix, leaving it 118 points behind Mercedes already.
Read Also:
Ferrari brought aerodynamic upgrades to the Azerbaijan and Spanish GPs, and also fast-tracked a new engine for the Barcelona event, but team principal Mattia Binotto said there was nothing similar planned for this weekend's Canadian GP or the immediate future.
"We know we're not competitive enough right now and, for the time being we haven't got any more changes coming on the car that will have a significant effect on the problems we have encountered since the start of the season," he said.
Ferrari believes its key problem is that it cannot get this year's tyres in their working range because its car does not generate enough peak downforce.
It has begun a push at its Maranello factory to investigate new concepts that could help, but that work is still in its early stages.
Binotto warned after the last race in Monaco "I don't think that there will be any magic solution in Canada" but was optimistic that the fact "Montreal is a different track, different configuration, different compounds, different set-up" might work in Ferrari's favour.
He also underlined that Montreal was "not the last race", emphasising that Ferrari still had time to turn its campaign around.
Ferrari may have a better chance of taking the fight to Mercedes in Montreal because the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve's long straights are perfectly suited to the Italian team's straightline advantage.
But the lack of high-energy corners may cause some difficulties for Ferrari, especially if the temperature is cooler.
Asked by Motorsport.com if he felt Canada offered cause for optimism, Binotto said: "I think it's very difficult to judge.
"I think we will be in a better shape compared to Barcelona, but I think they [Mercedes] have still got the best car and the strongest car at the moment.
"I think they are still the ones that should be ahead but maybe the gap will be closer. If there's any opportunity we will be ready to take it."
Mercedes is not heading to Canada believing it is the clear favourite, as it is well aware how strong Ferrari was in Montreal last year.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said: "Every single race is a great challenge. Monaco traditionally wasn't historically our best track, and we knew from the slow corner performance that we saw in Barcelona that we had a chance.
"But Monaco is different again. From the car's performance, on a single lap, definitely we were the quickest, but in Montreal [Ferrari] were great last year."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Brown starting to see hints of Mercedes-like qualities in McLaren
Next article Williams: Mid-season upgrade will show if car is flawed
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jonathan Noble
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
Formula 1
Formula 1 Dec 31, 2024
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Formula 1
Formula 1 Dec 31, 2024
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
Formula 1
Formula 1
Australian GP
Dec 28, 2024
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
More from
Ferrari
Max Verstappen on Ferrari clashes: "I would never sign two number-one drivers"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
23 h
Max Verstappen on Ferrari clashes: "I would never sign two number-one drivers"
What the Brazilian GP revealed about F1's ability to cope with rain
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
1 d
What the Brazilian GP revealed about F1's ability to cope with rain
Latest news
IndyCar 2026 season review: ECR
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 15 h
IndyCar 2026 season review: ECR
Toto Wolff reflects on Mercedes’ non-title years: ‘We weren’t complete losers’
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
15 h
Toto Wolff reflects on Mercedes’ non-title years: ‘We weren’t complete losers’
Renger van der Zande moves to IMSA’s LMP2 class full-time with Tower Motorsports
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 16 h
Renger van der Zande moves to IMSA’s LMP2 class full-time with Tower Motorsports
Nick Sanchez will compete for 2027 NASCAR Truck title with McAnally-Hilgemann
NASCAR Truck
NSTR NASCAR Truck
Homestead
16 h
Nick Sanchez will compete for 2027 NASCAR Truck title with McAnally-Hilgemann
Feature
Discover prime content
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Formula 1
By Kevin Turner
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe