Felipe Massa

Ferrari will evaluate an F-duct on its car in practice for the Chinese Grand Prix tomorrow, AUTOSPORT has learned, as teams clamber to close down the straightline advantage enjoyed by McLaren.

BMW Sauber is the only outfit that has so far been able to successfully copy the McLaren concept, which provides a straightline speed boost through the driver closing off a valve in the cockpit that helps stall the rear wing.

Although teams all set about working on their versions of the F-duct, the fact that the McLaren has been so quick in speed traps so far this year has brought some added urgency to teams getting it onto their machines.

Sources close to Ferrari have revealed that the team is making preparations to Read the rest of this entry »

Ferrari has admitted that it is ‘worried’ about its reliability in the wake of more engine problems at the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Fernando Alonso lost valuable points when his engine blew-up just a few laps from the end of the Sepang event. And with customer team Sauber having also hit trouble, Ferrari knows it needs to get to the bottom of the problem as quickly as possible.

The events in Sepang were also not the first time that Ferrari has faced engine concerns this season – with the power units on Alonso and Felipe Massa’s cars having had to be changed between qualifying and the race in Bahrain.

Team principal Stefano Domenicali reckoned the first three races showed that the F10 had speed, but also that Ferrari needs to get on top of both reliability and the errors that messed up its qualifying performance in Malaysia.

“We are there,” he said. “We are competitive, we are strong and Read the rest of this entry »

Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali thinks his team’s performance in the Bahrain Grand Prix can only be rated as an eight out of ten – despite Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa taking a one-two finish.

Although the on-track result was perfect, and totally erased the memories of the team’s troublesome start to 2009, fears about reliability and race-morning engine changes have left Domenicali in no doubt that his outfit could have done a better job.

“If we don’t rate ourselves with a good result when we achieve first and second on the podium then I don’t know what to say,” he told the official Ferrari website when asked for how many out of 10 he would award his team’s weekend.

“But considering we had some issues that we needed to solve, I can say we can rate ourselves with an eight.”

Domenicali thinks the team needs to Read the rest of this entry »

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali believes Fernando Alonso’s victory in Bahrain was a vital boost for his team after the troubles it faced in 2009.

Having opted to effectively write off the second half of last year so it could concentrate wholly on the design of its F10, Domenicali admitted that the pressure was on for the outfit to prove its decision was correct.

And with Alonso and Felipe Massa delivering a 1-2 finish, after race leader Sebastian Vettel slowed with an engine problem, Domenicali feels that his Maranello outfit has silenced the doubters who questioned its approach last year.

“Well, for sure this race is very important for the team,” said Domenicali. “After a difficult season like last year, and after a very difficult decision that we had to take last year, everyone was ready with the gun to fire. But that is part of the game.

“This is the reason why I have to take certain Read the rest of this entry »

Ferrari drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa say it is still impossible to predict the pecking order following Friday practice for the Bahrain GP.

Force India’s Adrian Sutil topped the first session while Nico Rosberg put his Mercedes on top of the times in the afternoon.

Alonso was second in the morning but ninth in the afternoon as he prepared for Sunday’s race.

The Spanish driver said it was still impossible to know who has the quickest car.

“No idea. I think it’s still a complete unknown Read the rest of this entry »

Ferrari has announced that it has added Mirko Bortolotti, Daniel Zampieri and Raffaele Marciello to its Ferrari Driver Academy project, alongside first recruit Jules Bianchi.

Bortolotti and Zampieri have already tested for Ferrari as their prize for winning the Italian Formula 3 title in 2008 and 2009 respectively.

Having raced in Formula 2 last year, Bortolotti is set for a GP3 seat with Addax in 2010, while Zampieri will drive for Pons in Formula Renault 3.5.

Marciello, a 15-year-old karting graduate, will be placed in Italian single-seater category Formula Abarth (formerly Formula Azzurra) this year.

Ferrari has also revealed that the champion in new Brazilian series Formula Future Fiat will automatically become part of its Academy programme next year.

Matt Beer – Autosport