Felipe Massa is hopeful his Ferrari team can take a significant step forward thanks to the updates introduced in the Spanish Grand Prix this weekend.
“We have some changes to the car, also some details from an aerodynamic point of view, we also have the famous blown rear wing that I hope we can have some improvement with, and also some details on the aerodynamics which gives us some more performance,” Massa told reporters on Thursday.
“Definitely it is also a track and a race where we had three weeks between so most of the teams will have new parts on the car.
“I hope we can have a bigger advance than the other teams.”
Ferrari has removed the controversial ‘barcode’ design from the side of its car from this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix following controversy about it being subliminal advertising for title sponsor Marlboro.
A report in The Times newspaper last week revealed that leading doctors were putting pressure on governments to investigate whether the red, white and black bar code that had featured on the Ferrari cars for several years was a clever way of promoting its title sponsor’s cigarette brand.
Ferrari reacted angrily to the claims – suggesting that the barcode design was not copyrighted by Marlboro owner Phillip Morris and that it had chosen the concept alone. The bar code also featured on the Ducati MotoGP bikes too, though.
Ferrari has been given the green light by the FIA to make modifications to its engine on reliability grounds following the problems it has had in the early stages of the season.
Both Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa have suffered engine issues in the opening flyaway events – with Alonso suffering two blow-ups that has left him in particular on the back foot in terms of his supply for the season.
With customer team Sauber having also encountered its share of engine issues, Ferrari conducted a detailed investigation into the matter after the Chinese Grand Prix.
Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa, together with Aldo Costa, analysing the upcoming Spanish GP weekend. Both drivers are excited: Alonso, because it will be his home race, Massa, because he had a positive start into the season.
Formula 1′s likely switch to smaller turbocharged engines from 2013 must include the introduction of cutting-edge fuel efficiency technology too, claims Ferrari’s CEO Amedeo Felisa.
With teams closing in on plans to use 670bhp 1.5-litre turbocharged engines from 2013, Felisa believes the sport should be even bolder in embracing the latest knowledge – and pursue the more economical Gasoline Direct Injection concept.
Speaking to AUTOSPORT’s sister publication Autocar at the Beijing Motor Show on Friday, Felisa says that F1 could improve its relevance to the road car industry by adopting such engines.
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