Ferrari: a “hungry” and “determined” team

The 2014 season will mark a new technical start for Ferrari with the arrival of James Allison from Lotus F1. The British aerodynamics expert will not be completely out of place, as he previously held a position within the Scuderia during the successful period of 2000-2004, when the Prancing Horse won all the titles up for grabs.

It’s as the “chassis technical director” at Ferrari that Allison was recruited this summer, and upon arriving, he was able to gauge the ambition and desire of the team, which has not won a championship since 2008 with its last constructors’ title: “I found a hungry team, determined to get back to the top step of the podium at every race and in the championship. It’s a team optimistic for the future and eager to dominate the sport again,” he stated to Sky Italia, as reported by the BBC.

Often criticized for several years for its performance deficit in aerodynamics, notably due to defects that skewed the wind tunnel data, the Italian team hopes that the investments made in engineers, personnel, and equipment will allow the Maranello team to reap the benefits in the coming years.

« I don’t think we’ve made any secret of the fact that the area in which we’ve underperformed, compared to the results, is that we haven’t been able to leverage the aerodynamic regulations as much in recent years as some of our rivals. This is for many reasons, and it is an area where our teams have invested enormously over the past 18 months or more, and we are going to reap the benefits. » The groundwork must be sustained over the long term: « The team has corrected its weaknesses one by one. It is work that we must continue and work that we will never stop doing, even when we are back at the forefront. »

The Briton, long associated with Enstone, first during the Benetton era and then with Renault and Lotus, is well aware of the demands of top-level racing, having been involved in winning numerous titles: « F1 is not a sport of miracles. It requires a complex organization to ensure that every aspect is right, and you need everything in its place to win a world championship. »

The upcoming season will be a turning point marking the beginning of a new era in Formula 1, and James Allison is working hard to maintain the momentum of questioning, despite his late arrival in the development process: « I am never happy because I am always anxious. I find it easier to work efficiently when I am anxious about the idea that we are not doing enough, rather than being content with where we are. [I am] always afraid, especially in a year with so many changes. 2014 represents a very big project and it’s something that started two years ago, so this work was already underway when I arrived and continues fiercely at the moment at the factory. »