Ferrari has identified the problems from the Australian Grand Prix

Following the Australian Grand Prix, during which the Ferraris finished in fourth and seventh place, the Maranello team launched an investigation to understand why Fernando Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen struggled so much at the beginning of the race.

The two drivers were indeed unable to properly use the power that the MGU-K could provide them, which is responsible for recovering braking energy and represents a maximum of 120KW this season. This lack of additional speed prevented, in particular, the Spaniard from being able to get rid of Nico Hülkenberg’s Force India in the first 15 laps of the race.

The men and women of the Scuderia thus discovered that the problem originated in the software provided by the discipline’s authorities, which was supposed to interact with the car. Appendix 3 of the 2014 Technical Regulations states that drivers can only use their MGU-K—excluding the starting procedure—when the cars reach a speed of 100 km/h: the system then automatically triggers the activation of this boost, allowing the driver to use it. However, in Australia, the system managed by FOM and FIA never indicated that the Ferrari F14-T reached the speed of 100 km/h.

Subsequently, after two laps, the two drivers were able to manually activate the use of the MGU-K, but once again, it did not provide its full power. This lasted until the first pit stop, during which a software reset allowed the system to become fully functional for the remainder of the race.

If the system was functioning fully after the first stop, which occurred when the Safety Car entered the track following Valtteri Bottas’s puncture, it means that Fernando Alonso still remained, afterwards, 16 laps behind Hülkenberg with a system that was presumably fully operational.

Autosport, which reveals the information, explains that changes are said to have been made to the control unit software provided to Ferrari ahead of Malaysia to avoid a new problem.