A performant F-Duct is the key to success for Ferrari

After this princely Grand Prix, Ferrari believes it is crucial to arrive in Turkey with the best possible F-Duct system in order to close the gap with Red Bull Racing.

With Mark Webber’s victory in Monaco this Sunday, which allows RBR to top both the driver and constructor standings, Ferrari has announced the imminent arrival of a significant development package that will enable them to catch up with the teams setting the pace this season.

However, Stefano Domenicali, the sports director of the Scuderia, focuses the debate on improvements around a specific point. For him, the key to the battle with the RB6 in Turkey will be the improvement of the F-Duct.

“A car that has achieved six pole positions is very strong,” he declares, speaking about the car designed by Adrian Newey.

He remains clear-headed but convinced regarding the rankings:

«But on the other hand, they have finished first and second twice, while we are still there in both championships. There are less than 25 points between first and second place in the constructors’ standings, and we are only a few points apart when it comes to the drivers. This means the championship is really tough for everyone. »

Domenicali wants to show the path of improvement.

We must maintain the pace of development, that’s evident. We need to work on improving our aerodynamic efficiency because it’s the most important thing, we have to focus on it. I think that, for example, in Turkey, we need to make sure that our F-Duct system, which we tried in Barcelona, is truly effective and has no drawbacks. We have some good developments that should be ready, that’s what we are working on. And we have to work very, very hard. Very hard. We know the areas we need to improve, and after that, we will be able to see where we stand. This weekend, we knew that for McLaren, it wouldn’t be easy, but I expect them to be back on a circuit like Turkey.

In his post-Spain analysis, Domenicali stated that the F-Duct used in Catalonia cost Ferrari some downforce, despite gaining speed on the straight. Indeed, it is on this aspect that the team focused their attention, going as far as to modify the way Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa use this system.

The sporting director of the Scuderia concludes:

« We are working on different solutions, and we will decide what we are going to do for Turkey. It’s not decided yet, but we are surely studying a better option to have better control from the pilots’ perspective. »

Recently, the Italian single-seaters were granted permission to modify their weakened engine. If the team’s engineers find the right chemistry with the F-Duct system, Alonso and Massa will need to be taken into account.