- Ferrari
Ferrari ready to 'exploit' potential of F14 T
Ferrari will spend the next two weeks stepping the development of its F14 T up a gear after a solid first week of testing in Jerez.
The Italian team finished last week's test with a healthy 251 laps over four days as it set about debugging problems on its new car. Only Mercedes completed more laps with 309, but Ferrari was well ahead of rivals Red Bull, who struggled with its new Renault Sport power unit and completed just 21 laps by the end of the day.
"These were four very demanding and important days to give us something to work on over the coming days in Maranello," team principal Stefano Domenicali said. "The technical parameters of the F14 T, as well as the aerodynamic validation we saw on track, match our expectations and provide a solid starting point, which we must now exploit as much as possible.
"In Jerez, we concentrated our efforts on fine tuning the new systems to ensure that all the components that make up the new power unit were working as well as possible and the team was focused on its tasks. I was also very pleased to see, even if was hardly a surprise, how our drivers worked in harmony and that they have already provided excellent feedback relating to the development of the car."
But despite a strong start, Domenicali warned against reading anything into the relative performances of the top teams.
"We can't evaluate performance levels at the moment, neither that of the F14 T, nor those of our rivals," he added. "The important thing is to do as many laps as possible to give our engineers the data they need to continue with the development of the car. It would be premature to make any precise evaluations. What counts for more is to have clear ideas on what we must do now and on the direction to take, so that we arrive in Melbourne in the best possible shape."
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
