- Ferrari
Ferrari shifts focus to next year by testing 2015 updates
Ferrari has shifted its focus to next year's car and is bringing 2015 components to the F14 T at races in order to "track test" new ideas.
Ferrari has suffered a disappointing year after Mercedes stole a march on the rest of the field. At the Italian Grand Prix the team slipped to fourth in the constructors' championship and with six races to go development is now angled more towards 2015.
"At this stage of the season, the focus in the factory is shifting more towards next year's car," engineering director Pat Fry said. "However, there is still quite a lot we can learn from track testing, therefore we will be bringing some specific test components for next year and other developments for the F14 T, which will help our understanding for next year."
After Ferrari's weaknesses were exposed at the high-speed Monza, Formula One arrives at a very different circuit this weekend in Singapore.
"After the two races in Spa and Monza, run on low downforce circuits, we now go to Singapore which is at completely the other end of the spectrum," explains Fry. "It's a street circuit requiring very high downforce, where we will be running the soft and supersoft tyres on a track with similar characteristics to Monaco. There are hardly any high speed corners and only two turns that have combined lateral and longitudinal acceleration and therefore the challenge is more about straight line acceleration and good traction.
"Monza was a tough weekend for us, so now we are regrouping and we will keep pushing forward, concentrating on getting the best out of the package we've got. Even though it's a night race, the temperatures are still very high, in the high 20s or low 30s, which puts heavy demands on the cooling systems for the engine and the ERS. In addition, the start-stop nature of the layout puts a high loading on the brake systems, with the front brakes in particular taking a real pounding."
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