Ferrari Team Principal Stefano Domenicali has admitted his team is prepared to write off the current season and commence development on next year’s car within the next month.
Ferrari is currently equal-bottom of the Constructor’s standings, alongside Force India with zero points, marking Ferrari’s worst start to a season in 28 years.
Although a new aero update will arrive in Barcelona, Domenicali said a sharp reversal in form will be needed for the team to not simply abandon development on the current machine.
“I think for sure we will see after Spain where we are. In that period we will see really what can be the situation – so when we come back to Europe basically,” he said.
Former World Champion Kimi Raikkonen believes the arrival of the ‘double-decker’ diffuser will allow Ferrari to again challenge for victories.
“In Barcelona, when we will have new aero parts, we should be able to pick up some of the grip we are lacking now. I am sure we can be competitive enough to win again but this work will take time,” Raikkonen said.
Domenicali doesn’t agree however, citing the speed of Red Bull as evidence team’s without the controversial diffuser can compete for race victories.
He said: “The situation is much more complicated than that. That device will give you a benefit. But it would be wrong to believe that it is the only key. We have seen, for example, the Red Bull car has done a really great job.”
Ferrari’s start to the season has been perceived as an embarrassment by company president Luca di Montezemolo, who ordered a crisis meeting to discuss the situation.
Speaking to the BBC he said, “I don’t want to find us on some sort of TV comedy video programme after each race.”
Since the departures of Ross Brawn, Jean Todt and Michael Schumacher from key roles within the team, Ferrari has sf struggled, losing the aura of invincibility it had gained over the early part of the decade, and had maintained even through the disastrous 2005 season.
But of the three, it is perhaps Brawn’s absence which has been felt most in Maranello. The current F60 is the first car developed by Ferrari without his input, and it has shown on the track.
Possibly the sharpest technical mind in the sport, Brawn has dragged the former Honda team out of the mire and into championship favouritism only 14 months after he was lured across from Ferrari.
The pace and general domination of the BGP 001 has been so absolute, that, until China, many were drawing comparisons with his two previous masterpieces, the Ferrari F2002 and F2004.
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Sore looser? Bl00dy italians!
As a Ferrari fan, this news is nothing short of disappointing. The aero rule changes in 2009 were always going to shake-up the running order. It’s a big surprise though that Ferrari, a well sorted team with one of the deepest pockets, would be squabbling with the likes of Force India.
The way that Ross Brawn has turned around the ex-Honda team is definite proof of his worth in F1.
i would say that being at the top of the constructors standings for so long now they should see this year as a challenge and rise to it, not walk away.
In a similar way Mclaren & LH has dropped the ball aswell.
Its almost as if now he’s achieved the world championship he ’s no longer interested.
F1’s new order………………..shock news, Honda admits mistake and to return to F1 in 2010!! hehe.
Just to clarify this is the exact same move Honda did last year, when they stopped development of their 08 car and put all their engineering effort into their 09 car, and we’ve all seen how well that worked. This isn’t a matter of being a sore loser, but simply a move to shore up the long term success of Ferrari. They’ll continue racing this year, but apart from small tweaks to the design, the bulk of the design focus will be on next years car.