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[What's Burning?]

I bet you Ferrari has the best catering of any F1 team.

[LewEngBridewell]

Things are looking better for Ferrari this season but guess we will all find out where teams are at when it comes to the real racing but ever the optimist hopefully Alonso can get Ferrari challenging again and sustain it, i would say Massa as well but don't have much faith in the lad even though he is a great lad, hopefully after this year maybe Ferrari will look at getting a new up and coming young driver into the team to learn off Alonso.

Ferrari have had some slow starts in recent years, with Melbourne becoming a real ball-ache for them. If they can avoid this, they'll be looking good.

[spankyham]

Marca has provided a neat tool on their website to compare any of this centuries Ferrari F1 cars including the F138.

All the Ferrari's of the 21st Centurt

En algo más de una década la escudería Ferrari ha evolucionado sus monoplazas con mayor o menor éxito. Comparalos todos y analiza su rendimiento a través de los resultados obtenidos.

Bot Translation: "In more than one decade the Scuderia Ferrari has evolved their cars with greater or lesser success. Compare and analyze the performance through the results."

Click here or on the image to go to the site to see/make camparisons between all the F1 Ferrari's of the 21st century:

[spankyham]

We don't often get to hear from Nick Tombazis, so this is an interesting read for that reason alone. A nice touch from Nic in his recognition of Rory and his past and present contributions.

Come on Nick, I really want you to shine with this car, Forza Nick

Tombazis: “No predictions before Melbourne”

Maranello, 6 March – Engineers have always based their impressions and evaluations on data alone and that’s something that Scuderia Ferrari’s Chief Designer, Nick Tombazis is well aware of. And when it comes to data, the Prancing Horse team acquired a lot of it over the twelve days of testing and its analysis leaves no room for illusion or false expectation.



“Compared to a year ago, the situation is very clear,” commented Tombazis. “It’s not hard to make a comparison, because back then we were in a really difficult situation, so making a better start this year was pretty much a given. We know that for various reasons, our development over the latter part of last season stalled and, because our rivals continued their development to a certain extent, the gap between us grew, especially after the summer break. A gap which we had closed down to three tenths, thus became around eight in Brazil. This year, we have a well defined development plan and we are reasonably sure that the new components tested on track have produced positive results. The Melbourne package worked as we had hoped, with no particular unexpected problems, but it’s still difficult to say where we are compared to our competitors, so it’s better not to speculate. It’s hardly surprising, but I think that apart from ourselves, the most competitive would appear to be Red Bull, McLaren, Lotus and Mercedes, even if how the hierarchy stands between us is still uncertain. We hope to be able to fight at the front, but no one can be excluded: there are 19 races in the championship with half of them coming after the summer and, as we saw last year, even if a team does not start the season being on the pace, it can fight back and win. Everyone goes through a cycle and stages and therefore it will be a case of constant development throughout the year.”

Tombazis reckons the two key areas will be tyre useage and the development of the exhaust system. “With the exhaust exits we can reckon on updates during the season and while the differences might not be visible, they could offer a significant margin for improvement. Of course, we won’t be the only ones working on this area, the others will too. Bit by bit, as the regulations stay the same for longer, the room for invention decreases, but with the exhausts there is still much that can be done. Furthermore, as great improvements in simulation tools come along, this produces better correlation of data and of the methodology of the various configurations that are tested. This means that testing new parts and comparing developments over a race weekend will become more complicated, whereas during testing, this can be done more calmly and extensively. We need to find a way to do this without compromising other tasks such as set-up work and analysing the behaviour of the tyres. And when it comes to the tyres, keeping an eye on degradation will be very important, as being quick over a single lap will not be enough.”

Tombazis ended his analysis of the challenges that lie ahead with a word on the organization of his department. “We have a very competent group of people and a clear technical structure with Simone Resta concentrating on the 2013 car, while Fabio Montecchi oversees the 2014 project and we should also not forget that work on updating our wind tunnel should be finished by the end of the year. Finally, for 2014 we can also count on the invaluable support of Rory Byrne, who has so much experience that it would be foolish not to involve him. Rory has never left the company, even if he no longer works full time, so he can spend more time with his family, but he also has a key role in the development of the new Ferrari supercar LaFerrari. He has always been an important reference point for me, as he was my first boss when I was at Benetton and I owe him a great deal.

[spankyham]

A very interesting little vid on the building of the F138.

[bud]

Hello Rosetta

[spankyham]

Ferrari finally feels ready to compete consistently

ROME (AP) -It's been a long time since Ferrari was this confident entering a Formula One season.

After four years without a title, the Italian team finally feels like it has a car that can compete for victory on a consistent basis.

"Compared to the F2012 the F138 is on another level," Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said at the Geneva Motor Show this week. "It's like running with two legs vs. one in a cast. The car is responding well. The data from the wind tunnel and the simulator give us a real idea of what we can expect. The drivers have felt great during testing. We're ready."

Last season, Fernando Alonso finished just three points behind Red Bull champion Sebastian Vettel - which was all the more impressive considering the development problems Ferrari struggled with.

The plan this season, which starts with the Australian Grand Prix on March 17, hinges on constant development.

In recent seasons, Ferrari departed for the opening races in Australia and Asia with the idea that it would try and just get by before finely tuning the car in time for the traditional European races starting in May.

But playing catch-up from the start proved difficult.

"It's going to be a very long season and the winner will be the team that is able to progress and develop each week, without stopping," team principal Stefano Domenicali said following the final preseason team meeting at Scuderia headquarters in Maranello on Wednesday.

"In 2012 we developed for a long time but then we slowed down at the end and Red Bull moved ahead after the summer," Domenicali added. "We need to create a situation where Alonso can win with 80 percent of his own talent, whereas in 2012 he needed to give 110 percent."

Already admired as perhaps the most talented driver in the sport, the Spaniard has stepped up his physical preparation this season, and even skipped the first testing session in Spain last month to do athletic training instead.

"I've improved since last year," Alonso said. "I'm better prepared and more motivated. In 2012, I had the greatest season of my career but this one will be even better. Last year, I left for the first race in Australia with little confidence. ... It's different now."

The main difference, of course, is the car.

"This car is easier to work with. It gives us precise responses whereas before we had highs and lows without knowing why," Alonso said. "I'm not asking for it to be a half-second faster than the adversaries but as long as it's within two-tenths."

In October, Ferrari extended Felipe Massa's contract for one more season. While the Brazilian hasn't won a race since a life-threatening accident at the Hungarian GP in 2009, he had a solid second half to last season, and finished third in the year-ending Brazilian GP.

"I'm also hoping to fight for the podium," Massa said. "Being more competitive in qualifying would help us. That's what we've been working on."

Last season, Alonso took Ferrari's only two pole positions at the British and German GP's.

"We've made an enormous step forward in aerodynamics and now we need to do just as good of a job with the tires," Domenicali said. "We need to continue with our race strategy and erase our weakness, which was qualifying.

"The podium in Australia is a realistic goal and a good starting point to be able to win over the course of the year," Domenicali added. "So, yes, we're ready."

Ferrari last won the constructors' title in 2008 with Kimi Raikkonen and Massa, while Raikkonen won the team's last drivers' title in 2007.

Domenicali took over from Jean Todt as team principal for the 2008 season, and the one title the team has managed under his guidance pales in comparison to the 14 it won under Todt, mainly with Michael Schumacher in the driver's seat.

"I would have been unwise not to think that by replacing Jean Todt, I would face difficult years," Domenicali said. "Winning cycles don't continue forever. But these years were necessary to cement the team together and now we have everything in place to start a new cycle."

[Hammer278]

I just wish Massa can start 2013 like how he ended 2012. I don't really like the guy, but for me Alonso has had an incredibly easy ride in terms of intra team competition.

[LewEngBridewell]

The pre-Budapest-2009 Massa seems like a distant memory now. Even with his little run of good results last autumn.

[darwin dali]

The pre-Budapest-2009 Massa seems like a distant memory now. Even with his little run of good results last autumn.

Little bum has a little run

[LewEngBridewell]

The pre-Budapest-2009 Massa seems like a distant memory now. Even with his little run of good results last autumn.

Little bum has a little run

[darwin dali]

The pre-Budapest-2009 Massa seems like a distant memory now. Even with his little run of good results last autumn.

Little bum has a little run

Hope it's not too runny though...

[spankyham]

Arrived at Melbourne and starting to setup ..... its getting close and I'm getting excited


Click here or on the image for hi-res version:



Click here or on the image for hi-res version:


Nando checking out the circuit...

Click here or on the image for hi-res version:

[What's Burning?]

I makes sense that he'd ride a Colnago frame with Campagnolo components.

[Mikess]

They stand in with a better chance this year as they have made quite a significant improvement on last year

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UY7rxxPJYo8#" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;