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Ferrari F1 – Soldiering On
By Ernesto Nigro
April 15 2009
As the third round of the F1 Championship approaches, Scuderia Ferrari soldiers on…
The first two rounds of the 2009 F1 Championship were not kind to Ferrari.  The storied team has yet to score a point toward this season’s championship.  The team was dealt a further blow today as its protest of Brawn GP’s rear diffuser was not successful.As a result, the team marches on in unsettled waters, and must now quickly find an answer to its rivals speed.  Uncontested thus far, Brawn GP has been victorious in the first two rounds, and seems set to continue to dominate after today’s ruling on its controversial rear diffuser design.  Brawn does not stand alone with this innovative design. Toyota and Williams share similar designs and as a direct result in additional downforce have arisen as very competitive teams in comparison to recent years.Ferrari and others will now be forced to work on developing new double-decker diffusers to try to close the gap.  With limited testing time, the challenge to catch the leaders may prove too much even for the sport’s top teams.  Ferrari must also contend with Red Bull Racing and BMW who seem to have better pace even without the magic diffusers and a charging Renault team which may also be challenging soon.

Ferrari’s inability to score points leaving them scoreless thus far and marking this season as one of the team’s worst starts have caused the Scuderia to react swiftly.  A number of team errors in strategy and poor decision making have ultimately forced the team to try and reshuffle staff in an effort to correct the direction it is currently heading.  After finishing last season as Constructors Champions, it seems unlikely they will repeat if this downward spiral is not stopped immediately.  The reshuffle sees Luca Baldisseri being moved to a factory role. He will be part of a working group which will try out new technologies aimed at closing the gap with innovative championship leaders Brawn GP.  His trackside role will be filled by Engineer Chris Dyer.

 With many changes within the team, and many changes to the current F60, Ferrari must adapt quickly and soldier on toward victory.

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