Ahead of next weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, F1 teams are scrambling to get ready for the first race of the season. Among them is Scuderia Ferrari, who are expecting a major upgrade, the coming weekend.
However, the Italian marquee has confessed that the importance of the updates are significantly exaggerated.
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According to Italian media, the Red Bull Ring spec car is a massive upgrade from the Melbourne-spec car. Reports suggest that the new car boasts of a slimmer nose, stiffer gearbox, new rear suspension, and an extra 30bhp in the engine.
However, a Ferrari spokesman told Auto Motor und Sport: “We only have very small changes to the car. It was more important for us to understand the SF1000 better. We have made a good step forward.”
Under extraordinary circumstances, the first major Ferrari upgrade will be introduced at the Hungarian Grand Prix. However, many suggest that Ferrari may emerge as the third-best team this year.
However, the prancing horse’s update may pack a serious punch that could very well prove this prediction to be false.
Everyone hard at work other than Ferrari
In the build-up to next weekend’s Austrian GP, all teams are steadily getting back in the groove. Scuderia Ferrari conducted a test at Fiorano, while Mercedes, Red Bull, and McLaren tested at Silverstone.
Speaking of Red Bull, the RB16 has also received plenty of upgrades during the shutdown period.
Unfortunately, Red Bull’s star driver, Max Verstappen was unable to test the car as he was forced to stay aground as a result of stringent travel sanctions imposed by his country. However, Alex Albon successfully tested the car.
According to Red Bull’s Helmut Marko, the original plan was to fit it in Barcelona. Sadly, the COVID-19 crisis has pushed that plan has off the rails.
He said, “Everything is based on CFD and the wind tunnel, which adds a factor of uncertainty as we have the third stage of development now without knowing how the first and second one felt.
“But we had no way to test it so we have to assume that the data is correct.”
