“I can not deny that we are lagging behind. Let me just say that I would prefer if our system was already in the testing phase. We now have to do a lot in a short time frame. During the battle for the world championship we have put a lot of effort into the F2008, and now we must also focus on next season”, the team's technical director Aldo Costa was quoted as saying by Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport.
More precisely, Costa is referring to the development of the revolutionary KERS technology that's supposed to be implemented in Formula 1 from as early as next season. While most of the teams have already tested their system, Ferrari has fallen behind and is likely to start the early races in 2009 without it.
As a consequence of not being able to develop their 2009 package in time, Ferrari might also end their collaboration with Force India on engine supply. The Indian team is allegedly negotiating a collaboration with McLaren for the use of Mercedes engines next season. Ron Dennis himself admitted earlier this week that the German manufacturer is in talks with a customer team regarding powertrain assistance throughout 2009.
“Some form of collaboration might unfold during the next few days. Our objective is to help F1 at every opportunity. One of these entails assisting an independent team and that will be given serious consideration”, unveiled Dennis for Daily Telegraph newspaper.
In the meantime, Ferrari admitted they'll have a busy winter ahead of them, with the aim of getting their KERS system up and ready by mid-January, the date of the first 2009 group-test in Formula One.
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