Coming to Australia as probably the second best team of the pack, Ferrari scored a 5th and an 8th place in qualifying, both Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa being more than a second off the pace of pole sitter Sebastian Vettel. And while things got a bit better in the race, where Alonso's pace was especially better, Ferrari cannot be pleased with the one-lap speed showcased by their 150 Italia.
According to the team's deputy technical director Pat Fry, that's exactly what the Scuderia have been (and will continue to be) focusing on following the race at Melbourne: qualifying pace.
“After the opening round in Australia, we have spent a lot of time analyzing all the data acquired in Melbourne and one clear fact is that our race pace there was definitely better than the one we had in qualifying,” admitted Fry in a recent preview of the Malaysian Grand Prix.
“Much of that was down to how our car uses its tires, so a major part of the analysis has focussed on looking at our one-lap performance, when compared to long run performance in the race. In addition, we have looked at that other important factor, aerodynamics, to see in which areas we can unlock more of the car's potential.”
As track characteristics will be different in Malaysia as compared to Melbourne – given that Ferrari's main problem in Australia was getting their tires up to temperature – Ferrari will also update their car with some parts aimed at solving the issues encountered by the 150 Italia at Albert Park.
“These (analyzing data) will be added in to an already busy pre-planned test programme with further aerodynamic updates that were always planned for this race,” he added.
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