Is the time now for Ferrari?

[Oaksnaf]

A new Bridgestone tyre specification was brought to Canada with success. A new aero/engine package will be brought to France by Ferrari. Will this bridge the huge performance gap they have to the front runners and claim their first win in 3 weeks time?

Or are they destined to struggle and rely on attrition rates and safety car periods for the next few grandprix, or possibly the rest of the year?

[Inigo Montoya]

Can't see it happening yet -still early. Those Renaults were flying today until their <cough> misfortunes. And without the safety car incident, I think Michael would have been a speck in Kimi's mirrors.

[Rich R]

i think there are some very strong ferrari tracks coming up at france and silverstone, so if they struggle there they really are in troube for the rest of the year.

[JeremySmith]

I was supprised at how slow Michael's start was today compared to the Renault's, so I don't know to be honest. I expected Michael to toast Jenson for some reason!

[Rich R]

it was an excrutiatingly slow warm up lap, and then it still seemed to take an age for the back of the grid to line up, so i don't think that really helped schumacher keep tyre temperature while sat on the grid

[Kicking-back]

Remember that Michael was 30 seconds back before the safety car - it flattered them

[gttouring]

well the good news if this keeps up, ferrari can claw back the lead, ten races to go, all michael has to do is...
if bridgestone actually help and do well
the SC period really was a boon

[Menelaos]

I think MS and Ferrari will eventually win some race this year. But today's P2 and P3 was pure luck, especially P3. Many retired and the SC helped them very much. I'm starting to believe that RB has some way to call the safety car whenever he needs it. Don't forget how he won Hakkinen in Hockenheim (was it?) when the safety car came out twice.

[GP Racer]

Safety cars are part of the race, and they usually help everyone but the leader, so I don't see how you can just point to Ferrari getting lucky without pointing to the rest of the grid.

I think Ferrari is ready to get going now, but it's pretty clear to me that they won't be blowing anyone into the weeds like they did in years past. They will be competitive, and they will win the odd race, but thats about it. Tires are definetly an issue, but there are further problems with this car that will take time to sort out...

[Menelaos]

Yeah, I'm glad to see MS up there again, although I don't think they would be able to do it without all these retirements, but still it's nice to see a top driver in the podium.

As for the sc thing, well, Ralf and Webber lost a place to RB, so I don't think it helped *them* very much But it's certainly a part of the race, nothing to complain of

[Kicking-back]

I'm not criticising the fact Ferrari were helped by the safety car - all I'm saying is they were not quite as competitive as it made them appear - so it's difficult to extrapolate messages about future pace from the result.

[ralf fan]

Well MS's fastest lap was just a tenth slower than the fastest lap set by Raikkonnen...
but as MS said in the press conference...they cant seem to get the car to work when they most need it

[stefan]

I was just looking at the points scores and noticed that Ferrari are the only team to have both cars finish in the points for the last 4 races. I might be reading too much into it but it does seem that they at least have reliable cars (and drivers). Perhaps it'll lead to a respectable position at the end of the season.

[Menelaos]

there's one more thing you're forgetting i think. They have no reason to gamble. For example, if Kimi was in Schumi's position, he would have probably changed the tyre in the previous gp, so he'd remain in the points. When you're 5th and way back in the championship you don't have to take any risks, after all you have a satisfying result in that race. But when you lead you take more risks.

[Gt_R]

Bridgestones are not in any better shape than they were before.

Regarding the start, it probably has much to do with the car as the tyres. But a look at the times and we can see how far off the package is.

Comparing qualifying times, Button who is on the same strategy in fuel load is 0.2sec faster than Ferrari. Given that Ferrari at worse made a car as good as BAR-Honda...the tyres are still more than 0.2sec off. But more telling is the Renault of Fernando Alonso's time. Just 0.1s slower than MS's Ferrari...but with 11laps more fuel on board. Hmmm...

And the race? Trailing the BAR, and 30sec behind the leading car at mid-race.... not exactly brilliant.

Ferrari may not have the absolute best car. But i doubt car-wise, the Ferrari is that far off the pace off Mclaren/Renault.

[stefan]

You're probably right. As a Ferrari fan I was just trying to find something positive to delude myself with

[Dani Filth]

well . with one stop to go MS was "only" 30 seconds back from the leader .. compared to something like +40 that we saw in the previous races ..
if he wouldn't had lost the places to the Renaults(and stay on front of them) . that would only be 20 .. that's not THAT bad.. i clearly say qualify lighter is better for them .. smaller chances of mid pack incidents . chances of keeping some faster cars initially behind .
we'll see how indy will be for Ferrari .. hopefully even more competitive ...

[chillibowl]

i must say im a little surprised by the race strategy ferrari used here for MS. True the low fuel got him a good starting position, but as we have seen this year the ferrari not only increases in performance as the race goes on, but also works, as far as damage to the tires, well with alot of fuel on board. i was surprised with MS coming in early for his first pitstop to get more room at the back to run free. i thought they would by now run towards the strenghts of the car and not against them. i kind of feel like it was a trick to get on the front row, like Heidfeld last race, go for pole just to settle for maybe a podium and leave any chance for race victory down to pure chance. is winning their priority right now or are they still taking small steps trying to figure it out?

[LampCord]

I wasn't at all impressed with Bridgestone yesterday. Clearly Ferrari went super light in order to qualify as well as they did. They were first in IIRC.

That horrible start had EVERYTHING to do with the tyres. Acceleration off the line basically comes down to 3 things: HP and traction and the driver's skill. I find it hard to believe the Ferrari is that far down in HP if at all. And of course we need not even speak of drivers skill.

So that leaves traction. COLD BRIDGESTONES ARE WORTHLESS. Absolute CR4P compared to the Michelins. Its almost embarassing.

So what is Ferrari to do? You go as light as possible to qualify 2nd then your worthless cold tire give up 4 spots by the first turn. Might as well have carried extra fuel and qualified 6th!

It was a miracle that they both finished on the podium. Only because of an inordinate number of DNF's and lucky SC timing.

They have no chance as long as they run 3rd rate rubber. Its really a discrace to see the best car and best driver held back by the largest tyre gap in many years in F1. Bridgestone needs to get their act together. Its a great credit to Shumi and Ferrari that we haven't seen the same kind of language towards Bridgestone that we've seen between Williams and BMW.

[GP Racer]

I would hardly rate Bridgestone as "third rate rubber".

Admittedly, they are not on top of their game right now, but they have made winners of Ferrari far more often than they've made them losers. The problem this year seem's to be in testing time. Bridgestone really only has Ferrari to give them test data, while Michelin has a wealth of teams to work with. If Bridgestone can come up with a compound that works when cold, then Ferrari can qualify better, and stay closer to the front early on in the race.

I still however think there are more nagging problems with this Ferrari than just the tires...

[Knowlesy]

Quite clearly. It's how the car works with its tyres after all, yet Bridgestone seem to cop all the flak.

There are surely a few little fundamental problems with the car as well?

[maximus]

The Schumacer occasional very poor start syndrome could have come into play with his poor start too. He does seem to be one of the slower drivers away from the start, but thats probably the only flaw with his driving.

[LampCord]

Originally Posted by GP Racer

I would hardly rate Bridgestone as "third rate rubber".

I didn't mean to imply that Bridgestone tyres are 3rd rate in general. They are clearly one of the best tyre manufacturers in the world. In fact I often have found they make some of the best bang for buck performance tyres on the market.

I was referring exclusively to this years F1 tires. For whatever reason, these tyres are not in the same league with the Michelins when cold. And that is absolutely killing Ferrari both in qualifying and off the line.

If its the car then why does Ferrari often have the fastest or one of the fastest laps of the race once the tires are warmed up?

[zuludemon]

Originally Posted by ralf fan

Well MS's fastest lap was just a tenth slower than the fastest lap set by Raikkonnen...
but as MS said in the press conference...they cant seem to get the car to work when they most need it

more like half a second slower.

[Dutton]

It strikes me there really isn't any argument that can be backed up to suggest Ferrari had made any significant improvement in Canada. Most certainly things went their way in order for them to be able to finish 2nd-3rd, and that close to the leader.

That doesn't mean they didn't deserve it. They crossed the line 2nd and 3rd. It just wasn't on pure performance. That much is clear.

I would say Bridgestone performance is certainly part of the problem, but for sure there are car issues too (particularly the gearbox/transmission it would seem).

There is an overall weakness that is going to require a lot of work, but it seems like there is SOME progress being made: here is hoping, from my perspective at least, that it can continue.

A couple of wins before the end of the season would be nice.