Ferrari will not comply with the six-week ban on Formula One testing that commences after Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix. Instead, the Scuderia and tyre partner Bridgestone will double efforts to find a solution to the F2005’s chronic lack of grip.
Ferrari will not comply with the six-week ban on Formula One testing that commences after Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix. Instead, the Scuderia and tyre partner Bridgestone will double efforts to find a solution to the F2005’s chronic lack of grip.
The Maranello-based team will likely (again) raise the ire of its F1 rivals by testing at unabated pace in the so-called “summer test ban” after the race in Budapest. “We’ve got to find more grip from the tyres,” Ferrari team principal Jean Todt responded indirectly to a question posed at the Hockenheimring.
“For part of this season we have been struggling with grip in qualifying,” the Frenchman said. “We slightly improved the situation, mainly with the choice of tyres Michael (Schumacher) made for this race (German Grand Prix). We used to be very strong during the race, (but) at the moment we are not.
“We need to identify how to improve the grip on the car so we may find a solution soon, (or) we may not find one. I’m sure we will find it, but I’m far from knowing when exactly we will find it. We just need to focus, to concentrate and to address the problem well and we will solve the situation. I would have preferred to solve it quicker and earlier but it’s not the case,” he added.
Following Ferrari’s disappointing showing in Germany, defending F1 champion Schumacher proclaimed himself out of contention for the 2005 world drivers’ crown. The German was disillusioned after his home race and laid the blame for his lacklustre performance squarely on Bridgestone. “Our main problem is the tyres,” Schumacher said, “a lack of grip from the tyres.”
Schumacher was in contention for a podium finish, but was passed by BAR’s Jenson Button and Renault’s Giancarlo Fisichella before finishing in a distant fifth place: “It was like trying to fight with a blunt weapon – if it is weak then you don’t stand a chance.”
Meanwhile, Schumacher’s team-mate, Rubens Barrichello – who didn’t even finish in the points in Germany – said Ferrari would bring a “different” Bridgestone to Hungary. But the Brazilian warned: “Four days is not enough time to come up with a miracle.”
