New Engine Development Rules Victory for Ferrari [f1ferrari]

New Engine Development Rules Victory for Ferrari [f1ferrari] Jan 14, 2015 6:01:56 GMT -6

Quote

Post by n7thGear™ on Jan 14, 2015 6:01:56 GMT -6

New Engine Development Rules Victory for Ferrari

Ferrari chairman Sergio Marchionne has described the engine loophole which will allow manufacturers to make changes to the power units during 2015 as “a first victory”.
"F1 Engine development loophole is already a victory, we hope others will follow"

Sergio Marchionne has said that the decision by the FIA to allow the development of engines in 2015 due to a loophole in the regulations is a “victory” and noted
the new Ferrari F1 car will be launched online on January 30 and-- Marchionne said in Detroit, “I would like to say to the tifosi, ‘let us work’. I will go to a few races this year, but we have a team boss and it will be for him to take care of the day to day running of the team.

“However, we are starting from behind; I’m focused on finding a way to get back to the top as soon as possible and get Ferrari winning again.

“It will be a tough year, but the important thing is to keep our heads down.

“We already have had a good result, being able to modify the engines during the season, when it looked like everything had to remain frozen. I consider that a first victory. Now let’s hope some others follow.”

He has called on the tifosi, the Ferrari fans, to let the team work and get on with the job of returning to winning ways.

He also confirmed that the intention is to float 10% of Ferrari on Wall Street in the first quarter of this year.

The FIA conceded earlier this month that the lack of a specific date in the sporting regulations for homologating engines means Mercedes, Renault and Ferrari will be allowed to introduce updates at any time during the coming season. Marchionne is keen to warn Ferrari fans that the team is facing a difficult season in 2015 but says the power unit loophole has been a welcome boost which gives it more chance of making improvements.

Horse Power Shell & Ferrari's Journey to 2014

Sergio Marchionne said Ferrari will likely have a rough season in 2015.

Sergio Marchionne has warned Ferrari fans yet again that 2015 will be a difficult season for the fabled Scuderia.

Speaking at the Detroit auto show on Tuesday, he refused to wade in deeper on a war of words with the Italian marque's ousted long-time president, Luca di Montezemolo.

"Unfortunately we have dropped back, but I will not argue with those who want to make a controversy," Marchionne is quoted by Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport. "We start behind but we will keep our heads down and try to win."

Italian-Canadian Marchionne is also chief of Fiat-Chrysler, and reportedly focused on finding strategic partnerships for the group whilst also preparing a stock market floatation for Ferrari.

Several European publications are reporting that Ferrari "vetoed" Formula One's move to install Luca di Montezemolo as the new chairman of the Formula One Group. Germany's Sport ...

"I would like to say to the fans that I will go to some Grands Prix," he revealed, "but we have appointed a team leader [Maurizio Arrivabene] and he will deal with the management directly."

According to the Spanish news agency EFE, Marchionne also said Ferrari has "much work to do" after a tumultuous period, and warned that improved results are likely only in the "final five or six races" of 2015.

"I'm encouraged," he said, referring to the political victory on the engine "unfreeze" issue, "because now we have the ability to make changes during the season.

"My hope is that we will see improved performance on the track at the end of the season. I think the most interesting part of 2015 will be the last races," added Marchionne.

The message is pretty consistent; Marchionne is managing expectations in 2015, while at the same time making promises that the new regime will return the team to the winners’ circle as soon as possible. Before Christmas he indicated that some decisions on the 2015 car had been unpicked and the chief designer replaced; that had put the project back, although at least now it would be on the right road, as he sees it.

So it will be interesting to see at what level the new car operates in the winter testing in Spain in February and early March. Everyone expects Mercedes to be out front and for Williams to pick up where it left off, but the relative position in the pecking order of Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren will be very interesting.

Ferrari has not had an innovative chassis for some time and they have suffered in recent years from updates not providing the performance boost expected, when brought to the track. This is something that they will hope to have fixed for 2015 so the car can develop positively as the year goes on, at the same time as a judicious use of the 32 tokens available to develop the engine may improve its performance too.

This is the first Ferrari chassis that technical director James Allison has overseen from the outset, having arrived late in 2013 at the team after a lengthy ‘gardening leave’ period from Lotus. Ferrari was a long way from challenging for a victory last season, with only two podiums for Fernando Alonso and none for Kimi Raikkonen.

When he ousted Montezemolo, there were suggestions that Marchionne wanted to increase production of the road cars.

Ferrari currently sells just over 7,000 cars a year, production being capped at that level by the previous chairman Luca di Montezemolo. Marchionne says that it is “technically possible” to make 10,000 cars a year but added that he is mindful of Enzo Ferrari’s mantra that one should aim to sell “one less car than the market demands”.

However sales of Ferraris in China have not continued their previous growth, as the country’s growth has slowed economically in the last year. Sales in the USA remain very strong and the UK is now the marque’s second largest market.

title

Post by n7thGear™ on Jan 14, 2015 6:01:56 GMT -6

HEADLINES

RALLY

FIA WTCC

INDYCAR UPDATES

Twitter FIA

DTM