Share

Is Ferrari planning radical changes to 2016 car?

MILAN, Italy - Ferrari is planning to line-up in 2016 with a "completely different car and engine".

That was the claim made by president Sergio Marchionne as he visited the Monza paddock at the Italian GP on September 6.

Closing the gap on Mercedes

Many were surprised when they heard those words, as the regulations are not changing considerably for 2016, ahead of the expected rules revolution for 2017.

So with Ferrari already closing the gap on dominant Mercedes, might Marchionne have been stretching the truth?

Read: 2015 Italian GP: As it happened

It seems not. Indeed, while Mercedes deployed all seven remaining engine development 'tokens' ahead of Monza, Ferrari's upgrade cost them only three.

Mercedes' Toto Wolff said: "We believe that Ferrari now has the peculiarity of our system that you call the 'magic button'." The Austrian referring to a power boost that is most often seen in qualifying.

Chequered flag emotions. ?? #Redseason #ScuderiaFerrari #Seb5 #Ferrari #F1 #PrancingHorse

A photo posted by Scuderia Ferrari (@scuderiaferrari) on

Engine architecture change

Next, the remaining 4 tokens will be deployed by Ferrari towards the end 2016, and will pave the way for an engine architecture change that will also fundamentally shape the design of the 2016 car, Italy's Autosprint claims.

Team boss Maurizio Arrivabene commented: "We must also think about the work of the aerodynamicists.

"Today they have difficulties to continue their development programme because of the dimensions of the power unit.

He added"If you look at a photograph taken from above, you can easily see that our car has a wider rear end than the competition."

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()