Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto says the new long-drag wear ring used by the team at the 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix has helped cut into Red Bull‘s straight-line speed advantage.
After opting not to use the new rear wing at the Miami Grand Prix, the Scuderia finally fitted the F1-75 with the upgrade in Baku.
The new wing proved to be a hit, as Ferrari were close to the top of the speed trap table during qualifying. As a result it is likely to be used at several upcoming races that feature long straights, including Canada.
“I think on that type of level of downforce I don’t think we’ve got such a big disadvantage to Red Bull, the speeds were very similar,” Binotto told reporters after the race in Baku.
“Both with DRS on, in the quali we saw it yesterday, and with the DRS off today, that was good enough at least to be in the fight, keep Max [Verstappen] behind on the straight and defending.
“So overall I think yes that rear wing is working as expected. It’s working similarly to the one of the Red Bull on similar downforce, and that gives me confidence that whenever we need to use it we can use it without any big issues.”
Ferrari looking into reliability woes
Sunday’s race in Baku didn’t go to plan for Ferrari, as both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz retired from the race.
The Monegasque’s day went up in a puff of smoke when his Ferrari engine expired, forcing him to crawl back into the pits. The DNF was all the more disappointing as it came after the Spaniard had already stopped with a hydraulic failure on Lap 9.
Ferrari reported on Tuesday that an assessment on Leclerc’s engine would be completed on Wednesday. A short-term fix is in place for the hydraulic issue that forced Sainz out, while work continues on mid/long term solutions.
