James Allison says F14 T's mechanical grip is improving
Tuesday 30 September 2014 13:01, UK
Ferrari Technical Director James Allison believes the team’s improved performance in Singapore showed they are making genuine progress with their car as they aim to overhaul Williams in the standings.
The Scuderia’s 2014 season has increasing proved a tumultuous one following the departures of the two men formerly at the top of their faltering F1 operation, team boss Stefano Domenicali and long-time President Luca di Montezemolo.
On the track the team have finished on the podium just twice all year and remain without a race win for 28 GPs, a dearth of results which keep them on course for their worst season since 1993. However, there were more positive signs at the last race at Marina Bay after Ferrari qualified within 0.3s of Mercedes and then finished right behind the Red Bulls with Fernando Alonso in the race in fourth.
That result, combined with Kimi Raikkonen’s eighth place, meant Ferrari took six points out of Williams in the battle for third place in the Constructors’ Championship, the Grove outfit’s advantage over their old rival now a slender nine points,
And while Allison acknowledges the stark differences between the slow Singapore street track and the fast sweeps of Suzuka that await the F14 T at the Japanese GP this weekend, the technical boss feels progress has been made.
“We left Singapore with some satisfaction that areas we’d been working on the car, to improve its mechanical grip for example, appear to be paying off for us,” he told Ferrari’s website.
“So we go to Suzuka and the remaining races determined to close the gap to Williams and then try and actually pull ahead of them, with the aim of securing a third place in the championship.
“We also plan to learn what lessons we can during the remainder of this season, to help guide us for the following year.”
Singapore qualifying was widely regarded as the first time this season in dry conditions that the Mercedes cars had faced a challenge for pole from multiple teams but Allision reckons “Mercedes probably had a bit more pace in hand, so that brought the front of the grid a bit closer together than normal”.
“Also, it’s a track where the engine has a smaller effect compared with nearly all of the other tracks this year, so that provided another opportunity for the field to close up a bit,” he added.
“And finally, the nature of the corners at Singapore are also sensitive to the amount of mechanical grip that you can get from your package. That’s certainly an area where Ferrari has been working recently and it allowed us to have a rather better weekend.”
The 2014 Japanese GP is live on Sky Sports F1 this weekend. Extensive coverage of Race Day at Suzuka begins at 5.30am on Sunday with lights out at 7am.
