F1 – Ferrari: the mind in Austin, the heart in Suzuka

Ferrari F1 – Three weeks after the debut of Formula 1 in Russia, the Circus heads west, towards the United States, a country which, over the years, has been the backdrop to several key moments for Ferrari in Formula 1 as well as in other competitions. The United States is also the main market for the Prancing Horse's road cars, while this year marks 60 years of Ferrari presence in North America.

With just three races remaining this season, Scuderia Ferrari's mission is clear: to continue fighting for third place in the Constructors' championship in which they are currently fourth, 28 points behind Williams. For the team there is also another objective to achieve and it is equally important, as Director of Engineering, Pat Fry, explains to www.ferrari.com: “After the two races in a row in Japan and Sochi we had three weeks to prepare two more consecutive appointments, in the United States and Brazil. We used the extra week of work to better prepare for the Austin event and develop some elements to test, once again with the aim of optimizing the performance and development work of the car, especially with a view to 2015."

The new rules introduced this season have meant that there has been a very steep learning curve for all teams. The Scuderia's engineers are now committed to drawing as many indications as possible from the lessons learned: “Our awareness and understanding have certainly increased greatly” – confirms Fry – “From the comparison with our adversaries we have also gained an idea of ​​where we have to improve. It is necessary to work in all the areas we have identified and some ambitious objectives have been set for two key areas such as power unit and aerodynamics. We want to achieve these objectives to become competitive again and this is what the whole team is working on and will focus on for the next five months."

The Circuit of the Americas has been one of the most loved in Formula 1 since its first appearance on the calendar in 2012. The track features some corners that closely resemble those of some other great tracks, plus the spectacular climb that leads to the first blind curve after the pits. It is one of the few circuits on the calendar that runs anti-clockwise and this involves a short period of adaptation for the drivers but also for the pit stop teams, who have to get used to the idea of ​​having to manage a car coming from the right . For the car's set-up it will be necessary to find the traditional compromise between the fast and slow parts of the track. Fry then analyzes the elements of the car package that will be of utmost importance in Austin: “There are many high-speed corners in the first sector, a long straight in the middle of the lap and a series of slower corners in the final stretch” – he states – “The element that characterized the last two races here were the tires and this year too the performance of the cars in Austin will be very conditioned by how well each team manages to make the tires work”.

The United States Grand Prix will follow the traditional schedule, with all the protagonists focused on achieving their objectives ahead of Sunday's battle. However, four weeks before the Japanese Grand Prix, everyone in Formula 1 as well as Ferrari continues to think about the battle still being fought in Suzuka, where Jules Bianchi continues to fight for his life. Go Jules!