Extended wheelbase and attack on Liberty: a "bad" Ferrari is being born

Power attack. Total, direct, deafening. Ferrari plays on two tables, and does so with its cards exposed, to return to dictating the pace in F1. In recent weeks, the Red Team has been giving its particular welcome to the new owners of the Circus, effectively establishing itself as the last bastion of an exclusive and selective F1. In its particular battle against the "standardization" of engines and the Americanization of the category, Maranello has found the best possible support, a Mercedes which - although in a more diplomatic way - has embraced the Cavallino's cause.

If Liberty Media works for a more accessible, technically easy and attractive F1 for new investors, Ferrari asks for maximum design freedom and experimentation, opposing in the name of a lineage to be defended a category with "cars all the same and simple engines" word of Marchionne, who then thundered: “With the new contracts it takes us two minutes to abandon an F1 that resembles NASCAR, and we're not joking." The Italian-Canadian manager wants to avoid Ferrari acting as a luxury extra in a new hypothetical Yankee "game", all sequins and show, but far from the DNA that has made F1 the queen category of motor racing.

It is a far-sighted speech, which embraces the decade to come, but which is based on an essential premise, namely Ferrari's return to the top in the immediate future. The Cavallino is tired of looking out the window at others winning, it desperately needs to lift trophies, to return to having a hegemonic role in that F1 which throughout the globe is synonymous with Ferrari. This is why, before the battle (which has just begun) with Liberty over future regulations, the one on the track against Mercedes must be won. Without big shots in the technical market, the Cavallino leaders have followed the horizontal model, the one useful for "freeing talent and internal resources" a mantra now dear to Marchionne.

The Ferrari in the pipeline, project 669, will have to have the advantages of the very good SF70H, without however inheriting its defects. This is why the technicians opted for a slightly longer wheelbase, useful for having more stability and generating more load in those fast corners still the exclusive property of Mercedes. You can't fly to Monte Carlo and get paid at Silverstone, you need a fast car everywhere. The other big challenge is obviously represented by the power unit. Situation worthy of Zeno's famous paradox; the Red Army, as if it were Achilles with the tortoise, often gives the sensation of approaching the Stuttgart cavalry, without however having the concrete possibility of reaching it. You can't win with crooked steering in Budapest and gain half a minute's lead in Monza, the concept is the same as above.

The reshuffle that took place in the engine department, with Iotti replacing Sassi, should also be seen from this perspective. Beyond the usual declarations, it is clear that Marchionne didn't like the problems on the bench with the last engine of 2017, the one that was originally supposed to cause problems for Mercedes, but instead it turned out to be a sensational own goal ( read Malaysia and Japan).

Because Ferrari started this 2018 with a declared objective, this time without superstition and pre-tactics: to win the next World Championship. Errors and missteps are not allowed, but neither are do-goodisms, concessions to competition, or political compromises. Marchionne has cleared a "bad" Ferrari, which does not suffer from inferiority complexes and wishes to assert the weight of its tradition, on and off the track.

Antonino Rendina

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