Ferrari confirms cause of engine problem during testing
- Published on 24 Feb 2020 16:12
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- By: Fergal Walsh
Ferrari has revealed what caused Sebastian Vettel to stop on track during the third day of pre-season testing in Barcelona last week.
The team's programme was interrupted by the issue, causing it to send the engine that was in the car back to Maranello for inspection and to find the root of the problem.
The Italian outfit has asserted that there is no cause for concern following a check at its factory and that the failure was due to a non-structural issue.
“The unit which had the problem last Friday has been stripped and checked in Maranello,” a Ferrari statement said. “The fault was traced to a non-structural problem with the lubrication system. It’s not a cause for concern and work to correct it is already underway.”
Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto said at the winter test that his team is behind its rivals Mercedes ahead of the season-opening race in Australia.
The team will return to the Barcelona circuit this week, with Vettel and teammate Charles Leclerc sharing duties on the opening day on Wednesday.
Vettel will drive the car on his own on Thursday, before handing over to Leclerc for the final day of running.
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Replies (5)
Login to replycalle.itw
Posts: 8,527
There are rumours from both Merc' and general press implying that Ferrari weren't running at full power at all during last week. In fact, some even imply Ferrari ran on lower modes than the customers. So this could be why. It could also be that they have issues with cooling compared to their B-teams. Either way, methinks Ferrari looks a bit pale in comparison to the big 3. If they aren't careful, RP might catch them.
mcbhargav
Posts: 1,332
It’s no secret that, Checo’s 2019 Merc is faster than 2020 Ferrari. It’s Ferrari that needs to catch up.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
It's faster in testing. That is almost like being better at maths at home, in excel, than on maths tests. We will only know for certain when Albert Park is up. Still think RP is more a p4, due to it being a 2019 car, but they could very well be up there.
But the RP looks impressive
mcbhargav
Posts: 1,332
Yes, i am as shocked at RP as Mr.Williams was at Haas during their debut.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
I'm not really. I've said a long time that I want to see what they could do if they had more money to play with. This might be it.