Ferrari to bring B spec F14T car to Canadian GP

[John S]

But too small turbo hampering 2014 competitive effort.                           
Poor old Enzo must be spinning in his grave a lot more than the current Maranello turbo. 

Ferrari are arriving in Montreal, for the Canadian Grand Prix weekend with a heavily revised F14T which Italian media are calling ‘Version-B’.

Autosprint are reporting that the race at the circuit named after Ferrari’s favourite son, Gilles Villeneuve, is the do-or-die race for the team’s 2014 programme. A successful weekend would mean that the team will continue to focus on their current campaign, while another below par race will trigger full focus on the 2015 car.

Maranello have confirmed that they are taking substantial updates to Canada which should give them a boost, but are keen to stress that all is dependent on what their main rivals unleash at the same time.

Perhaps the biggest news is that as per Luca di Montezemolo’s promises and as confirmed recently by James Allison, Ferrari will be using “aggressive” engine maps to take more effective advantage of the electric charge of the MGU-H energy store and hence, in theory, should provide more power for Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen..

It has emerged that the turbo on the Ferrari power unit is too small, and the size thereof cannot be changed during the course of this season. Thus all efforts, ahead of the race in Canada, are focussed on improving other elements of the unit, which have included fuel tweaks made by Shell.

It has also been found that the F14T is unstable during load transfers, a problem which has been traced to the floor of the car, which has been updated with the goal of stabilising and maximising the efficiency of air flow under the car.

Much of the new development parts may not find their way on to the car for race day, but whatever the case the Ferrari drivers will be working hard for their wages on Friday in Montreal to get through what is set to be a packed evaluation programme. (GP247)

Grandprix247.com, Today.

[F1fanaticBD]

I just wonder, is it the best track for your do or die decision for the season. First of all this is a sort of track that is very similar to China, where Ferrari has always been a strong competitor, regardless of their position.

If they had chosen Silverstone for this, I would have been much pleased as this is the track that literally decides who will be getting the better of the latter part of the season. The updates would have given much better feedback there. Also weather plays a tricky part in Canada, which may force Ferrari to be stranded in the middle of nowhere.