Ferrari to Develop 2021 F1 Car Only Under Extreme Scenarios Reveals Binotto

Ferrari went through a rather disappointing 2020 season, and it looks like their woes will continue into 2021 as well. However, 2022 could be the real deal for Ferrari, considering the team are looking to go aggressive with the development.

The massive regulation changes for 2022 have prompted Ferrari to leave the 2021 development plans behind and devote their efforts to the much-awaited 2022 car.

Mattia Binotto opened up that Ferrari will consider developing their next season’s car only if they are in need of data to learn about their 2022 car.

“I think 2022 will be more important than 2021,” he said. “That’s because, in 2022, we are opening a new technical era. And if you somehow already have a gap to be closed by the start of 2022, it will be more difficult on the following season.

“I think that eventually if we are doing some work on the 2021 [car], it’s only because eventually, the situation is more bad than expected. Or because some activities are required on the 2021 for learning in trying to do something better for 2022.”

Ferrari could race up to the top by the time they arrive in the 2022 season. However, it might not be that easy for the Maranello-based outfit. Since the technical regulation changes are quite drastic, the chances of witnessing current mid-field teams giving a tough fight at the top are quite high.

Ferrari cannot accept a similar season to 2020: Binotto

Binotto clarified that Ferrari would be disappointed if they fail to outperform their 2020 season in Formula 1 next year. Hence, the team are hopeful of showing some improvement in terms of pace next season.

“I think that as Ferrari we cannot accept a similar season to 2020,” he said. “So we need to do something certainly better compared to what we were doing.

“I think that it will be important not to have such a difficult season as we had in 2020. So the minimum would be competing for a better position.”

Ferrari have lacked the grip in 2020, which they managed to clear out as the season progressed. It looks like the team will have a car with a better grip and handling in 2021.

Apart from that, Ferrari also lacked speed and had always looked like sitting ducks at high-speed circuits throughout the season. To get rid of the disadvantage, Ferrari will be fitting in a new engine for 2021.

Hence, it will be interesting to see how their newly designed engine works over the upcoming season. Will the team see a change in fortunes going into 2021? Only time will tell.