Ferrari focused on 'optimizing' F1-75, not upgrades

Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto says the Italian outfit will resume F1 testing in Bahrain next week with limited updates as its priority is to first optimize it new-spec F1-75.

The Scuderia enjoyed a strong first pre-season test in Barcelona last week, with the team topping the lap count at the Circuit de Catalunya with 439 laps or the equivalent of over 2,000 km.

The numbers reflect the rock-solid reliability of Ferrari's new design and bode well for next week's second leg of pre-season testing Bahrain.

But contrary to Mercedes and Red Bull which will both roll out updated iterations of their 2022 cars in Bahrain, Ferrari's F1-75 will take to the track with few upgrades.

"I think that the first step for us will be to optimise what we have," explained Binotto, quoted by Motorsport.com.

"We are still far from the best performance, not only because we are running high fuel and not the best engine mode, but simply because there is a lot to exploit more from the car itself.

"We are more focused on that one [extracting more pace], not only in terms of setup engineering, but as well in terms of driving style and the drivers themselves.

"So let's wait, let's see what the others will bring.

"Certainly, as Ferrari we are always concerned on upgrades of our competitors. And I'm pretty sure they will be very, very strong by then."

A crucial aspect of pre-season testing for all teams is ensuring the strong correlation between data measured off a car and the data collected back at its base in a simulated environment, including the wind tunnel.

• Read also: Binotto responds to Hamilton pre-season suggestion for Ferrari

Binotto said that Ferrari's engineers will have done a lot of analysis before heading to Bahrain, cross checking all of its information.

"In terms of mileage we did a lot of laps," said the Scuderia boss. "What is important since day one, since the first morning, is we are collecting data.

"I think it was important because these cars are so different and the first objective is trying to learn them.

"So the objective at least this [test in Barcelona] was really trying to map the car in all the conditions, and try to understand the correlations with the windtunnel, and the simulator.

"So far, we have certainly been collecting a lot of data. That correlation will be an exercise of the next days back in Maranello, and to really try to cross correlate all the data."

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