Ferrari relying on 'new parts' and low downforce spec for Miami

Mattia Binotto says Ferrari will introduce "a few new parts" next week in Miami where the Italian outfit will logically run a low downforce F1-75 at the new high-speed venue.

The Miami International Autodrome which has been laid out around the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens features 19 corners unfolding over 5.41km, but the spectacular street circuit also includes several long straights where the emphasis on top will compel teams to opt for low downforce set-ups.

So far this season, Red Bull has had the edge over its rivals in terms of maximum velocity, a fact that obviously isn't lost on Ferrari.

The Scuderia won't implement wholesale changes to its F1-75 in Miami, but rather a few targeted updates that will cater to the new venue's layout.

"No, we will not have the main one in Miami," said Binotto. But still, we will have a few new parts on the car.

"Because Miami is a high-speed circuit compared to the ones we had so far, in terms of downforce, we will run something different compared to what we have.

"Hopefully the level of downforce we bring to Miami, we are quite confident it's quite an efficient one.

"But we know as well that Red Bull has got a good medium/low downforce package as well, and they will be competitive.

"It will be a completely new track and new challenge, quite interesting, and I am pretty curious to be there."

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While Binotto acknowledged Ferrari's deficit to Red Bull in terms of top speed, the Scuderia boss believes that both teams are evolving towards an aero compromise that will bring their car's downforce levels closer together

"If I look at Jeddah, certainly they were a lot faster," said the Swiss engineer. "If I look at Bahrain, there, the DRS effect was certainly powerful, and the way they were catching us on the straight was significant.

"But then if I look at Australia, I think that they put on some downforce, and the speed was very similar between the two cars.

"If you look at the rear wings they've got, certainly they increased the level of downforce. And I think when running on similar wings, we are pretty close on the speed as well. So, I don't think there is a big difference in there.

"We know that we can improve our wings in order to make them more efficient, but I'm not expecting it to be an issue for certain circuits," added Binotto.

"We as Ferrari, certainly will have new wings for medium-low downforce at the next races when necessary. And then it's only a matter of compromise, and the compromise on what you believe is best in terms of not only qualifying lap time, but race pace, and tyre degradation.

"There have been races where I think our choice was the right one. Maybe in Jeddah, or just for, let me say, for a few laps, theirs turned out to be the right one. But that, I think, is great: the fact that we may have different solutions, different setups, choices, makes only the race more spectacular."

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