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This article first appeared in GP Racing magazine.
As Formula 1 draws up plans to go racing again after an enforced hiatus, one of its key competitors is girding itself to deal with a pain it has long been expecting. Ferrari disappointed in testing and Formula 1's adaptation to new global circumstances means the Scuderia must carry low expectations to the first race when the season begins.
When it launched the SF1000 back in February, Ferrari made the bold suggestion that it had adopted 'extreme concepts' to move the game on from 2019's SF90. That car was a three-time grand prix winner but, in the final analysis, fell way short of its expected potential and carried weaknesses 'baked in' to the design concept.
One of the areas in which the SF90 was found wanting over the course of 2019 was in peak downforce levels. It was fast in a straight line but not enough to claw back time lost by indifferent cornering performance over a single lap - and the lack of downforce triggered a vicious cycle of other deficits, such as greater tyre degradation, which mounted up over a race distance.
