Tyres and KERS crucial in 2011 - Domenicali

By Jay
January 13 2011

The return of KERS and new tyres, Pirelli, will be very crucial for teams in the upcoming season, is what Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali says.

“As far as tyres are concerned, the results of the first test we ran at Abu Dhabi last November are positive and clearly it will be very important for the designers and race engineers to find the best balance of the car," he said.

“Furthermore, I feel we will go in a different direction to last year, with tyres maybe exhibiting greater degradation which will make for more changeable racing, which itself will make grid position less significant in terms of the final result. At the moment, the real unknown concerns the handling of the cars in the wet, but we can expect it to rain at some point during the fifteen days of testing, so we should get a clear picture of the situation.”

On the re-introduction of KERS (kinetic energy recovery system), he hopes Ferrari would be able to count on the the experience they gained in 2009.

“We hope it could constitute an advantage, at least in the early part of the season,” he commented.

“We have continued to work on this system, trying to improve it especially in terms of weight, even if the rules regarding its useage have remained unchanged. The costs? I have read some figures, but what I can say is that one has to look at how they were calculated. For example, as far as Ferrari is concerned, the costs relative to research and development are down to us and are not passed on to our customers.”

On the topic of engines changes being planned by FIA for future, Domenicali commented, “As for the engines of the future, the decision of the FIA World Council clearly set out the design and obviously, we are already working on it, because time is pressing. It is not the solution in terms of the split we would have preferred, but we respect the decision. However, we have to analyse the costs carefully, taking into account that today in Formula 1, there are four companies supplying all the engines and, in the current economic climate, we have to be cautious and make sure no one pulls out, which could put the system under pressure, before getting preoccupied at the thought of new arrivals."

"One priority that needs to be considered is the sound of the engines as it’s important for race fans should not be underestimated. Let us not forget that if Formula 1 ought to have a link to industrial production then Ferrari is on the front row on that topic, but we also have to take into account the unique values that are dear to our hearts,” he concluded.