Ferrari gave Formula a muchneeded kickstart as the predicted Mercedes procession was halted in its tracks following a superb victory by Sebastian Vettel, the team’s first win since the 2013 season, two weekends ago.
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It led purists to wax lyrical about the dawning of a new era for the Prancing Horse and a change to take the fight to recent front-runners Mercedes in the title fight. This weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix is likely to be a reality check for the tifosi and for those expecting Mercedes to be toppled once more.
There is no denying that Ferrari were quick in Malaysia – their straight-line speed was a match for Mercedes, sometimes even exceeding it, and that outright speed has been the thing that has bedevilled the team for so long.
Coulthard: Shanghai is in many ways very similar to Sepang, except for the heat. In straight-line speed, Ferrari have a good advantage. #F1
— Sebastian Vettel #5 (@sebvettelnews) April 7, 2015
But while it is obvious Ferrari have a quicker power unit and better aerodynamic package, it is worth noting that Sepang was somewhat of an anomaly this early in the season.
One of the team’s former sons, Felipe Massa, summed up the situation perhaps best: “They use the tyres in a much better way and, in Malaysia, everything was related to the tyres.”
Track temperatures in Malaysia were phenomenal, over 60°C, while the mercury is expected to tumble drastically come race day in China where temperatures are expected to be around the 20°C mark. It immediately removes Ferrari’s trump card.
Mercedes will bring aerodynamic upgrades to China after a full analysis of why they lost to Ferrari in Malaysia according to Paddy Lowe. #F1
— Latest F1 News (@LatestNews_F1) April 8, 2015
The reality is the SF15-T and its set-up meant it didn’t succumb to rubber wear and tyre quite in the manner of Mercedes or the rest of the grid. In contrast, the W06 suffered dearly with tyre degradation with a heavy burden on the rears in Sepang more than at most circuits.
It means two weekends on, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg will be free of the shackles of having to worry about the state of their tyres and effectively push to their hearts’ content.
That is not to say that Ferrari are suddenly dead and buried come race three of the season. The team have the bit between their teeth, the workforce with a greater hunger for success than for some time having made the biggest leap of any team over the winter.
Plus there is the fact that Mercedes were genuinely surprised by how the race unfolded in Malaysia with their two drivers on the bottom level of the podium.
It led executive director Toto Wolff to remark: “This is something you cannot afford to happen often and, although we had two cars on the podium, we have been looking very carefully at every area where we could have performed better.”
Mercedes have a new range of aerodynamic developments on the car in Shanghai, which they are confident will keep Ferrari at bay… at least for now.
