'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Ferrari is expecting this weekend's 2022 F1 Hungarian GP to be potentially more difficult for its car than last week's French GP, owing to the higher temperatures.
The Scuderia developed the fastest car on the F1 grid in 2022 but has been let down by its reliability on more than one occasion this season. Prior to the 2022 F1 French GP, Ferrari had mentioned that driving around Le Castellet in the hot weather was a challanege in itself.
Ahead of the race at the Hungaroring, Ferrari's Head of Vehicle Operations, Diego Ioverno, has predicted that the soaring temperatures at the venue could make things tough for the team.
In an interview carried by racingnews365.com in the build-up to the race in Hungary, Ioverno said:
“From a temperature point of view, the Hungaroring is potentially more difficult than France. There are far fewer straights where components such as the radiators for the power unit, the gearbox oil, the brakes and other parts that require cooling, can benefit from as much airflow as possible. While it’s true that this is not a track where high average power is needed per lap and so there is less energy to dissipate, it’s still something that cannot be taken for granted.’’
The Italian engineer went on to elaborate on his team's plans to combat the heat in Hungary. Ioveron added:
“It will be important to choose the optimal cooling levels for reliability and performance after Friday, when we will check the correlation between real data and the modelling and simulation which, as always, are used to prepare for each event. Managing the heat of the tyres in the sunny conditions will also be very important.’’
Ferrari has had more dominant weekends than Red Bull in 2022, according to Max Verstappen
Despite his team leading the standings for both world titles, Max Verstappen feels that Red Bull is still chasing Ferrari when it comes to performance in 2022.
Ferrari's aggressive approach to developing its 2022 F1 Power Unit has been both a boon and a curse for the Scuderia. While no one has been able to quite match the pace of the team's package, The Prancing Horse has been plagued by major reliability issues this season.
While speaking to the media ahead of the 2022 F1 French GP, Verstappen admitted that Red Bull is still trailing the Scuderia with regard to its pace advantage. The 24-year-old said:
“In general, I felt like at the beginning of the year we were the ones like chasing and trying to beat Ferrari. Then they had a few retirements and we of course took advantage of that, or through strategy calls. So I think overall, we, from my feeling, [are] still [doing] a bit of chasing. Of course it depends a bit on the tracks, but overall, I feel they had more dominant weekends than we [did].”
Verstappen added:
“After Melbourne, I thought if there is a possibility, we might be able to fight towards the end of the season back for a potential chance. And then I mean it really quickly turned around. But that also shows that it can go the other way very quickly, so we just always have to be on it. We cannot make mistakes.”
The Scuderia is currently second in the World Constructors' Championship standings with 314 points. Red Bull leads it by 82 points at the top of the pile.
