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Ferrari have reportedly opted not to bring an upgrade to the F1-75’s floor at the Imola GP this weekend, as was originally anticipated, due to unfavorable weather.
Imola will host the first Sprint race of the season. Teams will only have one free practice session to fine-tune their cars for the entire weekend.
With forecasts indicating a high chance of rain throughout Friday, Ferrari have reportedly chosen not to bring a new upgrade. Instead, they will be trusting their current package to remain competitive.
According to Motorsport Italia, the team decided not to “introduce more variables” into the mix during a single free practice session after running simulations at Maranello.
The new floor is expected to provide some respite to the team’s porpoising issues. During practice for the Australian GP two weeks ago, Charles Leclerc tested the part but didn’t use it for either qualifying or the race. The team called it a purely data-gathering exercise.
Leclerc’s outing with the new floor was reportedly positive. Both Leclerc and teammate Carlos Sainz were therefore expected to run the new part in Imola this weekend.
Ferrari has reason to stick to their guns in Imola
Given the F1-75’s performances so far this season, Ferrari’s confidence in sticking with the same specification is justified. The car has shown impressive adaptability throughout the first three rounds of the season, despite all of them having different demands from it.
However, the Imola GP could well be the first competitive session of this season to feature wet weather. This means the new generation of cars will have their first real test in less-than-ideal conditions.
Often called the “great equalizer,” wet weather conditions often have the effect of neutralizing the key advantages held by top teams, most importantly peak downforce and power unit performance.
Factors like driveability, traction in slow-speed corners, and the car’s ability to keep the tires within the right working conditions have become crucial, leading to some surprising performances.
However, the F1-75 has time and again proven its superior driveability over some of its rivals, including the Red Bull RB18 and the Mercedes W13.
The Ferrari 0/067 power unit also has impressive acceleration and crucially great slow speed traction, which lends to driver confidence.
