How Ferrari plans to recover from its 2020 F1 nightmare

The 2020 Formula 1 season was Ferrari's worst for 40 years as it slumped to sixth in the standings. A repeat performance will not be acceptable for the proud Italian team, which has adopted a notably pragmatic approach to forging its path back to the top

Alex Kalinauckas Mar 4, 2021, 12:22 PM

Upd: Mar 4, 2021, 4:31 PM

The reasons behind Ferrari's plunge down the Formula 1 pecking order came from two directions. But it could be argued that both had the same source: the team itself. Whatever Ferrari was doing with its previous engine design – the FIA has never stated that it was doing something illegal, but there is strong suspicion regarding its fuel-flow operation in 2019 – it got serious negative attention. The governing body conducted a lengthy investigation, and subsequently issued a string of technical directives aimed at closing ambiguities in the power-unit rules.

These applied to all engine manufacturers, but hit Ferrari hardest. And it did so in two areas, as the aerodynamic developments on 2020's SF1000, which were aimed at widening the range of tracks where the Italian team was competitive, suddenly lacked the power punch expected to overcome the drag these parts created. This explained its pre-season woes now over a year ago.

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Author Alex Kalinauckas

Alex Kalinauckas is Autosport's Grand Prix Editor, covering every Formula 1 race since the start of 2020. After completing a master's degree in journalism at Goldsmiths College University of London in 2014, he worked for a range of motorsport and technology publications while covering national racing as an Autosport freelancer.

A lifelong motorsport fan - no one in his family can explain quite how or why such a development first occurred - Alex joined the Autosport staff in April 2017 as the magazine’s Assistant Editor covering Formula 2 and GP3, before being made Formula E correspondent and Autosport.com’s Plus Editor in March 2018. He lives in north-east London and is constantly frustrated by the Central Line.