Question Time: Do Ferrari Have What it Takes This Year?

[Paul Jeffrey]

Following a convincing victory around the streets of Monaco do Ferrari finally have all the tools required to mount a serious championship challenge this year?

The Scuderia Ferrari Formula One Team have had a pretty up and down time of it since the glory years of Michael Schumacher back in the mid 2000's, but with a fired up Sebastian Vettel and slowly returning to form Kimi Räikkönen fronting the team into 2017, have the red cars finally pulled together all the elements required to mount a sustained challenge for both drivers and teams championships at the end of the season?

Vettel has been on sparkling form all year, making his second best start to a season since entering Formula One as a fresh faced teenager back in 2007 and his Ferrari team have often found themselves with the most competitive car come lights out on Sunday.

One of the biggest early tests for Ferrari has already been overcome by the squad, with many of the Formula One grid bringing substantial upgrades to the start of the European season back at the Spanish Grand a couple of weeks ago, and contrary to usual form the Italian team seemed to hit the nail on the head first time out, at the very least matching the rate of development of main rivals the AMG Mercedes team of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.

So with Ferrari known for finding unusual ways of throwing away championships in previous years, have they finally found a sweet enough spot for both car and team to take the fight to the all conquering Silver Arrows this year?

Let us know your thoughts!

 

[M-Bimmer]

If Kimi and Vettel keep on delivering whenever they get the chance then yeah. Strategy wise, Let's see if Ferrari blow it or not in the next few races when it is down to the wire.

Sleepless nights for Benz to bounce back...
Would love to see a three way fight at some point bw Red bull, Benz, Ferrari...

 

[Nick Gregory]

I think we're beyond "too early to tell". As of right now, It's Ferrari's championship to lose.

 

[aphidgod]

Strange as it sounds, it's not just Ferrari's pace this year but also reliability and consistency that are exceptional. Mercedes certainly isn't far behind, but at this point Ferrari has proven they're the team to beat in 2017.

Of course the gap from them to the rest of the field is nowhere near as dramatic as it was for Mercedes the past 3 years, so there's still plenty of season left for things to change. Should be fun!

 

[Nick Hill]

We are way too far in for "too early to tell" in my book. The proof is in the pudding, as the saying goes - look at the points table.

Merc seems to have a tad extra in qualy, but Ferrari has the performance when it counts on race day.

 

[Matheus Machado]

It is not a matter of team x being good. It is all about if others can play the catchup game.

 

[Coffer]

I'm pretty confident that Merc's upgrades will outperform Ferrari's and that Red Bull will get close enough to actually interfere once they get their engine upgrade. Sadly I think it's only going to go downhill from here, and Ferrari will most likely have to take a few big penalties due to their early component changes, so at best I think it really is still too early to tell. At worst, and more likely than not, Hamilton is still going to win this. Vettel is clearly performing exceptionally well on race day right now, but somehow I doubt he'll shine quite as much once Merc start to figure out their problems and 1-2 a lot of races again.

 

[Rodent]

Perhaps I'm just being to cautious as a Ferrari fan but I still think it's too early to tell, but things are looking promising for sure.
It's hard to rule out Merc though. They had a bad weekend sure, but all it takes is for Ferrari to have a similar one down the road for things to be tied up. A lot will come down to how Vettel and Hamilton hold up under pressure and both have proven to be more then capable of doing so in the past. Whatever happens, this season is shaping up to be the one to reinvigorate F1 over all.

That said, so sad seeing Williams down in 6th, Stroll better be bankrolling the entire development of next years car because oh boy is he costing them.

 

[Deleted member 130869]

I wonder how much their 2018 will suffer from not having three key members of the team dismissed for 2017, especially James Allison. Or maybe the current car can keep being evolved until they potentially fall behind with the next set of rule changes.

 

[Rodent]

They have a Swizz guy now don't they? It's why it's running like clockwork.

 

[Coffer]

I wonder how much their 2018 will suffer from not having three key members of the team dismissed for 2017, especially James Allison. Or maybe the current car can keep being evolved until they potentially fall behind with the next set of rule changes.

James Allison is even working for Mercedes now. I'll be shocked if Ferrari are still as competitive next year.

 

[Rodent]

It will certainly be interesting, for me Lowe/Williams even more so, they did quite well during his first stint there after all.

 

[Boby Kim]

Dont know, as long as i follow F1 it seems that teams "suddenly" found the golden key to succes. After Mercedes, it seems that Ferrari stumbled onto the key (or somebody gave it to them secretly), i have no clue. For now i would say it is too early in the season to point towards the winning team. A lot can and hopefully will happen.

 

[rubaru]

I'm confident Ferrari have what it takes to win. I'm also convinced that Mercedes have it, and Red Bull might get it. The question isn't "will they", but rather "can they", and with the current form of all the teams I think the answer most definitely is Yes.

But will they? Too early to tell. It depends on too many things happening. Suppose the Renault engine upgrade is miles beyond what is expected, Red Bull enters the mix, Renault pushed Force India and Toro Rosso for 4th? Bottas's engine blew in Spain. When will Hamilton's go? Will Ferrari have a similar problem at a critical moment, like when they are leading the race in Silverstone or Monza? Too many what ifs, and that's why I keep watching!

 

[mozzie]

James Allison is even working for Mercedes now. I'll be shocked if Ferrari are still as competitive next year.

You're forgetting that Rory Byrne, (designer of all of M. Schumachers championship winning cars including his Benetton's), was brought back to Ferrari in 2014 in an advisory role. I think he has had a fair bit of influence in the the new cars & success that are coming out of Ferrari. Apparently he is the third most winning designer in F1 after Colin Chapman and Adrian Newey.

 

[Witti]

I see them on one level this season. 17 points is nothing and they can be gone in one weekend. Maybe this season we will have a DWC fight at the last circuit and WMC too. I really like this season so far. Maybe big updates will change something but I don't think Red Bull will catch up for 1st place.

 

[Rob]

and slowly returning to form Kimi Räikkönen fronting the team into 2017

lol. Kimi is not "returning to form". Virtually every F1 driver (except the pre-teens and pay drivers) can win in the Ferrari. Simply because Ferrari are back. Kimi never went anywhere. Same with Fernando. This is the tragedy of F1. Just imagine if more than 2-3 teams were competitive. You would actually have an unbeatable combination, which was inching toward reality when Red Bull was dominating, but had superior drivers (after Brawn showed that drivers, in the face of a quirk innovation, were useless). Until F1 favors drivers over teams, then we will continue to have domination, which, to me, is not a bad thing. You just need to make sure access/money is even and a new outfit can come it when it wants. Liberty is headed there.

 

[Coffer]

You're forgetting that Rory Byrne, (designer of all of M. Schumachers championship winning cars including his Benetton's), was brought back to Ferrari in 2014 in an advisory role. I think he has had a fair bit of influence in the the new cars & success that are coming out of Ferrari. Apparently he is the third most winning designer in F1 after Colin Chapman and Adrian Newey.

True, I think he's a lot better than Newey, especially given the events of the 2000 season and how awfully rigid and/or flawed (2005, 2012...) Newey's designs can be, but he's mostly just an advisor. Even Newey has more input on the current RB, and we know it's worse than the top 2 so far. Byrne's approach is fine enough for the time being, but like with Red Bull this season, it also means he's not going to have that much input unless he starts to take a more involved role again, which in his case, unlike Newey's, I doubt will happen.

Until F1 favors drivers over teams

When comparing Ferrari and Mercedes to the other teams, yeah, maybe. But when comparing Ferrari to Mercedes? The latter, outside of one nearly SIN2015-like weekend (hell, outright SIN2015-like for Hamilton), has had the better car this season, and the regular gap between VET and RAI, or HAM and BOT, is undeniable, as is the current gap between VET and HAM. The drivers are absolutely making a difference right now - without Vettel, they'd be having a much harder time right now.

 

[Rob]

When comparing Ferrari and Mercedes to the other teams, yeah, maybe. But when comparing Ferrari to Mercedes? The latter, outside of one nearly SIN2015-like weekend (hell, outright SIN2015-like for Hamilton), has had the better car this season, and the regular gap between VET and RAI, or HAM and BOT, is undeniable, as is the current gap between VET and HAM. The drivers are absolutely making a difference right now - without Vettel, they'd be having a much harder time right now.

I got news for ya. Ferrari has been spun off into NY Stock exchange hell. And Mercedes is owned by an American company. So, this "constructors war" is a complete facade. They need to do away with the Constructors Championship. Races are not won by engineers in general, and this year we are seeing what a fair fight might look like. Agree, Vettel is, by far, the best in F1. And Ferrari also has #2. Problem is, they are up against a monolith in Mercedes, with American money. That's ridiculous.

 

[wombat999]

Way to soon to tell, but it is possible.
Ask again mid season.