Despite having won each of the last two grands prix, in Malaysia and Bahrain,
Ferrari is taking nothing for granted as the
Formula One circus returns to European soil for the first time in 2008.
The Scuderia has been the class of the field of late but, predicting a return to form for
McLaren to add to the very clear threat being posed by
BMW Sauber, there has been no drop-off in effort at Maranello in the three weeks since Felipe Massa's victory in Sakhir. The two race regulars were joined by Michael Schumacher at the recent Barcelona group test, and the Circuit de Catalunya will now see the next raft of development pieces appearing on the F2008.
Although the team has introduced small improvements at each round of the championship, the changes which will make their race debut in Barcelona constitute a new aerodynamic package, with the most visible element being the introduction of the 'slotted' nose section that has been talked about since it was leaked early in the season.
The design is intended to improve the air flow around the floor of the car. With a conventional nose, air remains trapped at that point, whereas the slotted nose should allows some of the trapped air to escape, allowing the floor to perform more efficiently and improving the overall aero performance of the car.
After last year's espionage saga, the media's reaction to this 'the leak' has been met with much amusement within the Maranello factory, with
Ferrari insisting that tales of an investigation into how the press found out about the part are very wide of the mark. Indeed, the team claims that details of the design have been around since last December, and never denied rumours that it was planning something unusual in the development of the F2008, but maintains that the nose section is far from being a championship-winning weapon.
"The influence on car performance has been greatly over-emphasised," chief designer Nikolas Tombazis stressed, "You cannot measure the effect of one component in isolation, and the nose is just one part of a bigger package. In fact, its effect is not that big. Overall, we expect the new aero package to produce some improvement in performance, but it would be wrong to call it a race winning item."
The nose, however, remains of interest for purely technical reasons, with Tombazis confirming that the piece had caused a few headaches during its gestation.
"The main challenge was its design and manufacture," he revealed, "We effectively had a part which, by virtue of the slot, has less carbon fibre, less material and yet still had to conform to all the usual
FIA crash tests - which it passed successfully. This was a big challenge for the people involved in producing it."
Luca Badoer will shakedown the two F2008s destined for Barcelona at Fiorano today [Wednesday], before the Scuderia packs up and heads across the south of France in pursuit of a third straight victory.
"We come to Spain with every reason to be optimistic, after wins in Malaysia and Bahrain," says team director Stefano Domenicali, "Testing here went well and we hope to keep our momentum moving forward.
"However, our rivals have not been twiddling their thumbs either, so we can expect a tough fight which we will tackle as usual with maximum concentration at every stage of the weekend."
