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F1 German Grand Prix: Ferrari won't 'surrender' despite lack of downforce gains

Maurizio Arrivabene says Ferrari will not 'surrender' to Red Bull after being overtaken in the F1 world constructors' championship and feels the team is lacking downforce improvements to keep up the rate of gains its rivals are producing.

Despite starting 2016 strongly off the back of three race wins last year, Ferrari's performance has faded somewhat against Mercedes which has also seen Red Bull become the main contender against the Silver Arrows in recent races.

Ferrari was struck another blow in between the Hungarian and German races when it was confirmed James Allison had left his role as technical director.

Ferrari's team principal Arrivabene has confirmed the team is undergoing an organisation restructure after seeing performance levels drop and says the Italian manufacturer's rate of improvements on the aerodynamic side, specifically between aero and mechanical downforce, has stalled its level of gains compared to its rivals.

"I have to say that they [Red Bul] have improved quite well and that is something that was in our mind because we had a problem that we noticed but it doesn't mean that we are going to surrender," Arrivabene said. "It is something we are going to think about and react to.

"We are reorganising the team without panicking because taking that decision means we have clear minds on what to do with the organisation and moving forward for the rest of the season we know as well definitely where we have to work.

"I think in Canada we reacted quite well with the engine update but if I look at the situation now we don't have great improvement with downforce since Barcelona. That is the problem. This is the reason why I said we clearly know where we need to work and we have to do it as soon as possible even if it is not easy."

Ferrari heads into the summer break 14 points behind Red Bull for second place in the F1 teams' standings, while Daniel Ricciardo has leapfrogged both Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen for third in the drivers' championship.

Zdroj: crash.net