Despite starting the season on the front foot with two wins in Australia and Monaco, Ferrari has drastically fallen off the pace. The Italian outfit has fallen to fourth in the grid’s pecking order and is not even in podium contention currently. The cause of their problems and other teams’ rapid growth has been the development war throughout the season. However, due to this, now Ferrari is facing another obstacle with the budget cap.
Courtesy of the tight budget cap, all teams have a limit on the number of upgrades they can introduce during a season. With the 2024 season being heavily dependent on upgrades for unlocking performance, Ferrari has pushed itself into a corner.
Per a report by Formu1a.uno, the Italian outfit has already spent half of its yearly development budget. It wouldn’t have been a problem if Ferrari was on the right developmental path seeing an upward trajectory, but that’s not the case.
Currently, the team back in Maranello is trying to rectify the changes which caused their downfall. This would make the previous upgrades redundant and they can’t get the money back.
| Ferrari have already spent 50% of their annual development budget.
They cannot make any more mistakes with their upgrades.
[@formu1a__uno] pic.twitter.com/Z42R7qZF6P
— formularacers (@formularacers_) July 17, 2024
This is a major setback for the future as Ferrari will need to continuously improve similar to the competition, which is where the budget constraints will hold them back. Regardless, the Italian team’s Hungarian GP upgrades can be a beacon of hope in this difficult situation.
Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur revealed the upgrade package for the Hungarian GP
Despite the setback in the developmental journey, Ferrari isn’t giving up. Frederic Vasseur revealed the one-week break after the triple header gave the team back in Maranello time to reflect on the data collected in the three races.
They were able to identify the Spanish GP upgrades worked as expected but had side effects. These side effects have been affecting their performances which now they will aim to rectify during the Hungarian GP with another set of upgrades.
As quoted by Formu1a.uno, he revealed, “We have worked hard in the company, and so in Budapest, we will bring an advanced version of the floor that we hope will give the drivers a car with which they can express themselves to the best of their ability. I am confident that the package we will have available at the Hungaroring will allow our team to be a protagonist.”
Ferrari : Frédéric Vasseur, explique dans un entretien exclusif avec #AMuS comment il a réussi à redresser la barre chez Ferrari, quels sont les problèmes actuels de la voiture et pourquoi il vaut la peine de prendre des risques.
D’autres sujets sont également abordés. pic.twitter.com/REWeBhC4Sz
— Scuderia Ferrari FRA (@FerrariF1FRA) July 17, 2024
The French boss is aware that the battle for the win is down to the hundredth of a second. Even the smallest step in the right or the wrong direction could affect the output for the entire weekend. With this understanding, Vasseur believes the minute changes in the floor could put them right at the front.
