For Ferrari, will 2022 rhyme with a return to happy days?

The Italian tifosis have been waiting for the return to the top of the Scuderia since 2008. An eternity for the most successful team in the history of F1.

These are of course only the beginnings of a season disrupted by profound regulatory changes, with brand new single-seaters reviewed from top to bottom, but Ferrari seems to be in good shape in this Catalan winter.

Second and third fastest on Wednesday with Monegasque Charles Leclerc and Spaniard Carlos Sainz, Leclerc took the lead this time with a time of 1:19.689.

"We are still the outsiders, not the favourites," said Mattia Binotto, boss of the Ferrari team.

"But as Ferrari it was important for us to focus and prioritize 2022."

Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto poses, surrounded by Spanish drivers Carlos Sainz (l) and Monegasque Charles Leclerc, during the official presentation of the new Ferrari F1-75, on February 17, 2022 at the manufacturer's headquarters in Maranello - FERRARI PRESS OFFICE/AFP/Archives

In 2021, the Scuderia finished 3rd team, after a disaster year in 2020 (6th).

But the historic team has mainly spent its time preparing for 2022.

Wanted from 2021, F1 has postponed for a year, in 2022, a new technical regulation to allow cars to follow and overtake each other more easily, promising more spectacle.

Cars "bounce"

"We want a lot more competition, but less domination by teams with huge resources," F1 sporting director Ross Brawn recently explained.

For Ferrari, "we always said it was an opportunity," recalls Binotto.

Will the future be golden again for the prancing horse?

"Only the next few months, not the next few days, will tell us. It will take at least four to five races to see the potential of the cars, there are still so many things to adapt, to sort out".

Moreover, it is still the Briton Lando Norris who has the best time, achieved Wednesday in 1:19.568 aboard another team wanting to return to the top: McLaren.

Briton Lando Norris (McLaren), best time on the first day of Formula 1 pre-season winter testing, February 23, 2022 at the Barcelona-Catalonia circuit LLUIS GENE AFP

Defending champion Max Verstappen (Red Bull) did not race on Thursday.

His team-mate Sergio Perez was the only red flag of the day, interrupting the session for a gearbox problem.

At the technical level, the cars, heavier, more muscular, benefit again from the ground effect.

This suction effect, banned in the 1980s, “sticks” the single-seaters to the bitumen.

F1 intends to rely on it to allow a following car to be less bothered by the flow of air escaping from the car in front.

Since Wednesday, the teams have been dealing with this effect, not without difficulty: we see the cars on the track "bouncing", getting up and going down slightly.

"I think most of us have at least underestimated this problem," Binotto explained.

Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto on the United States Formula 1 Grand Prix Circuit on October 22, 2021 in Austin (Texas) Jim WATSON AFP / Archives

"When you tune these cars with the flat bottom (ground effect, editor's note), the situation is different. But that's normal, it's a learning process."

For the Italian, "fixing the problem will be quite simple", but keeping as much performance by fixing it will be "a less easy exercise".

The Alfa Romeo team, faced with these problems, has not been able to complete as many laps as its competitors since Wednesday.

A detrimental situation knowing the importance of chaining the kilometers to collect the data and improve your single-seater before the start of the season.

Waiting for March 20 and the first race in Bahrain, Hamilton was only last, having ended his morning session after 40 laps due to a "sensor problem" explained Mercedes.

His new team-mate and compatriot George Russell "had a more productive session in the afternoon and we did some useful set-up analysis," the team explained.

© 2022 AFP