1982 308 Gtsi Targa on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Ferrari Driver Academy heads to Florida for the winter

Retirees and Girls Gone Wild camera crews aren't the only ones who go to Florida for the winter. So is a contingent of aspiring formula racing drivers taking part in the new Florida Winter Series being set up by the Ferrari Driver Academy.
The program is being set up in response to a lack of suitable weather at circuits in Europe, which would otherwise keep rising stars in formula racing from honing their skills during the off-season. Toyota runs an off-season series in New Zealand, but Ferrari is heading to the most southern of these United States to give its prodigies some much-needed track time.
Set up as more of a training program than a competitive championship, the FDA Florida Winter Series is based around a field of 15 aspiring drivers piloting the Formula Abarth-spec Tatuus FA010B, with a 195-horsepower engine furnished by Fiat Powertrain Technologies and an engineer for every three cars in the series.

Ferrari believes F1 title is still possible

Ferrari believes the changing shape of the Formula 1 championship battle, with points leader Nico Rosberg hitting a difficult patch, means its own title hopes are far from over. Despite more frustrations at the Monaco Grand Prix, where a poor qualifying showing left its drivers unable to fight for the win, both Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen remain within striking distance of the leading Mercedes driver. Raikkonen is 45 points behind Rosberg - and only five behind Daniel Ricciardo - while Vettel is just one point further back. With the title momentum appearing to have shifted in recent weeks as Rosberg's winning streak has come to an end, team boss Maurizio Arrivabene believes the story of the championship this year has yet to be settled, as he predicted some 'interesting' times ahead. When asked if he feared the title was slipping away, he said: "No way. You saw Ricciardo here was quite good, and Hamilton is coming back. "So what we have to do is to keep our concentration, to keep focus, concentrate and look forward. This championship is going to be quite interesting I think." Qualifying frustration Arrivabene thinks that key to Ferrari's campaign going forward is in getting to the bottom of what is going wrong with qualifying, as again the team was slower in Q3 than in Q1. "I don't want to find any excuses, but we were not good enough in Barcelona in Q3 and it has happened also here - and we paid the price during the race," added Arrivabene. "It was a heavy price to pay, but I take the lesson that we need to really understand where the problem is. "If you compare Q1, it was more or less similar. Here in Q1 we were 1m14.1s and were slower in Q3. So there is the problem that we have to look for."Related Video: This article by Jonathan Noble originally appeared on Motorsport.com. Image Credit: Motorsport.com Motorsports Ferrari F1 motorsport.com

Formula One approves aerodynamic rule changes to promote more passing

LONDON — Formula One has approved aerodynamic rule changes for 2019 aimed at promoting closer racing by making it easier for cars to overtake, the sport's governing body said on Tuesday. The measures include a simplified front wing with a larger span, front brake ducts without winglets and a wider and deeper rear wing. The International Automobile Federation (FIA) said its Formula One commission, Strategy Group and World Motor Sport Council had approved the changes. The changes should reduce turbulence for cars that are following each other, and come after criticism of the lack of overtaking in some races. The FIA said the vote, on the last day before unanimous agreement is required for any 2019 regulation changes, followed research carried out by a majority of the teams and backed by commercial rights holders Liberty Media. "These studies indicated the strong likelihood of a positive impact on racing and overtaking within F1 and as such have now been ratified for implementation in 2019," the statement added. "The approved changes are separate to the ongoing work being undertaken in regard to defining Formula One's regulations for 2021 and beyond." Motorsport.com suggested several teams, including Ferrari and Red Bull, had been opposed to the proposals but were outvoted. Formula One's current agreements with teams expire at the end of 2020 and all parties are discussing what kind of engine and rules should be introduced after that. Liberty want to level the playing field, reduce the costs and introduce a more equal distribution of the revenues. Only three of the 10 teams — Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull — have won races in the V6 turbo hybrid era that started in 2014, and Mercedes has so far won every championship. The FIA said it was continuing to evaluate a range of other measures to encourage closer racing. Reporting by Alan BaldwinRelated Video: Image Credit: Reuters Motorsports Ferrari Mercedes-Benz Technology Racing Vehicles F1 fia liberty media