The Formula One grid is in America and ready to race. Well, most of it is anyway. The field will be a few cars shorter than normal this Sunday with Marussia and Caterham not making the trip across the pond due to financial difficulties. Because of this the qualifying format will be a bit different with four cars exiting Q1 rather than six, four exiting again in Q2 and the top ten Q3 will remain the same.
So while some things are different for this weekend’s grand prix some things have remained the same for the drivers and crews at Ferrari. The goal for the rest of the season remains as it was three weeks ago in Sochi: Gain points and fight Williams for third place in the Constructors’ Championship. Right now Ferrari is 28 points behind in the race for third.
Ferrari still has reason to fight for this year but with only three races remaining on the schedule technical director Pat Fry also has his eyes set on the 2015 season and what they can do now in order to be better prepared for next year. The new cars have had the Ferrari team on the ropes for most of the season but Fry thinks they are gaining on it.
“Certainly, our knowledge and understanding has come on a huge amount. It’s also clear, comparing us to our competitors, exactly where we need to improve. We need to work on all areas of the car and we’ve set ourselves some strong targets for power unit and aerodynamic development, both of which are key. We have to reach those targets to be competitive and that is the main focus at the factory now, as it will be for the next five months.” The team said in a statement.
Ferrari’s end of year and offseason plans are beginning to shape up but their lame duck driver Fernando Alonso is still keeping quiet on his plans going forward. He’s assured the media that his plans for next year are pretty much set but he’s staying business as usual for the grand prix weekend. He is towing the company line saying that his future is “low priority” and that gaining everything they can in the points race for the Constructors’ Championship and his work on the track are the only things that Alonso is worried about for the moment.
His teammate Kimi Räkkönen is looking forward to the events this weekend and like Pat Fry is looking forward to the improvements the team will be able to make in the fast approaching off season. While he doesn’t necessarily expect the team to jump to the front and dominate in the fashion that Mercedes has done this season he is hopeful that the things they have learned over the course of this year will translate into more success going into 2015.
The United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin Texas is set for its third go around since coming onto the schedule in 2012. It is one of the few counter clockwise tracks on the schedule and will take a bit of getting used to for the drivers but especially for the crews who will essentially be pitting the car opposite from what they are used to. Getting the tyres to work at their maximum potential will be key to any success that Ferrari hopes to have navigating between the high speed and low speed corners that inhabit the track.
And of course even though Marussia is not present in Austin the thoughts of every driver, team and fan are still with their driver Jules Bianchi who is still in critical but stable condition in Yokkaichi Japan after his accident during the Japanese Grand Prix. Forza Jules.
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