Ferrari given a confidence boost after re-opening of upgraded wind tunnel

Ferrari

Formula one team Ferrari has been given by a confidence boost after their reopened wind tunnel showed encouraging early results.

Ferrari shut down their Maranello wind tunnel last year for upgradation and was using the Toyota’s state-of-the-art wind tunnel in Cologne in the meantime. Team’s engineering director Pat Fry said that the progress is encouraging but added that it might be too early to evaluate the efficiency of the new tunnel.

“We have been back in there for a few weeks. It’s being 100 per cent used now, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and the normal thing. It is reasonable although it takes time for you realize how good a tool is. We have certainly made some reasonable improvements there. Time will tell if we are exactly where we would like to be but the signs are good at the moment,” Fry told Autosport.

Fry also said that the tunnel is being tested in such a way to ensure that it generates the same results as the Toyota’s tunnel.

“There are the normal things of repeatability, so we do a lot more repeats of things. Some of the things we’ve done at Toyota, we are also doing – step changes trying to check it has got the same trends – and so far so good,” he added.