Ferrari still puzzled by Felipe Massa's flapping wing
By Jonathan Noble
Monday, November 14th 2011, 11:16 GMT
Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali has admitted that his team is still seeking a solution for the flapping wing phenomenon that Felipe Massa has encountered in the last two races.
The Maranello-based outfit has been experimenting with the kind of legal flexing front wing technology that Red Bull Racing has used to good effect over the past few years.
However, although Fernando Alonso's version has worked well, Massa has had a more troubled time - with the wing seen to be fluttering heavily at the end of the long straights in both India and Abu Dhabi.
The problem in India forced him to change the wing during the race, while in Abu Dhabi he had to revert to an older specification because the team did not want to risk any further problems.
Domenicali says Ferrari still does not have an answer for what is happening - but believes the fact Red Bull Racing encountered a similar problem in Abu Dhabi shows that the issue is not unique to his team.
"First of all it was pretty clear that [in India] it was a problem with the assembly of the wing," he said. "We thought we had understood the issues already in the last race, and if you see the behaviour of the wing of Red Bull, it was exactly the same situation.
"With the DRS zone on the long straight, there are a lot of facts to consider: tyre pressure, linearity of asphalt, and set-up conditions. So a lot of things that have an effect on that.
"The reason we had to go back on the wing was, because of this problem, we had [only] a few parts and we cannot run a risk of having a problem. So I think we took the right decision on that, and we need to fix it for sure."
Credit: AUTOSPORT.COM (www.autosport.com)
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