2011 start of 'a new era' for Ferrari - Costa
Credit: ESPN F1 (espn.com)
Aldo Costa: "Now we have solved the problem and begun a new era" © Sutton Images
Ferrari is confident it can match Red Bull in 2011 after labelling the 2010 season a period of transition.
Ferrari finished third in the constructors' championship and second in the drivers' championship this year, after Fernando Alonso lost his position at the top of the standings at the very last race. The team suffered a mid-season slump before coming on strong in the second half of the year, taking four wins in the final nine races.
The result was a significant improvement on 2009 - the first year under the current stripped-back aero regulations - but technical director Aldo Costa has admitted that 2010 was still a learning process, and it won't be until 2011 that Ferrari's technical prowess is revealed in full.
"This year we did reduce the gap to Red Bull," Costa told La Repubblica. "What we have done is revolutionise our working methods and this meant a period of adjustment. And we paid for having a wind tunnel that was a bit dated. But now we have solved the problem and begun a new era."
He also denied reports that "heads will roll" after Ferrari's strategic blunder at the final race in Abu Dhabi dropped Alonso out of contention for the title.
"I'm not for the automatic 'error-guilt-punishment' [approach]," Costa said. "I prefer a more rational response, where we understand what happened and what went wrong, and then we act. We must make sure that certain decisions are shared, with responsibility not resting on one set of shoulders. But, anyway, we didn't lose the championship because of the strategy in Abu Dhabi, but because our car was not as fast as another."
Credit: ESPN F1 (espn.com)
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