Ferrari says its latest updates have been “a step in the right direction” and that it is encouraged with the development path it now has for 2021 and beyond.
The Italian marque has endured a trouble-filled 2020 campaign, stemming from the problems it has had with its SF1000, both in terms of aerodynamics and overall power output.
Ferrari currently sits sixth in the Constructors’ Championship and is striving to extract itself out of the midfield group, previously warning its recovery will not be a short one.
At the Nurburgring, Ferrari brought upgrades to the bargeboards that complemented previous updates, which helped Charles Leclerc to the second row of the grid, before falling to seventh in the race.
“I would have surely preferred to have finished a bit higher but, looking back there are quite a few positives,” Leclerc said.
“I did not expect to be so competitive with the cold weather like that, the car was handling quite well so this was positive.
“I think the small updates that we brought this weekend also worked in the right direction.
“It wasn’t a massive step but that was not what we were searching for, it was a small step going in the right direction.
“This is positive, now we need to understand why the first stint on Soft was so affected by graining but I am quite pleased with the way the weekend has gone.”
Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto mirrored Leclerc’s comments, adding that more upgrades will be applied at the remaining six races this season.
“I think we were not expecting a lot of difference, it was a small upgrade, it was competing a package we started introducing in Russia,” Binotto said.
“I think it was positive in the way it was correlating well with what we saw in the wind tunnel and back at the factory, and that’s putting the car in the right direction.
“There will be more upgrades in the remainder of the season will be as well important and what’s key is finishing the developing the car but what’s more important is making sure the direction is the right one for next season.”
