Ferrari to complete the development of the SF1000 in Portugal

Ferrari is currently in sixth place in the constructors' championship and that is not where the Italian race stable belongs. They should be fighting at the front with Mercedes and Red Bull Racing. As they are lagging behind and development is limited this year, but also next year, it will be quite a challenge to close the gap. Still, they remain confident.

Completion of the program

In the preview of Ferrari this weekend, the head of the performance department, Enrico Cardile, will be questioning the latest developments. He says: "We already introduced a few small modifications to the car's aero package in Sochi and added others at the Nürburgring. In Portimao we will have a further update, mainly to the diffuser, completing the program set out over the past few months."

The most important thing Ferrari is hoping for this weekend is confirmation that they are on the right track in terms of developments. "Indications from the past few Grands Prix are positive and we hope the same will apply this weekend. We have to consider that, more than ever this year, development is aimed at the following season."

Fighting higher up in the field

Ferrari also sets itself the goal of fighting higher up in the field between now and December.

"It would be very useful to at least find ourselves heading the group of cars and drivers currently fighting within just a few tenths for places four and lower. Only a couple of times this year have we been able to fight for a place in the sun on the second or third row. 

"Our aim between now and December is to be consistently fighting for those places. But then, precisely because this part of the grid is so close, it hardly takes anything to find yourself fourth or twelfth, but that's all part of the game."

This is what they hope to achieve by finalizing the updates and it also sounds as if this is the last thing they will do about the car for this year. As the end of the year approaches, that's not surprising, as the focus should shift to 2021.