2005 Ferrari 575 Base Coupe 2-door on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Despite early struggles, Ferrari F1 still has Mercedes in its sights

It would be an understatement to say that Ferrari has not had the opening to the 2016 Formula 1 season that it had hoped for. Having come in to the new campaign brazen about wanting a winning start, that Mercedes has taken all the poles and all race victories so far has come as a disappointment. There have been other headaches too – including reliability problems for both Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel, and of course the points lost with the China/Russia incidents with Daniil Kvyat. But perhaps of more concern is that the trend of performance has not pointed towards a narrowing of the gap between Mercedes and Ferrari – as the Silver Arrows advantage seemed greater than it had been any point this season in Russia. So with the results against it, and it seemingly having no response in pace terms, the cynics are already suggesting that it is game over for Ferrari's 2016 title ambitions. But that is not how Maranello itself sees the situation: and it still has reason to believe not only that there is plenty to play for this season: but that it can take the fight to Mercedes. Pressure game Ferrari is well aware that it needs to quickly make up lost ground in both championship standings (Mercedes has more than double its point haul) and pace terms. But rather than be downbeat about what has happened, team principal Maurizio Arrivabene still senses opportunities: especially with Mercedes appearing to be on the edge in reliability terms. And it this area that he thinks needs to be exploited to give Ferrari the opening it needs. "If you have before you a team that has won four races out of four, you cannot but take note that they are very strong," he said after the Russian Grand Prix. "But if we look at what happened to [Lewis] Hamilton [with engine problems in qualifying], we see that they also have had reliability problems. "We must put pressure on them. That is our first goal. "All their problems have happened on a single car, while ours have happened on both. But there are still 17 races to go, that is something worth emphasising, so there time to make up the difference." Power battle Ferrari introduced an upgraded engine at the Russian Grand Prix that it hoped would lift it closer to Mercedes in the power stakes. But the weekend appeared to show that wasn't the case, with Mercedes' advantage on the Sochi circuit – the fourth most power-sensitive venue on the calendar – appearing bigger than ever.

Heads continue to roll at Scuderia Ferrari

It's a year of restructuring at Ferrari – especially when it comes to the Formula One department. Dissatisfied with the team's performance of late, parent company Fiat fired Ferrari's chairman, replaced its team principal twice and brought in another multiple world champion to replace the one it already had. But that's not the end of it. Under the direction of new chairman Sergio Marchionne and team principal Maurizio Arrivabene, the Maranello-based outfit is undergoing a purge in its ranks. Ferrari has fired its veteran engineering director Pat Fry (pictured above at left), its chief designer Nicolas Tombazis (center) and its tire guru Hirohide Hamashima (whom the team picked up shortly after Bridgestone left the sport, not pictured). In their places, Ferrari has named appropriate replacements, and has shuffled some additional staff around. F1 journalist Alberto Antonini, for example, has taken over the press office from Renato Bisignani who will now run the Scuderia's new commercial department. More vital, however, is James Allison, a longtime F1 engineer who previously worked for Ferrari for five years and returned from Lotus last year to take up position as the team's new technical director – too late to influence last season's chassis but now charged with developing next year's. Whether the radical reshuffling of its staff will be enough to reverse the team's fortunes, nobody can say for certain at this point. But without a single grand prix victory this past season, things can hardly get any worse for what historically has been the most victorious team in all of motorsport. The Scuderia Ferrari has been reorganized Maranello, 16 December – Within a few days from his arrival Maurizio Arrivabene, Managing Director of Ferrari's Gestione Sportiva and Team Principal of Scuderia Ferrari, has restructured his team with a flatter structure and clear assignment of responsibilities. James Allison is the Technical Director with two Italian engineers and home grown Scuderia talent reporting to him: Chief Designer Simone Resta and Power Unit Director Mattia Binotto, the latter will be supported by Chief Designer Power Unit Lorenzo Sassi, among others. Furthermore James Allison will direct track engineering activities ad interim.

Ferrari-Maserati dealer folds in Las Vegas casino

The ten-year-old Penske Ferrari Maserati dealership located inside the Wynn resort in Las Vegas, where non-Ferrari owners had to pay $10 to walk among the cars, is closed. Word is that the Ferrari franchise is moving to Towbin Motorcars, which you'll know for being the home of the former "King of Cars," and more recently where Floyd "Money" Mayweather has bought 100 cars, including three Bugatti Veyrons. According to Ferrari Chat almost the entire Penske-Wynn staff will make the move, including the highly regarded service department. This being Las Vegas there are, naturally, various theories about why the only Ferrari franchise in the state of Nevada is leaving one of the state's marquee locations. We got a tip a month ago from reader Johnny Autos that Ferrari pulled the franchise, and if there is any truth to that, rumors at Ferrari Chat suggest it part of the reason could have been Steve Wynn flipping his LaFerrari before the 18-month no-sale period had elapsed. Wynn supposedly sold his $1.5 million supercar to Naples Motorsports in Florida for $3.5 million, Naples is asking $5 million for it and using it for the elementary school run in the meantime. On the other hand, Vegas Tripping says Wynn is letting the dealership go in order to get ready for the Alon – another casino – to open across the street in three years. That story believes Wynn will build a pedestrian bridge and rearrange shops on the Wynn side so that customers enjoy the kind of grand entry he would want. And then there's the theory that Penske is getting out of the Ferrari dealership business to focus on commercial trucks. No matter where the truth is in all of this, what matters to you is that you won't be able to spend $10 to check out Ferraris on the strip anymore. Which means more money for the penny slots.