Ferrari must give its technical staff more freedom to think outside of the box if they’re to get back on terms with Red Bull and Mercedes, according to technical director James Allison.
The Italian team are currently third quickest and haven’t won a race in over a year. In response, four-time champion Alain Prost recently said Ferrari and McLaren needed a different approach.
Allison agrees with Prost’s assessment and is working to change the way his technical staff work in order to encourage more creative ideas which he believes will be key to catching up.
“Creativity and originality are really important parts of being competitive,” he said.
“If you want creativity in your car you have to plan for it and give space to the people to bring their creativity forward.
“If you force them to operate with their backs against the wall, up against deadlines that are very, very tight, then there’s no time for them to think about how they might approach something differently, because they only have one option – that’s to give you something they know will work.
“There is a wealth of talent at Ferrari – the experience and quality of the people on the technical side is the match of any team – it’s a matter of giving them the space and the encouragement to do unusual things, and know that if they fail there’s still time to put a backup plan in place.”
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