Ferrari have already begun to turn their attentions to 2015 after admitting that the gap to the front will be “impossible” to close this year.
It doesn’t mean they’ll halt development of the F14-T thanks to stable regulations which means any work done this year can benefit the next, but it signals that the team have given up on fighting for the title.
“There’s too much difference [between us and Mercedes],” said double-world champion Fernando Alonso after the Austrian Grand Prix.
The race was dominated by Mercedes-powered cars, though the Spaniard managed to pop his Ferrari up into fifth, but he believes the power unit is lagging behind and it’s not something they can change until next year.
“We cannot touch the engine, we cannot make big changes,” he added, but he’s more optimistic for 2015 when he believes Ferrari can begin to claw back at Mercedes’ advantage.
“In one year many things can happen and we saw some cases in the past where one year from another many things can change.
“Especially this year we are very new, so I expect in 2015 there will be big steps from everybody. So we will all be better next year.
“Definitely the team that starts with a lower baseline has a bigger margin to improve, so we will get closer or at the level of Mercedes, that’s our hope.”
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