Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto says the outfit is receptive to sacrificing straight-line speed, if it improves the overall performance of its SF90.
Ferrari has had an advantage in the power stakes this year but has not converted that into victory, coming close in Bahrain – prior to Charles Leclerc’s late glitch – and in Canada.
Ferrari evaluated new components in France as it strives to develop its car but did not carry all of the parts forward, accepting that it needs more time to understand the full picture.
“I think we are looking for eventually more downforce to the detriment of the speed,” said Binotto.
“We knew the car wouldn’t be too efficient but giving more downforce to make the tyres working, that would be the direction to go.
“I think again [at Paul Ricard] on Saturday we’ve seen how difficult it is to make the tyres working. I think that is somehow something on which we are focused.”
Looking ahead to this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, Binotto said: “We are happy to be getting back on track so quickly, because it’s the best way to put ourselves to the test again to try and understand the elements that did not go according to plan in France.
“We have various test items to evaluate, mainly in order to give us a clearer picture as to why some of the updates we brought to Le Castellet did not work as expected.
“Austrian track is very different to Paul Ricard. The first sector has long straights and braking in a straight line, while the second part is tighter, with a mix of low and medium-high speed corners.
“The forecast is for very hot conditions, so it will be a demanding weekend on the cooling front, both for the engine and the brakes, which means tyre management will also be very difficult.”
