This season, the starts have been one of the big problems for Alfa Romeo, as well as for Ferrari and Haas, although to a lesser extent.
A spokesman for the Maranello -based team told Motorsport.com that the clutch that will debut at Paul Ricard is not completely new, but rather “just an updated technical detail”.
While the team would not say which Ferrari -powered cars could test it this weekend, Carlos Sainz confirmed that they had been working on some hiccups that were directly related to the clutch.
“We have identified a problem in our car that is not allowing us to make the starts that we did last year,” said the Spaniard. “And it’s probably also affecting our peers who use the same engine.”
“But we know where the problem is, we prefer to keep it private and not talk about it too much, because it’s not like every start we’re falling behind or something.”
“For sure, we are not making the best starts that we can do, and we hope to continue to improve in this aspect throughout this year and next.”
Alfa Romeo driver Valtteri Bottas spoke more specifically about the update, saying he hopes it will fix clutch problems that have made it difficult for him to make good starts.
“We have a new clutch here, finally!” exclaimed the Finn. “We will test it in practice for the first time, but it is something Ferrari has worked on for quite some time.
“And now, finally, we have some parts that will change the clutch a bit and that should prevent the problems that we are experiencing.”
“It’s a necessary thing, because normally we lose positions at the starts and that’s not a good thing, because the middle zone is so tight that once you fall behind another driver, you’re stuck there for 20 laps. So yes, I hope that Now that’s better.”
Asked to elaborate on the problems he has experienced, Bottas said getting a clean start was a big problem, especially on tracks with less grip.
“I would say the main weak point has been vibration,” he said.
“Especially on low-grip tracks, when you can’t be very aggressive with the clutch, when you have to slip it more, then it vibrates more.”
“On the more grippy circuits, the problem hasn’t been as big, because you can be a bit more aggressive with the clutch. There is less vibration for some reason.
“The shape of the clutch, too, was very different to what I was used to at Mercedes, so we had to work quite a bit on this too, but now it’s improved.
“The vibration is generated in the clutch itself. And then the way the power goes to the rear wheels is not consistent because of that. least it can be noticed,” he concluded.
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