Ferrari setting 2012 pace in the pits

Apr.18 (GMM) Ferrari does not have a leading car so far in 2012, but when it comes to pitstops, the famous Italian team is setting the pace.

Fernando Alonso, Scuderia Ferrari pit stop

Photo by: xpb.cc

That is the finding of the Spanish sports daily Marca, reporting that Fernando Alonso's 2.4 second pitstop in Shanghai was the fastest of all.

And the report said Ferrari's pitstops were on average six tenths better than those performed by rival top teams Mercedes, McLaren and Red Bull in China.

Marca also said Ferrari has managed to speed up its pitstops compared with the 2011 season, despite the FIA's ban on helium-powered air-guns that has cost every team at least two tenths of a second.

"On a grid as tight as this one (in 2012), it is very important to take care of these sorts of details," Fernando Alonso is quoted as saying.

"They can gain you positions and points, which could be decisive at the end of the season."

Ferrari test driver Marc Gene agreed that the only missing element at the Maranello based team at present is a good car.

"On the other hand," he told Diario Sport newspaper, "it is noteworthy that we have done the best pitstops, the strategies have generally been good, and the car is reliable.

"What we lack is the pure speed, both in qualifying and the race," added Gene.