Ferrari making changes after early 2011 struggle

Ferrari is in the process of devising some key changes to ensure a better start to the 2012 season, according to Autosprint.

The Italian magazine said there will be some layoffs due to the aerodynamic problems the team has grappled with in getting the new 150 Italia car up to speed.

No names were mentioned, but chief designer Nikolas Tombazis’ role is reportedly safe, which raises doubt about the chief aerodynamicist Marco de Luca.

At the same time, a former Ferrari engineer has questioned the reports about the team’s Maranello wind tunnel suffering from a calibration problem.

"I honestly do not think there’s anything wrong with it," he is quoted as saying, speculating that the real problem could be with Pirelli’s scale wind tunnel tyres.

"Also, I think they (Ferrari) have tried to use a curved (air) flow, to simulate behaviour in the corners, which is a very difficult task," the unnamed engineer added.

"It is not unusual to have a problem in the wind tunnel. Unfortunately, when it happens to us there is a lot of attention," said technical director Aldo Costa.

"We have had to review something in the tunnel, I don’t want to be more specific than that," he added, explaining that all the changes will be complete by the end of the season.