Ferrari says “every opportunity for improvement” has been targeted in the creation of their 2021 Formula 1 car.
On Wednesday, the Scuderia became the penultimate team to reveal their new design ahead of testing, which begins on Friday, by showing off the SF21 in an online launch.
The fabled Italian squad hopes the car can help rebound from a torrid 2020, which saw their worst finish in the Constructors’ Championship since 1980 in sixth.
And that feeling of starting afresh is something Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto says the striking two-tone livery represents.
“The rear end is reminiscent of the burgundy red of the very first Ferrari, the 125 S, but as it moves gradually towards the cockpit area, it transforms into the modern red that we have used in most recent years,” he explained.
“This season presents us with many challenges and through this livery, visually, we reboot from our past and head into the future.”
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Ferrari’s main problem last year was an underpowered power unit as a result of changes made following an FIA investigation over claims the 2019 engine breached the regulations.
To make the situation worse, a freeze on engine spec meant the team couldn’t introduce any upgrades until now.
“As engine engineers, last season produced a clear picture of where we were and that was our starting point,” chief Enrico Gualtieri said.
“We adopted a systematic approach with all departments – design, simulation, development, track – working together to find every opportunity for improvement.
“Along with our colleagues on the chassis side, we worked a lot on the layout of the power unit, to make the overall design of the car as efficient as possible.
“With the internal combustion engine, we focused on increasing its level of thermal efficiency, in conjunction with our partner Shell and this has produced an improvement in lap time that we estimate at over one-tenth of a second,” he claimed.
“We are also carrying out further development on the hybrid system and the electronics, in order to revise and optimise all components. All this in a season in which power unit test bench time has been reduced still further.”
In addition to the engine weakness, Ferrari’s push for downforce backfired as the main result was a car with too much drag.
And with teams limited to just two development tokens, chassis head Enrico Cardile admits fixing all the issues has been a challenge.
“When we began the SF21 project, our first task was to identify which area of the car we should focus on in order to achieve a radical change,” he revealed.
“We opted for the rear end, designing a new gearbox and new suspension system. This, in addition to the efforts of our power unit colleagues, has led to a much tighter rear end.
“We also looked at the cooling system, increasing the effectiveness of the central radiator and designed the body with more ‘downwashing’.
“Aerodynamics was one of the areas affected by the regulation changes, that’s why, as we began developing the car’s aerodynamics, we set ourselves two goals: recovering more aerodynamic downforce than was lost through the regulations and reducing drag,” he added.
“Because of the regulations, less drastic changes were possible at the front end of the car. So, we developed a new front wing which works in conjunction with a new concept nose, but the chassis itself and the suspension are from last year’s SF1000.”