Ferrari has revealed the car they hope can put them back on the road to recovery this season, the SF21.
Last year, the Scuderia slumped to sixth in the Constructors’ Championship, their worst finish in 40 years, as an underpowered engine and draggy SF1000 chassis resulted in a dramatic loss of performance.
This led to swift changes at Maranello due to the poor results, although team boss Mattia Binotto resisted pressure to leave his role.
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Upgrades did bring an improvement as the year progressed. And now for 2021, Ferrari can finally introduce a first power unit upgrade in over a year, after engine specs were frozen from the start of last season.
The new car can also address some of the bigger flaws with last year’s design, albeit with some limitations under the two-token system.
In the cockpits, Carlos Sainz joins alongside Charles Leclerc, taking the seat previously held by Sebastian Vettel, with Ferrari’s main aim this year being to return to the top three in the Constructors’.
The livery sees an interesting change with the SF21 featuring two tones of red, the second being the darker burgundy shade which was used at the teams’ 1000th race at Mugello last year.
Also, Mission Winnow branding returns after being absent last year, with the fluorescent green impossible to miss.
Beyond this year, however, more focus will be put on the all-new regulations for 2022, which are seen as the Italian team’s best chance of returning to the front of the grid in the future.