Sebastian Vettel has given the 2019 Ferrari a thumbs up after it was revealed to the public on Friday.
The German was present with the rest of the Scuderia hierarchy to unveil the SF90, named as such to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the company’s founding.
But more importantly, Vettel hopes it is the car that can finally take him to a fifth Formula 1 world championship having lost out to Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes the past two years.
“I think we are all excited,” he commented at Maranello. “You start to see the car, little bits of it and then you see it slowly come together but today is the first time to see it all together.
“[It’s] incredible to see when everything comes together. Now I’m really excited and can’t wait to get in,” he added.
“I am looking forward to this year. I believe the team is on the right path and hopefully, we can keep improving.”
Ferrari head into 2019 having made several notable changes including the promotion of Charles Leclerc into the second race seat and Mattia Binotto to team principal.
Of his new boss, Vettel said: “Obviously new in the role but Mattia has been a part of this team longer than most in the room.
“He has been around a long, long time and we have worked together the last five years.
“It will be a new way to work together but I’m looking forward to it.”
Binotto is also the mastermind behind the SF90 and while there has been a series of rule changes for this year, he explained the 2019 car is more of a step forward from its predecessor.
“I think this car is a development of last year’s car. It’s not a revolution,” he explained. “We simply tried to push again and raise the bar, to raise the level, try to be as extreme as we could.
“There are a few things that are straightforward: the front wing, that’s for the technical regulations. But I think if you look at it in all the details, certainly, the roll hoop is very narrow and very slim. If you look as well at the bodywork on the back, it’s very, very slim.
“That is thanks to the entire job which you cannot see because it’s below, but in terms of engine installation, power unit installation, packaging, a lot of effort has been done.
“I think the final car is the result of all this effort. We like it!”
