Ferrari is the most iconic team in the history of F1 and is the one with which the pinnacle of motorsport is synonymous. However, in the last 13 years, the prancing horse has neither won a driver's title nor constructors and in 2020 it endured its worst season in 40 years coming just sixth. The newly unveiled SF21 is supposed to remedy the embarrassment of 2020 and also set a platform for the future allowing Ferrari to return to the top on the cusp of sweeping rule changes that inbound in 2022 which could allow it to usurp the Mercedes from its domineering spree.
The SF21 has been designed in mind with the new aerodynamic regulations for the 2021 season which were introduced as a stop-gap measure thanks to COVID after the formula changes were pushed back to 2022. It also introduces a new power unit that tackles the heart of Ferrari's problems in 2020 straight-line speed and drag. There is also a new livery that mixes up the classic scarlet with burgundy on the rear wing invoking the first Ferrari F1 car from 1950 and also a shade of green perpetuated by the logo of title sponsor Mission Winnow which is Marlboro's sustainability brand.
The SF21 has a base aspiration to be a regular podium finisher
"I think that last year the main issue was the speed on the straight lines, not only the power but both power and drag," said Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto optimistically.
"Based on our simulations today, based on what we can see in terms of power output from the dynos, and the drag of the car from the wind tunnel, I think that we recovered quite a lot of speed on the straights. So I'm expecting the speed not to be such an issue as it was. We hope to be competitive, but we will know it only when being in Bahrain because it's always relative to what the others are doing," the Swiss-Italian added.
The big thing was that the SF1000 was slower than the SF90 when it was supposed to be faster than it was in 2020, the year Formula 1 vars reached their highest ever speeds in history. In 2021, thanks to the rule changes around the floor of the cars, the speeds are expected to go down from 2020.
"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 a lap time that we estimate at over one-tenth of a second. 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," said Enrico Gualtieri Head of Power Unit, Scuderia Ferrari.
"But we believe that our car is certainly more efficient compared to the one we had last year, and when I'm saying efficient, again, it is both from the aero point of view, and from the power unit point of view," Binotto clarified.
Ferrari has focused on the engine, nose, gearbox, cooling system, front wing and rear diffuser of the car
Ferrari has also introduced new aerodynamics including a new nose adopting a narrower module inspired by what Mercedes has been doing in the last two years with its low-rake concept. It also gets a renewed rear, a newly packaged backed thanks to the new engine and redesigned front wings. Though it retains the suspension and chassis of the previous car.
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 aimed at reducing the ability to generate vertical load, in order not to put too great a strain on the tyres. 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," said Enrico Cardile, the Head of Chassis.
This is also the car that will be driven by Charles Leclerc whose star has risen at Maranello in the last two years and new recruit Carlos Sainz Jr who joins the team from McLaren replacing 4-time world champion Sebastian Vettel. The car will run for the first time on Thursday during a filming session before winter testing begins in Bahrain over the weekend capping off the season.
