The most famous motor racing outfit has unveil their 2015 challenger with the SF15-T.
Ferrari hopes that this new Formula 1 car can get back into the winning circle thanks to a driver line-up in the shape of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen.
After a disappointing 2014 season that has prompted a major management and staffing overhaul, the Maranello-based outfit is determined that the changes it has made will help move it back up the grid.
The James Allison-designed SF15-T features a long protruding nose and an aggressive sidepod concept.
Allison has commented that the main focus from the team is to resolve the issue regarding the “unacceptably large gap in our performance” last season, when Ferrari failed to win a race for the first time since 1993.
“We’ve tried to make sure the weaknesses we felt were particularly notable on the ’14 car were put right for the ’15 car,” he said.
Allison added that the team have made major gains with the packaging of the car at the rear.
“The back of the car is something that is noticeably different from the 2014 car where we have been successful in pulling the bodywork much tighter to everything underneath the skin,” he explained.
“That’s been done through a lot of work not just in the wind tunnel but also in the design heart of the company to try and find radiator designs that were fundamentally more efficient. So for every square centimetre of radiator we’re able to extract more cooling this year than last and therefore able to close the car down at the back significantly.”
The front of the SF15-T features a long, smooth nose which is familiar from other designs which have already appeared following another change in the regulations.
“I think all the cars on the grid this year are going to be more appealing around the front,” said Allison, “because after after a few years of trying I think we’ve finally invented a regulation that gets what we wanted from a safety point of view but also doesn’t create the rather unappealing features of the last few years”.
“So I think everyone will look a lot prettier from the front and the 2015 Ferrari is, I think, nice in that regard.”
New signing Sebastian Vettel will be given the unique opportunity to shakedown the car in the first official run at Jerez.
Scuderia Ferrari aims to win Formula 1 races in 2015 with the new SF15-T. Autosport.com has the details.
Ferrari says its target for 2015 is to win two Formula 1 races, after unveiling its newSF15-T on Friday.
With the team adamant that it needed a major overhaul after a disappointing 2014 campaign, it is also realistic its return to the front of the grid will not happen quickly.
However, new team principal Maurizio Arrivabene says that sights are set on at least ending its victory drought that extends back to the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix.
“I am just realistic,” he said. “Nobody has the magic to change things, when things are unchangeable.
“I don’t want to say that we are going to win the world championship but for sure we are committed at least to win two races.””We find the car, the car was ready December of [last] year, and we apply certain modifications that in our opinion, are quite interesting.
Newly arrived Sebastian Vettel backed up his bosses’ claim that modest targets had to be the aim for 2015 – but the team would not complain if more success came.
“I think we would be happy with that,” he said about Arrivabene’s ambition. “But of course we would be happy if we win more.
“We have to be realistic. There is a lot of change that’s happened over the winter. So I think the most important thing is we start getting into the groove quickly in winter testing and then we start to make progress.
“If the situation is like last year, it will be very difficult to fight for victory. But that’s our goal, we’re not here to finish second.”
Although too early to predict exactly how competitive the new chassis and engine will be, Arrivabene does at least believe that the SF15-T has at least got off to a better start in the visual stakes than its predecessor.
“Ferrari said a long time ago that the best car is a winning car,” he said. “Last year was an ugly car and a non-winning on top of this.
“I like the car of this year in terms of aesthetics, I don’t know about performance, but it is really sexy.”
Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel reckons his relationship with Kimi Raikkonen will be ‘straightforward’. Autosport.com has the story.
Sebastian Vettel thinks his relationship with Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari will be more “straightforward” than most Formula 1 team-mate partnerships.
As Ferrari launched its new SF15-T on Friday, Vettel suggested the Finn would be particularly easy to work with by F1 standards.Raikkonen said when Vettel was announced as his 2015 team-mate that he knew the German better than any of his other F1 rivals and expected it to be a “fun” partnership.
“I don’t expect any problems,” said Vettel.
“He will be a difficult team-mate to beat on the track because he’s very quick and very talented, but off the track we get on well.
“Usually there are not being words being exchanged, but it’s very straightforward – which is something I appreciate in Kimi and it doesn’t happen that often in Formula 1.”
Team boss Mauricio Arrivabene underlined that he did not want driver dynamics to be hog the limelight this season.
Last year’s match-up between Fernando Alonso and Raikkonen was the subject of much pre-season speculation, while in previous years Felipe Massa’s number two status to Alonso had proved consistently topical.
“They have to work together as team-mates, they have to work with the team,” Arrivabene said of his 2015 drivers.
“I want to be talking about the overall team and not only about the driver.
“Everybody is pushing and working together in the same direction and I am expecting the drivers to do the same.”
Raikkonen agreed with Vettel that they should make a harmonious pairing.
“It’s the first time working with him but I’m sure we’ll have a good understanding of each other and to push the team forward,” said the 2007 champion.
“Obviously we’ll fight against each other, but in a good way, and we’ll push each other to do better things.”
Last season’s Ferrari was a real nightmare for Kimi Raikkonen to drive. The Iceman struggled in the F14-T in qualifying and the race, so hopefully this new car will give the 2007 world champion confidence. Autosport.com has the news story.
Ferrari technical director James Allison is confident that the team’s 2015 Formula 1 car will suit Kimi Raikkonen better than last year’s.
Raikkonen struggled throughout 2014 with a lack of confidence under braking and on corner entry, which left him unable to regularly challenge team-mate Fernando Alonso.
But with Ferrari chiefs now having a better understanding of what the Finn needs to be successful, the team has made tweaks to the concept of its 2015 F1 challenger.
Technical director James Allison said after the launch of the new SF15-T on Friday that Raikkonen should be better off this year.
“We will only know for sure once we are running on the track, but I hope that the SF-15T will be much more comfortable for him with both a stronger front end in mid corner and more support from the rear under braking,” said Allison.
Raikkonen could also be helped by stronger rear tyres from Pirelli – which will help improve confidence when cornering.
“It will be the rear casing that is the most significant,” explained Allison.
“It allows the car better support under combined loading conditions and gives the driver more confidence through the corner as a result.”
Despite optimism that the new Ferrari has addressed many of the weaknesses of last year’s car, Allison admits that it will not be straightforward to deliver the wins that the team is targeting.
“No one ever said Formula 1 was supposed to be easy,” he said.
“It will be a very stiff challenge to win races in 2015, but we have made good steps forward over the whole car and we hope that this work will translate into a notable step forward in our fortunes.”
Allison also confirmed that Toni Cuquerella, Robert Kubica’s former race engineer at BMW, would join the team as chief race engineer.
News stories
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/31057118
http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2015/1/16787.html
http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2015/1/16786.html
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2015/01/30/ferrari-sf-15t-2015-f1-car-first-pictures-launch/
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2015/01/30/ferrari-counting-tokens-cut-gap-mercedes/
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2015/01/30/arrivabene-targets-two-wins-ferrari-2015/
http://www1.skysports.com/f1/news/24187/9683125/ferrari-launch-the-sexy-sf15-t
http://www1.skysports.com/f1/news/24187/9688948/ferrari-stick-with-pull-rod-suspension-after-deciding-to-focus-resources-elsewhere
http://www1.skysports.com/f1/news/12474/9618025/ferrari-braced-for-another-tough-year-after-late-start-with-their-2015-car