Scuderia Ferrari is the final Formula 1 team to show off its 2021-spec racing car with the SF21 and the most significant visual change is the green Mission Winnow branding from title sponsor.
Ferrari hopes the SF21’s new look can help to bounce back from its worst season in 40 years in 2020.
The SF21 has retained the team’s traditional red livery, but has also incorporated the burgundy colour used to celebrate Ferrari’s 1,000th Grand Prix at Mugello last year towards the rear of the car. The numbering on the car is also the same design as that used at Mugello event.
The Scuderia’s main sponsor Mission Winnow has returned to the car for 2021 after its branding was not used at any race this year, most notably through a bright green logo on the engine cover.
Ferrari will give the SF21 its first on-track shakedown during a filming day at the Bahrain International Circuit before the start of pre-season testing at the same track.
The three-day test will be the only pre-season running afforded to teams before the opening round of the season in Bahrain on March 28.
New arrival Carlos Sainz, Jr. has been working with the team over the winter to get up to speed following his switch from McLaren, by running in Ferrari’s 2018 and 2019-spec cars.
Ferrari suffered a miserable 2020 season as it struggled with a draggy car and a lack of straight-line speed after its power unit performance took a hit following a settlement with the FIA regarding its 2019 engine.
The team has designed an all-new power unit ahead of the 2021 season, and has sought to improve the car where possible despite the freeze in the technical regulations for this year.
Team principal Mattia Binotto explained that the signs were encouraging regarding the recovery of its straight-line speed.
“I think that last year the main issue was the speed on the straight lines, not only the power but both power and drag,” he explained.
“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.
“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.”
Social media:
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Official website:
https://www.ferrari.com/en-EN/formula1/articles/heres-the-sf21
News stories:
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.two-tone-red-a-splash-of-green-and-clear-targets-5-takeaways-from-ferraris.DizCYPmArigvF5qitdqNS.html
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.first-look-ferrari-unveil-hotly-anticipated-sf21-with-splash-of-green-on.5ubReuuvkubyzgSfmUmex1.html
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.rapid-reaction-ferraris-two-pronged-attack-to-get-back-on-the-pace-with-the.3pGKdZUx6RL0gK8FFszkIr.html
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/56314469
https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12474/12241577/ferrari-launch-sf21-car-for-2021-formula-1-season-with-new-engine-and-hope-of-much-improved-form
https://www.racefans.net/2021/03/10/first-pictures-ferrari-presents-its-new-sf21-f1-car-for-2021/
Ferrari took ‘systematic’ approach to new Formula 1 power unit design. Motorsport.com has the full details.
Ferrari says it took a “systematic” approach to designing its new Formula 1 power unit for the 2021 season after struggling for performance throughout last year.
Ferrari slumped to its worst season in 40 years in 2020 as it struggled with both a draggy SF1000 car and an underperforming power unit, the latter a consequence of a private settlement with the FIA over its 2019 engine.
It limited Ferrari to sixth place in the constructors’ championship and just three podium finishes, while customer teams Alfa Romeo and Haas finished eighth and ninth respectively.
Ferrari has designed an all-new power unit ahead of the 2021 season after the regulations prevented in-season updates last year, allowing it to focus on every single area to make improvements.
“We tried to use a systematic approach calling on all of our departments – planning, simulation, development, the track – looking for any chance to improve,” explained Ferrari’s head of power unit Enrico Gualtieri.
“We identified the things we could work on later, after giving attention to the main ones, without forgetting the impact every choice would have on reliability.
“As a consequence, along with the chassis engineers, we have worked considerably on the layout of the power unit, trying to make the overall project for the car as efficient as possible.”
Gualtieri explained how Ferrari had managed to find a performance gain of over one-tenth of a second per lap in the main engine alone.
“We continuously worked on the internal combustion engine, aiming to increase its thermal efficiency with help also coming from our partner Shell, which has led to an advantage estimated at over one-tenth of a second per lap,” he said.
“The turbo compressor has been revised to meet the needs of the engine, and at the same time we have planned to increased efficiency in the recovery of exhaust fumes.
“We’re also working on the hybrid system, on the electronic part, trying to revise all of its components and optimising them.
“The season we’re about to begin also has a phase of preparation with respect to the new regulations in which the hours of development of the power unit have been reduced even more. These regulations encourage us to be ready ahead of to time and to introduce most of the possible developments right from the first race.
“We have put enormous energy into this project but at the same time we’re working hard on the power unit for 2022. It will debut next year, and it’ll be even more important, because it will be with us for at least three years of races.”
After last year’s power unit proved to be by far the slowest in a straight line, Ferrari F1 chief Mattia Binotto said at last month’s team launch that the initial data suggested this had been resolved for 2021.
“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,” Binotto said.
“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.
“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.”
Ferrari strived to improve the SF21 ‘in all areas’ says Binotto as team unveil 2021 challenger.
With a dash of green on its engine cover, the Ferrari SF21 certainly looks like a bold departure from recent liveries, but what lies underneath the new paint job? Team Principal Mattia Binotto says almost everything on the car has been revamped in an attempt to get the Scuderia back on form in 2021.
The regulations this season may be largely stable but Ferrari have had their work cut out after a disappointing, winless 2020 season. At their online car launch on Wednesday, Binotto explained the efforts the Scuderia have gone to over the winter break.
“This car was born out of last year’s car, due to the new regulations,” began Binotto. “So, it was partially frozen, but we tried to improve it in all of its areas wherever possible. The aerodynamics was revised, its livery has also changed,” he said.
“As you can see, the posterior is a burgundy colour, similar to the very first Ferrari racing car, the 125S. It’s the same colour we used last year at Mugello to celebrate our 1,000th Grand Prix. Visually, we’ve drawn on our past but we’re also looking forward to the future, which will always be defined by our Ferrari red.”
Head of chassis Enrico Cardile added that the aerodynamics on the SF21 have undergone a “radical” revision with two goals in mind given the new 2021 rules that cut downforce around the car’s floor and rear wheels. It seems, as a result, that the team’s development tokens have been spent on the transmission and rear suspension.
“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,” said Cardile. “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.
“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.
“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 is off last year’s SF1000,” Cardile added.
And, of course, the Ferrari engine itself has been a major source of development, with power unit director Enrico Gualtieri explaining the gains they have tried to make in 2021, after the team slipped behind their rivals on this front last year.
“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 said.
The car will turn its first laps with a shakedown, before pre-season testing gets under way in Bahrain.
Source: Formula1.com
Technical analysis: Ferrari’s two-pronged tech attack to get back on the pace with the SF21. Article taken from Formula1.com.
The long-awaited Ferrari SF21 is here, and it’s the car that the Scuderia and their legions of fans hope will get them back towards the front of the grid after a woeful season last year. But what have they changed on the new car? F1 technical expert Mark Hughes has taken a close look…
Ferrari have made a double attack on their performance deficit of last year with what is effectively an all-new power unit and a heavily-revised rear end. In addition to the usual 2021 revisions to bargeboards and sidepod shapes – a reaction to the regulation floor reduction – this makes the SF21 quite visually distinctive from last year’s SF1000.
Because Ferrari have utilised their two-token spend to the rear end of the car, they have been obliged to retain the unfashionable wide nose. But they have been able to tweak the tip of that nose, with a more sculpted clothing around the crash structure part of it.
This would appear to be an attempt at minimising the disadvantage of the wide nose in turning the airflow towards the bargeboards. With the fashionable narrow nose now used by most other teams that turning moment can begin earlier, with less risk of detachment. This sculpted tip would appear to facilitate an earlier turning of that flow around the nose.
The front wing (as seen in the first image in the gallery above) shown on the launch car features an even more extremely inboard-loaded profile than last year’s car, with a near vertical climb of the elements from the neutral central section.
The bargeboards display the usual 2021 complexity, reflecting the change in airflow priority along the car with the new regulations. The sidepods are very obviously pared back from last year’s arrangement, with a clear delineation in profile between the lower part of the engine cover and the upper part of the pods (rather like the new Williams).
As well as the revised aerodynamic requirements of this part of the car resulting from the regulation reduction in downforce-generating floor area, this re-profiling will also have been made possible by the re-packaging of the engine mentioned by power unit chief Enrico Gualtieri.
The turbo has been redesigned but it’s believed still to retain the combined turbine/compressor layout and not the Mercedes-like split-turbo that had been rumoured, but which remains an option for 2022.
A flattened-out engine intake within the roll hoop compared to last year is likely also another consequence of the revised packaging made possible by the engine repackaging.
At the rear, Ferrari were expected to create a new rear suspension, as that was perceived to be a weakness of last year’s model. The external layout of the suspension can be changed without a token spend, but it’s not clear if the token-costing internals have also been changed.
The transmission casing is also new, helping to facilitate a more tapered-in rear end in plan view – all in an attempt at clawing back the downforce losses of the regulations, and into the bargain giving the car a more stable rear end than last year’s.
The car will hit the track for a shakedown run on thursday, before pre-season testing gets under way the day after. But we won’t really know if the SF21 has taken a competitive step forward until the first race of the year in Bahrain.