Scuderia Ferrari unveiled their 2016 challenger, the SF16-H, with an online launch and hopes that this racing car can fight the Silver Arrows for the Formula 1 championship.
A retro livery sports the new Ferrari, last seen on the 1993 car. The white stripes appear on the engine cover and front wing.
In terms of the aerodynamics, the SF16-H features a shorter nose compared to last year’s car, while the engine cover appears to be tighter and slimmer.
Meaning the team has worked heavily on engine cooling over the winter period in a bid to make it more aerodynamically efficient.
When questioned about the car’s prospects, team principal Maurizio Arrivabene said: “Normally I am not setting the objectives, my boss sets the objective for the team.
“I think this year, we need to push a bit more. We would like to fight until the end for the championship.
“I know that is not going to be easy, because our competitors are not sleeping, but we are committed to do our best.”
After scoring three victories with Sebastian Vettel last season, Ferrari will be looking to push Mercedes even further this season.
The team made considerable gains with its power unit in 2015 that allowed it to step out of the shadows of its winless campaign in 2014.
But come the conclusion to the season, Vettel still finished 103 points behind Lewis Hamilton in the drivers’ standings, with Mercedes 275 points clear of Ferrari in the constructors’ championship.
That underlined the gap Ferrari still has to bridge to Mercedes this year if it is to consider itself a realistic title contender.
Assessing Ferrari’s challenge for the year ahead, technical director James Allison said: “Back in 2013, Ferrari was not at the right level, the championship, except for maybe doing pitstops.
“We’ve worked very hard on all of those areas. Last year was a decent step forward and we hope this car will be another good step forward to make us properly competitive.
“We have improved across the board. All our hopes are in this car, and we can’t wait to see it on the track.”
I look forward to seeing the SF16-H on track too. The retro livery seems cool, similar to the style of the 1970s but the huge Scuderia Ferrari logo seems to ruining the scheme.
Although I do like Kimi Raikkonen’s new red helmet. Fingers crossed The Iceman can join Sebastian Vettel’s success by winning some races this season.
News story:
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2016/02/19/ferrari-sf16-h-first-pictures-revealed/
https://www.formula1.com/content/fom-website/en/latest/headlines/2016/2/f1-ferrari-red-and-white-livery-2016-SF16-H.html
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/122865
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/35616378
http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12474/10155444/ferrari-target-beating-mercedes-after-launching-new-car-the-sf16-h
http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12474/10145404/sebastian-vettel-says-ferrari-focused-on-big-2016-title-picture
http://wtf1.co.uk/ferrari-reveal-seventies-inspired-retro-livery/
Ferrari say they have been “very, very ambitious” with the SF16-H, having introduced new concepts or improvements in almost every area of the car.
A shorter nose and an extremely tightly-packaged rear end are among the most noticeable differences visually, but Ferrari have reviewed almost every aspect of the car in a bid to return to the front of the Formula One grid in 2016.
“The project of this car started one year ago, and the direction was very ambitious – our goals were very ambitious,” chief designer Simone Resta said.
“We tried to revisit and review everything. What are the areas we changed? The nose and front suspension; the side pods; the power unit; the rear end…”
Speaking about the front of the car, Resta added: “Today we have something quite different – [the nose] is higher, and the airflow is different to last year. That is very important because it has a positive impact on aerodynamics.
“Also after five years of pull-rod [suspension] we have changed and we now have push-rod. The weight and kinematics are better – and it is a step forward compared to previous models.
“Another important part are the side pods. The radiators are different – and we have tried to take advantage with the cooling systems.”
Power unit director Matteo Binotto said Ferrari had made similarly sweeping changes to their 2016 engine layout.
“Compared to last season we have worked on two areas,” he explained.
“First the architecture. We have tried to compact it in order to have a positive impact on aerodynamics. The car is tighter and narrower compared to last year. We tried to move all the accessories.
“But we did not work only on architecture, we tried to improve combustion for example, inlet aspiration and also the turbo.
“This is the first step compared to the past, a step forward, so we have made important technical choices and innovative choices.”
The SF16-H is expected to make its official track debut at the start of pre-season testing next Monday at Spain’s Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Source: Formula1.com