Around lunchtime (7 pm in Malaysia) today at Ferrari’s Fiorano track in Italy, its Formula 1 team unveiled the 69th F1 racing car built by Ferrari. Being the first physical launch of a model after two years of virtual car presentations (due to the pandemic), 500 fans were invited to attend the event.
Before the launch, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz went to greet the crowd which included many members of the various Scuderia Ferrari Clubs and students from Muner, the Motorvehicle University of Emilia-Romagna, and some from the Alfredo Ferrari Higher Education Institute, along with their teachers.
The new car is designated ‘SF-23’ and this marks a return to the format of the Scuderia Ferrari initials combined with the year of competition, as has been the case for most of the hybrid era, was first seen on video.
The 2022 Formula 1 World Championship is in the western hemisphere again a third time for the first of three rounds in the Americas. The first one this weekend will be the US Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, followed by Mexican GP at the end of the month, and the Brazilian GP in mid-November. The US GP has been held at COTA since 2012, except in 2020 when the race was cancelled due to the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Besides Austin, other American cities which have had Formula 1 rounds in the past have been Detroit/Michigan (1982 – 1988), Los Angeles/California (1976 – 1983), Dallas/Texas (1984), Las Vegas, Nevada (1981 and 1982), Riverside/California (1960), Sebring/Florida (1959), Watkins Glen/New York (1961 – 1980), and Indianapolis/Indiana (2000 – 2007). This year, Miami in Florida joined the list and next year will see Las Vegas having a round again. In total, there have been at least 50 rounds of F1 held in America though it is not so apparent.
After being unable to run in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Singapore F1 Grand Prix is on again this weekend as Round 17 of the 2022 Formula 1 World Championship. Singapore has never had a permanent racing circuit and created one in 2008 for its first ever Formula 1 event. It was also the first ever night race in Formula 1 history, to be followed by Bahrain, Abu Dhabi and more recently, Jeddah. Next year, the Las Vegas GP will also be run at night.
The Monza circuit celebrates its 100th anniversary this year and the 16th round of the 2022 Formula 1 World Championship being held there this weekend will be the 72nd time it has hosted a round. When the track, also known as the ‘Temple of Speed’, opened in 1922, the first race it hosted was the second Italian Grand Prix (pre-F1).
Monza is a high-speed track; in fact, it has the highest speeds of any F1 track. Due to the long straights and large portion of lap spent in eighth gear, with the highest average cornering speed of any F1 track today. It also has the lowest downforce level of the year and requires a special rear wing, just for this event.
During the drivers’ briefing, Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel walked out of the room and officials deemed that he had ‘left without permission’ and therefore committed an offence under the regulations. As a result, he was handed a suspended fine of 25,000 euros which will be held for the rest of the 2022 season. Vettel’s action was prompted by frustration as drivers sought explanations for inconsistent decision-making by race officials.
Mercedes-AMG’s Lewis Hamilton also had a worrying moment 15 minutes before the start of the 71-lap race as there seemed to be a problem that brought mechanics running to his car as it was parked on the starting grid. But they managed to get it fixed (believed to be the brakes) in time.
The starting positions for the race were determined by the finishing order of the Sprint Race yesterday and of the 19 cars that took part (Alpine’s Fernando Alonso retired before the race started), the top four finished in the same order as the Qualifying session.This put two Ferraris behind poleman and championship leader Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing. It was going to be interesting seeing if the Ferrari team had decided to continue letting their two drivers fight each other if the situation arose (as it did during the Sprint race).
Verstappen got a clean and smooth start but Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) left the track at Turn 3 and that allowed Mercedes-AMG’s George Russell to slip ahead. But at Turn 4, the British driver came inb contact with Red Bull Racing’s Sergio Perez and the Mexican’s car slid into the gravel although he was able to keep going but dropped to the end of the field. The incident had the attention of the Stewards who would review it and later give Russell a 5-second time penalty.
The contact caused damage to Russell’s car and he was having understeer. Vettel too reported damage on his car. Haas F1’s Mick Schumacher again tangled with Hamilton and took his seventh place – which might mean the world champion would go through the same frustrations he had in the Sprint race. Meanwhile, at the front, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was right on Verstappen’s tail and looking to displace the Dutchman from the lead.
Leclerc had DRS but the Red Bull Racing car was superior in straight line speed. But without Perez nearby, Verstappen would have to stay focussed against two Ferraris right behind him as Sainz had also closed in.
Russell came in on lap 12 to serve his 5-second penalty and during that time, he also got a new rear wing. But it costs him many places and he was down to 19th when he rejoined the race.
On lap 13, Verstappen came in to switch to hards and Leclerc took over the lead. When the Red Bull driver rejoined, he was down in fifth, behind Hamilton and about 20 seconds behind Leclerc. But as drivers ahead began to also come in, Verstappen was able to move upwards quickly and was in fourth (still behind Hamilton) by lap 17. The gap to the front was still a double-digit time.
By lap 20, Verstappen was able to get past Hamilton easily into third place, though still 19 seconds behind Sainz who, in turn, was 4 second behind his team mate. Further down, there was a battle for sixth place between Yuki Tsunoda (Scuderia Alphatauri), Zhou GuanYu (Alfa Romeo) and Alonso as well as his Alpine team mate, Esteban Ocon.
On lap 25, Leclerc left the track to enter the pits, along with Perez whose sidepod damage forced retirement at that point, Sainz was in the lead when Leclerc rejoined just ahead of Hamilton. Then Sainz came in and it was Verstappen in the lead again but Leclerc was closing in fast too.
When Hamilton finally came in, he was delayed by a problem with the wheel, and when he rejoined, he was behind Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Ocon. He had to work hard again to get back his original position but that’s what he’s paid such a huge salary for anyway. Meanwhile, team mate Russel was duelling with McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo for ninth place.
Lap 33 saw Leclerc finally getting past Verstappen who (from radio exchanges) seemed to be having some issues with inconsistent tyre grip. And the Dutchman had also to watch out for Sainz who was coming up from behind as well. Not taking chances, Verstappen quickly headed to the pits on lap 36 to change tyres and managed to get back into the race in third place, with a 25-second gap from Hamilton.
Lap 40 saw yellow flags coming out as Vettel went off into the gravel after a collision with Scuderia Alphatauri’s Pierre Gasly (for which Gasly would get a 5-second penalty). But the Aston Martin was able to get out although Vettel was down to 17th.
The Stewards were obviously keeping a close eye on the cars in the corners and many drivers receive warnings and penalties for going over the track limits. At the front, Leclerc was clearly the faster of the two Ferrari drivers, with Sainz about 5 seconds behind and then a gap of 17 seconds to Verstappen. 24 laps remained.
Both Leclerc and Sainz gave up the front positions as they came into the pits, allowing Verstappen to lead the race. But it was not going to be easy to stay there because Leclerc had been quick to get back out and was right on the back of Verstappen within half a lap – and one lap later, he recaptured the lead.
Hamilton was fourth and came in on lap 52 for medium tyres, retaining his position as the next car with Ocon in it was some distance back. With 17 laps to go, what was the strategy for Sainz? It was uncertain if he would pit again so the Ferrari man stayed within striking distance.
Sainz was pushing hard to catch Verstappen when, on lap 55, his car was on fire and he had to quickly come to a stop. The Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was activated as he managed to park in a safe spot, and many cars quickly shot into the pits. Lap 60 was coming up and Hamilton was able to move up another position and look forward to standing on the podium. Behind him was Russell so the team could get another chunk of points today. The VSC was turned off with 11 laps remaining.
Leclerc was in the lead when the VSC was turned off with 11 laps remaining. However, one lap later, he was on the radio reporting that the throttle felt like it was sticky and the engineers quickly looked at the data. They assured him that all was well; his engine was fresher than the one in Sainz’ car so he did not have to be so worried though he had to watch his foot pressure.
With 6 laps remaining, Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas put in a stronger effort to get into the top ten for points and managed to grab it from Williams Racing’s Alex Albon. The Thai driver then dropped another place as Alonso also swept past him in Turn 5.
The final few laps must have been very tense for Leclerc as his throttle was not working properly and then he found that downshifts were not being executed. Could the power unit hold on just a little bit more, even as Verstappen was pressuring him? Verstappen got within 2 seconds just as the finish line came into sight and it was Leclerc who took the chequered flag to win the Austrian GP this year.
The Australian Grand Prix of 2020 was the first Formula 1 event to be cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it was a sudden cancellation, literally at the ‘eleventh hour’. The state government has forced its cancellation as the pandemic worsened and it started the ball rolling for other organizers to also cancel.
The Australian round has traditionally been the opening round of the season for many years so for the 2021 calendar, it was again placed at the start. However, the strict entry conditions at the start of 2021 made it difficult and uncertain for teams, so the organizers asked for their round to be postponed towards the end of the year when, hopefully, conditions would ease. But they did not (and would not till this year) and so the event had to be cancelled altogether.
This year, the Australian Grand Prix can finally be run although it could not regain its season-opening position and was scheduled as Round 3 of the 2022 Formula 1 World Championship. The circuit at Albert Park in Melbourne has changed and the entire track has been resurfaced. Some of the turns have been widened and a chicane has also been removed. The latter change is intended to provide a good overtaking spot, something which gives spectators the excitement to watch.
According to Brembo, the brake suppliers for all teams, it is one of those tracks with a medium level of difficulty for brakes. Since it is usually used for daily traffic, the track is slippery on Friday but, session by session, the asphalt is increasingly rubberized, also improving braking performance. This also translates into greater pad and disc wear, as they reach extremely high temperatures due to the increase in grip.
With the long experience Brembo has accumulated in Formula 1 since 1975 when they supplied to Ferrari, they have a range of solutions for the calipers that contribute to the heat dissipation of the entire braking system. One of these solutions is the Brembo pads with ventilation holes, something that is anything but simple to achieve because of their small dimensions and the materials the pads are made of, starting with carbon. Thanks to these holes, air circulation is greater and this staves off the overheating of the pads and the calipers themselves.
In 2022, the technical regulations ban having these holes in the pads in order to limit the cost of the component, but the teams are already on the hunt for cooling features that will improve this aspect without breaking any rules, such as fins or other processes to at least increase the exchange surface.
For Pirelli, the tyre people, there are a few unknowns because of the new track surface and changes, so past data cannot be entirely referred to. “There is a completely new generation of cars and tyres that the drivers are still trying to learn about. All these factors mean that there will be a lot of work to do for teams and drivers in the free practice sessions. We decided to opt for the step in the compound nominations because we noticed that there was a relatively small performance gap between the C3 and C4 compounds during development testing, and we believe that Albert Park – with its new asphalt and layout – is a good place to try out this option,” said Mario Isola, Pirellis’ Motorsport Director.
“We had to deal with a lot of new things compared to the last time that we raced here. The track is completely different from what it used to be: it’s definitely faster and the new tarmac feels totally different in terms of grip as far as I can remember,” said Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.
The first two rounds of the championship have seen Ferrari and Red Bull Racing outpacing the Mercedes-AMG team. It’s still early days and the reigning champions are trying hard to address issues with set-up but still some way to go to match the pace of the frontrunners.
The Albert Park circuit is one of those where Lewis Hamilton has not had a notable record of wins (only two) even though he started from pole position a record 8 times. It is Michael Schumacher who has had the most wins with 4 wins, followed by Sebastian Vettel who has won 3 times. The McLaren team has had the most victories in Australia with eleven to date, with Ferrari having two less.
The first race of the new Formula 1 season started as the sun disappeared and the lights came on around the Bahrain International Circuit in the Sakhir Desert. Unusually, there was no car with the Mercedes star at the front row, and it was a red Ferrari with Charles Leclerc in it occupying pole position. Alongside Leclerc was Max Verstappen, the World Champion, and his arch-rival was further back in the fifth spot – ironically alongside his former team mater, Valtteri Bottas who is now in Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN.
As the lights went green for the first time in the 2022 season, Leclerc used his position to sprint forward ahead of Verstappen as the rest of the pack followed. While Hamilton managed to move up a couple of positions, his old buddy Bottas lost ground and fell further back before Turn 2.
The two Haas drivers were not having an easy time getting into the ‘groove’ as Kevin Magnussen locked up his tyres and Red Bull driver Sergio Perez, who had fallen down to seventh (due to a poor start), got past him, while Mick Schumacher had an ‘incident’ with BWT Alpine’s Esteban Ocon which got the attention of the Stewards. The latter was given a 5-second penalty but both cars were able to remain in the race.
By the time the first tenth of the 57-lap race had passed, Leclerc and Verstappen were steadily pulling away from the rest, separated from each other by about 2 seconds. Third place was being contested by three drivers – Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), Hamilton and Perez, while Geroge Russell was pushing hard to get closer to his new team mate in the Mercedes-AMG team.
On lap 8, it appeared than McLaren’s Lando Norris was pushed wide by Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll (which also caused Daniel Ricciardo to have to go wide) and after the Stewards looked into the incident, it was decided that no action or penalty was necessary.
By lap 13, Verstappen and Hamilton were frustrated with quickly diminishing grip from their tyres as degradation was faster than expected. Hamilton chose to come in for a change to Hards. When he rejoined, he was down to 11th and then 12th when the Alfa Romeo of newcomer Zhou sped past him – but he was ahead of the 7-time World Champion only briefly.
Other drivers began to come in after that, with Leclerc – still leading – coming in on lap 16 together with Perez. However, where the Ferrari driver switched to Softs, Perez got Mediums. Leclerc’s departure from the track was short and quick and he kept his lead position but with less than a second’s separation from Verstappen as he rejoined.
Once Hamilton got his tyres warmed up, he began to move up but it was a long way to the leaders who were about 18 seconds away. He made it up to fifth and then there was a 5-second gap to Perez which was going to need a lot of effort to close. Russell was next in line but 7 seconds behind and steadily working his way forward, mindful of Magnussen pursuing.
On lap 19, Verstappen made a strong effort going into Turn 1 but miscalculated and locked up, not making t pass the Ferrari. In the process, he flat-spotted his tyres and had to back off a bit to let the brakes cool down as well. While he was doing that, the other Ferrari driver, Sainz, was moving closer but had to watch out for the other Red Bull as well.
As the race reached the halway point about 50 minutes after the start, Hamilton came into the pits to switch to Mediums. As he rejoined, he slotted between Pierre Gasly and Ocon to take eighth place. The other drivers who had also come in a second time to change tyres were Fernando Alonso and Yuki Tsunoda.
Verstappen came in on lap 31 and Ferrari brought Leclerc in right after that. The pitstops dropped the Dutchman to fourth and Leclerc to third, while Sainz inherited the lead with Perez about 3 seconds behind.
On lap 34, Sainz and Perez departed from the race to get their tyres changed and Leclerc got back his lead, with Verstappen 2 seconds behind and told by his team that he could go all out.
By lap 38, the frontrunners were encountering the slower cars and Sainz had a scare as he passed Alexander Albon and the Williams driver almost collided with him. Actually, the Thai driver was not up to speed as he had just come out from the pit lane. However, no contact occurred and the Ferrari managed to quickly speed away.
The two McLarens were way down the field (almost at the end), unable to move up and Lando Norris tried to do with just one stop but couldn’t, while Ricciardo was having problems with his radio. Tsunoda was trying his best to keep his tenth place as Alonso kept trying to take it from him.
Magnussen was showing that Haas should never have dropped him and given his place to Nikita Mazepin who didn’t do anything positive for the team in 2021. On his first race back with the team, he was able to move into a secure seventh by 15 laps from the end, almost certain to collect points that Haas never saw at all last year.
On lap 46, as Verstappen was reporting steering problems, Gasly’s car suddenly caught fire and he quickly pulled to the side and managed to get out safely. The Safety Car was quickly sent out to lead the racing cars and Leclerc took the opportunity to get into the pits, switch to Softs and have fresh tyres to fight better in the remaining 11 laps. As he sped back to take his place, he almost rammed into the Safety Car! Unhappy that the Mercedes-AMG was not going fast enough, Leclrc complained to his team, hoping they would pass on the message that it must go quicker and not cause him a ‘big disadvantage’.
The Safety Car came in on lap 50 and Leclerc was ready to slingshot away from the Red Bull which was just behind. However, Verstappen could not focus too much on the car ahead as he had another Ferrari in his mirrors as well. Perez and Hamilton were also jostling for fourth and perhaps in desperation, Hamilton almost collided with the other car.
Verstappen’s race ended suddenly as he pulled into the pits on lap 55 and the last conversation heard over the radio was something about the battery, which his engineer said was not the problem. He had been having steering problems but was not informed what exactly was the fault.
The departure of Verstappen left the way open for Sainz to close in on his team mate and give Ferrari not just its first win since September 2019 but also a 1-2 finish. Perez also began having loss of power and before he could get around Turn 1, his car spun and the other cars had to avoid it. For Hamilton, at least the sudden retirement of the Rd Bulls allowed him to get onto the podium, while Russell finished just behind in fourth. That’s racing… it isn’t decided till the finish line is crossed by someone.
The 2022 Formula 1 World Championship starts a new season this weekend in Bahrain which, as in 2021, was the venue for the season-opener and replaced Australia (which had complications due to its pandemic restrictions and requirements). This is the 18th time Bahrain has hosted a round of F1 and has done so every year since 2004, except in 2011.
Although the last race at the Bahrain International Circuit was at the end of March last year, the drivers have fresher memories of the track as they had test sessions there just last month. The circuit at Sakhir is located in the middle of the desert (on what was formerly a camel farm) and has no less than 1,120 palm trees around the site. But while it may be located in a desert, sand doesn’t present much of an issue for the teams and cars, and the track surface cleans up quickly.
The majority of the F1 races held in Bahrain have used the 5.412-km Grand Prix layout, but on one occasion in 2010, the 6.299-km Endurance layout was used. It was not a popular switch as drivers found that the additional corners did not offer passing opportunities, so the GP circuit was used thereafter up till today.
The Bahrain Grand Prix is a twilight race, starting at sunset and finishing after dark when 495 lighting posts are switched on to bring daylight onto the track. Despite the new F1 weekend format, FP1 and FP3 still take place in daylight, while FP2.and qualifying take place in the evening. FP2 is therefore a crucial session for all the teams as it is the one chance to run the car in similar conditions to those experienced in qualifying and the 57-lap race.
Because of the various changes to the weekend format, there is less time for mechanics to work on the cars and less engineering time, due to the earlier curfew. So, more emphasis is put on hitting the ground running with good preparation and simulation work, hence more emphasis being on the pre-weekend preparations.
By now, racing fans will know that this year sees major changes in technical regulations to the extent that even wheel sizes have been increased. So this first round will be very interesting, and everyone will be watching to see how the changes affect performance. Toto Wolff, the Mercedes-AMG team boss, expects the performance of the cars through the corners will change. “For example, we expect the cars to take Turn 4 in Bahrain at 115 km/h in 2022, compared to 135 km/h last year. Similarly, a high-speed corner like Turn 12 will now be taken at 240 km/h, compared to 265 km/h,” he said.
“The teams had the chance get familiar with the 2022 18-inch tyre range, having spent a total of 6 days of testing with all the compounds, although not always in representative conditions. We know from the past that track temperatures can play an important role in Bahrain, affecting tyre degradation, and that’s something we noticed at the recent test as well. During the race temperatures should be milder compared to FP1 and FP3, so the teams will have to focus on their data from FP2 and qualifying. It’s still hard to predict the race strategy as, in the past, Bahrain has been a multi-stop race, but it will be interesting to see if anyone will try something different this year,” said Mario Isola, Pirelli’s Motorsport Director.
The official tyre-supplier has chosen the hardest compounds in the new low-profile range. Removing the requirement for the top ten to start the race on their Q2 rubber will, however, alter the established pattern in which the teams choose their tyres during the weekend.
2022 sees former driver Kevin Magnussen returning to take Nikita Mazepin’s place in the Haas F1 team, while Thai-British Alexander Albon gets another go at F1 with Williams Racing, along Nicholas Latifi. Joining Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN is Zhou GuanYu who is the first F1 driver from China, and he will partner Valtteri Bottas who has moved over from the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Team. You’ll notice Nico Hulkenberg listed with the Aston Martin Aramco COGNIZANT Team and that’s because Sebastian Vettel cannot take part due to being tested positive for COVID-19.
Race starts at 4 pm in Azerbaijan/8 pm in Malaysia
With the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping across Europe this time last year, the 2021 Formula 1 World Championship had to be suspended. Many venues could not be used due to health restrictions and Baku in Azerbaijan was one of them, so there was no Azerbaijan Grand Prix for the first time since 2017 when the city was included as a venue for one of the rounds.
Baku, like Monaco, is also on a coast, in this case that of the Caspian Sea. Its City Circuit, however, could not present a more different street race challenge compared to Monaco. With a long, high-speed section parallel to the seafront, it is one of the easiest street circuits for overtaking.
Two tracks in one
One of the best ways to describe the layout of the Baku City Circuit is that it’s two tracks in one: half Monaco, half Monza. The twisty Old City section has a similar vibe to the streets of Monte Carlo, while the long straights and big braking zones are a characteristic it shares with the Italian Grand Prix venue.
Most street circuits don’t tend to register the same level of maximum g-forces as traditional tracks and Baku is no different. Because of these lower forces, it isn’t a demanding race physically for the drivers, as there is less strain on their neck. There are also more straights for them to do switch changes and there is a bit more margin for error with the barriers, so it is less mentally demanding too.
But like street circuits, especially those in old cities like Baku, there are unforgiving walls of the old buildings and the surface has low grip. Unlike in 2019, Pirelli has made a decision to go one step softer on the compound range, providing the softest combination of tyres for this weekend. In 2019, the top three teams ran near-identical one-stop races, and no one used that season’s Hard compound in the race.
Because the corners don’t generate as much energy as other tracks, the drivers are more dependent on brake heat to keep the tyres warm. However, because of this, the softer tyre compounds are more sensitive to overheating and breaking apart, so it’s a tough balance to find between keeping the tyres warm and not overheating them.
The championship so far
After a forgettable time at Monaco, Lewis Hamilton has been overtaken by Max Verstappen who is now 4 points in the lead after 5 rounds. The two drivers each have almost double the points of Lando Norris, who is in third position. As for the Constructors Championship, the Monaco win also moved the Red Bull Racing team to the top but with just 1 point difference. 60 points further back from Mercedes-AMG is the McLaren F1 team.
Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow’s SF21 racing car for this season of the Formula 1 World Championship has been revealed. It is the 67th to be built in Maranello to compete in the championship. An evolution of last year’s SF1000, as dictated by the regulations which require the use of the same chassis as in 2020, opportunities for change in many areas have been limited.
Some of the permitted areas where change has been made include the engine, which is completely new, and aerodynamic features as well as at the rear end, which is where the two development tokens allowed in the regulations have been used.
The new car features a subtle livery that is said to ‘look to the challenges of the future without forgetting the team’s roots and history’. “The rear end is reminiscent of the burgundy red of the very first Ferrari, the 125 S,” explained Team Principal Mattia Binotto. “But as it moves gradually towards the cockpit area, it transforms into the modern red that we have used in most recent years. This season presents us with many challenges and through this livery, visually, we reboot from our past and head into the future.”
Joint effort by all departments
Development of the new 065/6 power unit for the 2021 season saw a systematic approach adopted by all departments, which worked together to find every opportunity for improvement. “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,” said Enrico Gualtieri Head of the Power Unit department.
“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,” he added.
Head of the Chassis department, Enrico Cardile, said that when the SF21 project began, their first task was really to identify which area of the car to focus on in order to achieve a radical change. “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,” he explained.
Pursuit of better aerodynamics
The engineers 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,” Cardile revealed.
“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,” he added.
The team will have its youngest driver line-up since 1968 with Charles Leclerc (below right) and Carlos Sainz, Jr. When the first race of the season takes place on March 28 in Bahrain, the pair’s average age will be 25 years and 3 days.
The drivers
Commenting on the drivers, Laurent Mekies, Racing Director, said: “There’s plenty of positive energy coming from our two drivers. Carlos has spent a lot of time in the factory and has integrated with the team very quickly. As for Charles, he is already perfectly at home with the team: he knows what he wants and is also very aware of the role he has in the team, both in and out of the car. Over the winter, we have witnessed the two guys getting on very well together and this can only be a good thing for the whole team.”