Ferrari officially presented Thursday its new F1 single-seater, called F1-75, with which the Italian brand intends to return to victory and join Mercedes and Red Bull at the top.
Ferrari’s last victory dates back to the 2019 Singapore Grand Prix and, as a manufacturer, Ferrari finished 6th in 2020 and 3rd in 2021.
For 2022, the driver line-up remains unchanged with Monegasque Charles Leclerc, 24, and Spaniard Carlos Sainz, 27. But the F1-75 has a different profile from its predecessor to comply with the new regulations coming into force this season.
The latter favors the ground effect, or suction, rather than aerodynamic support in order to allow F1 cars to overtake themselves more easily in the race. The 2022 F1s also come with larger wheels.
“Ferrari is the only team that has participated in all editions of the F1 world championship” since 1950, recalled during the presentation John Elkann, president of Ferrari “and now is the time to find the way to victory”.
“Expectations are very high because we are Ferrari and we are always expected to win,” said Charles Leclerc. “But we will only know once on the track” the qualities of the new single-seater, he recalled.
The dominant color of the F1-75 is still red but it is adorned with black facings, in particular at the level of the halo, the arch which protects the driver in the event of an accident, and the air intake.
Technically, the new Ferrari also features a two-piece snout with the wing attached to the lower one, which should give engineers a greater range of settings to suit the characteristics of different circuits.
The number 75 commemorates the number of years of existence of the Scuderia Ferrari which aligns the cars of the Italian brand in the race.
Red Bull has already presented a preliminary version of its F1 2022 and Mercedes is due to present its own on Friday. The first pre-season tests are scheduled in Barcelona from February 23-25 and the first race will take place in Bahrain on March 20.