Chief designer explains “radical changes” to the car

(Motorsport-Total.com) – What’s new in the Ferrari SF21 for 2021? A lot! A cursory look at the new Ferrari car shows it. Because the traditional Italian team has further developed the SF1000 from 2020 on a large scale and optimized it in many areas. Ferrari Chief Designer Enrico Cardile explained why at the official presentation of the vehicle.

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Ferrari has unveiled the SF21, with a “radically” redesigned rear section

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Consequently, Ferrari had two important goals with the 2021 model. “On the one hand, we wanted the aerodynamic handicap. [der neuen Regeln für 2021] and on the other hand reduce air resistance, “says Cardile. The result is numerous new winglets and air deflectors around the Ferrari SF21.

According to Cardile, the biggest modification is not immediately noticeable: a new internal combustion engine and a revised gearbox with a new rear suspension work at the rear of the race car.

Where Ferrari hides the “radical changes”

Cardile explains: “When we started the SF21 project, we immediately had to choose an area of ​​the vehicle where we were going to make a radical change. We chose the rear.” This is exactly where Ferrari used its two development tokens.

And Cardile is confident that he has taken the right steps: “Along with what our colleagues have developed for the drivetrain, we now have a much slimmer rear. This offers aerodynamic advantages.

Modified cooling system on the Ferrari SF21

This was also helped by a change in the SF21’s cooling system. “The centrally installed chiller is now more of a challenge,” says Cardile. “At the same time, the body is more compact.”

What he means by that: Ferrari has widened the air intake from the air box above the cockpit and at the same time slightly reduced the openings in the side compartments. So now more cooling air flows through the air box and less through the side pods.

These innovations are complemented by a completely redesigned air duct right at the front of the vehicle. Cardile talks about a “new front wing” and a “new nose”. Only the chassis and front suspension have been replaced from the previous year’s SF1000.

Ferrari: rule changes are not a problem!

And that’s even though Formula 1 cars in 2020 should have entered the 2021 season almost unchanged, as a saving measure in the crown crisis. However, in practical terms, the new underbody regulation required major vehicle modifications. And Ferrari has further developed its car on top of that in a deliberate way, as various winglets show.

“Such challenges,” Cardile says, “certainly do not scare us. We accept them, as always, knowing that there is still a lot of work to be done. And we have to pay tribute to the name we stand for.”

Last year, Ferrari was unsuccessful with the SF1000: the traditional Formula 1 team was completely left without a victory and fell to sixth place in the World Championship. Ferrari hadn’t classified that badly in the constructors’ championship for almost 40 years.