Ferrari SF21 with ‘radical change’ revealed after online leak

The full 2021 grid has now been seen after Ferrari unveiled its new car -- the SF21 that features “a radical change” -- following an online leak earlier on Wednesday.

Ferrari held a team launch in February when its driver line-up of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz joined team principal Mattia Binotto to discuss the year ahead, but the car itself was not part of it. With a video going live on the Ferrari website on Wednesday, images from the footage appeared on social media in advance as some users were able to access it early, with the team later officially releasing the shots of the new car that features a number of changes compared to 2020.

The main focus of the SF21 has been the rear end, although chassis director Enrico Cardile says reducing drag and a new nose was also a priority in tandem with a new power unit.

“When we started the SF21 we had to choose right away which part of the car we’d give our attention to to make a radical change,” Cardile said. “We chose the posterior, creating a new transmission and new suspension. This, along with the work done by our power unit engineers gave us a much more tapered rear end compared to the SF1000.

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“We also went over the cooling system. We increased the authority of the central radiator, and designed a more down-washing bodywork. Aerodynamics was one of the areas impacted by the changed regulations, intended to reduce the capacity of developing vertical downforce, making sure the tires remain intact.

“This is why, when we started working on the car’s aerodynamics, we gave ourselves two objectives: on the one hand, increasing the aerodynamic charge lost due to the regulations, and on the other reducing drag.

“The changes to the front part of the car were less radical, due to regulations. So we developed a new front wing that works coupled with a newly conceived nose, but the chassis and the suspensions are the same as the SF1000.

“These challenges certainly do not frighten us. We’ll face them as always, united with our feet on the ground, conscious that we’ll have to work a lot, and well, to honor the name we represent.”