Ferrari unveiled their new Formula One car, the SF70-H, yesterday with the minimum of fanfare after a disappointing 2016 season but plenty of hope among fans that the Italian team will return to winning ways.
The online presentation for a car that Ferrari needs to propel them back to the top, after failing to win any races last season, was short compared with some other teams’ offerings.
Ferrari finished third overall in the championship, 70 points behind runners-up Red Bull although the 70 in the SF70-H designation alludes to the sportscar company’s 70th anni-versary.
The new car, with a prominent fin on the engine cover, completed a few laps on the team’s Fiorano test track for a filming session yesterday.
“The lengthened nose and the arrow-shaped wing are a consequence of the regulations, as is the obvious fin on the engine cover,” Ferrari said in a statement, yesterday.
Under new regulations Formula One cars are lower and wider this season, and with bigger front and rear tyres, that should allow them to shave several seconds off each lap.
Former world champions Sebastian Vettel of Germany and Finland’s Kimi Raikkonen were due to start pre-season testing for Ferrari in Barcelona on Monday.
Ferrari last won the constructors’ championship in 2008 and the drivers’ title with Raikkonen in 2007.
Mercedes, who presented their car at Silverstone on Thursday, have won both titles for the last three seasons.