Scuderia Ferrari’s 2022 Formula 1 Contender, The Daring And Strikingly Red Cloaked F1-75

Breaking cover as an innovative and daring car, Scuderia Ferrari presents its challenger for the 2022 Formula 1 World Championship, the F1-75.

Uncloaked online at the Gestione Sportiva, Maranello, this car is the 68th built by the company to compete in motor racing’s blue riband category.

Scuderia Ferrari’s managing director and team principal, Mattia Binotto, commented, “The F1-75 is the expression of the talent, commitment and passion of each and every one of us. It is the end result of the work of a team that tackled the task with a new spirit and approach, pushing to the maximum in terms of innovation of every component, every detail, every solution. I am proud of the work that has gone into designing the F1-75. I would like the F1-75 to be the car that allows our fans to once again be proud of Ferrari. Our goal is to reignite the Prancing Horse legend and we can only do that by winning again. That will require a fast car and two great drivers and we have them.”

On that note, the driving duties fall to the pairing that was first seen last year, namely the Monegasque Charles Leclerc and the Spaniard Carlos Sainz.

Moreover, Scuderia Ferrari also acquired the services of Antonio Giovinazzi and Mick Schumacher as reserve drivers. 

Whereas, Robert Shwartzman takes on the role of test driver and slated to take part in two Friday free practice sessions during the course of the season.

“Our race team is gearing up for the longest season ever and possibly for one of the most surprising seasons of the last decade. Different regulations, different cars, 23 races. The coming season might hold some surprises. At the first race in Bahrain, there could be very little difference in performance terms between the teams, but then over the course of the year, we could see some teams and drivers make great progress. In our favour, we have the incredible talent and dedication of Charles and Carlos, who have worked hard all winter with the engineers to develop the car in the right direction,” expressed Scuderia Ferrari’s racing director and head of track, Laurent Mekies.

Aesthetic-wise, the F1-75 adorns a brand-new shade of red, developed by the Ferrari Style Centre, and its moniker signifies the 75th anniversary of the company’s founding this year.

The anniversary is reflected in the celebratory logo, alongside the Italian flag, which has been a long-time feature on Ferrari Formula 1 cars.

“The first key factor for the design of a car that is so different from its predecessors is time management. We allowed much more time than usual for the design phase, examining in depth all the rule changes in order to squeeze out every ounce of performance, exploring a large number of solutions through studies, simulations and bench tests. The second key factor is the involvement and empowerment of each individual designer, so that everyone feels the excitement and uniqueness of the challenge posed by these massive changes. The third key factor is the integration and dialogue between the different groups, one team dealing with performance, another with design, then production, procurement, quality control, assembly, bench tests, planning, track management and then the drivers themselves, with their feedback,” said Scuderia Ferrari’s head of chassis project engineering, Fabio Montecchi.

Notably, the F1-75’s brand-new look is a result of the Maranello engineers’ interpretation of the new technical regulations that come into force this year. 

A standout are the lower nose and bodywork elements, where great care was given to the packaging of the PU and its ancillary parts in order to achieve the best possible aerodynamic performance.

Besides that, this year also marks the return of ground effect after a 40-year absence, while the Pirelli tyres have increased in size to 18 inches, compared to this season.

“The rule changes in 2022 are undoubtedly the most radical of the last 40 years. In tandem with the car development, we improved our simulation tools, to bring light into the dark corners that existed in the past. Aerodynamics was definitely our number one priority. We approached it with an open mind, bucking the trends of recent years. This open-mindedness has extended to the development of the suspension, the new rules have imposed a general rethink, with the aim of giving us the flexibility to manage a brand-new car concept and tyres with different properties to those used up until now,” remarked Scuderia Ferrari’s head of chassis, Enrico Cardile.

Performance-wise, the F1-75 harbours a 1.6-litre (1600 cc), 4-valve per cylinder, single turbocharger, direct injection 90-degree fitted V6 power unit that revs up to a maximum of 15,000 rpm.

Its configuration of a hybrid energy recovery system with electric motor generators is paired to a 20 kg Lithium-ion battery pack that churns with Ferrari’s 8-gear longitudinal transmission.

Overall, the setup’s motor generator unit kinetic (MGU-K) maximum power is 120 kW (163 cv) with a maximum rev of 50,000 rpm, whereas for the motor generator unit heat (MGU-H) is at 125,000 rpm.

In terms of its body, the chassis is manufactured from carbon fibre honeycomb composite material with protective Halo over the cockpit. 

Paired to an overall bodywork and seat in carbon fibre, its total weight including water, lubricants and driver reads at 795 kg.

Then, it is also fitted with hydraulically controlled rear differential and Brembo self-ventilating carbon discs (front and rear) with brake-by-wire control for the rear brakes.

Scuderia Ferrari’s head of power unit, Enrico Gualtieri, uttered, “All components have been re-evaluated, some have been optimised, while others were decidedly innovative. We started from the main concept of seeking the utmost efficiency in the energy transformation process, from the chemical one in terms of combustion to the mechanical one, to the crankshaft. Everything else has been designed with this goal in mind. Working in an equally practical way, we also defined a power unit layout that best meets the needs of our colleagues on the chassis side, in view of the new technical regulations.”

That being said, Scuderia Ferrari has completed the first three days of pre-season testing at Spain’s Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit. 

During said time, the F1-75 completed a total of 439 laps (2,052 km), the most of any of the cars on track, with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz both driving on all days.

Detailing it down, Charles ran the circuit for all three days with C2 and C3 compound tyres, where the work involved evaluating the handling of the car in different set-up configurations. 

Unfortunately, on the morning of the last day, four hours of track time was red flagged no fewer than five times when the cars stopped out on track. 

Now, for the Monegasque, he completed 44 laps, equivalent to 206 km and for over three days, Leclerc did 203 laps (949 km).

Following the afternoon of the last day, Carlos took over after the lunch break. The Spaniard ran wet and intermediate tyres, as the track had been artificially watered. 

Immediately after the track dried, he then switched to the C2, C3 and C4 dry tyres. He did 92 laps (430 km), which brought his three-day total to 236 laps (1103 km).

Ensuing that, the next stop is Bahrain, where the Scuderia returns to Maranello to assess the large amount of data it has acquired.

At which, the team altered the changes needed to prepare for the second and last pre-season test at the Sakhir circuit, from March 10 to 12.

Mekies concluded, “Overall, this has been a solid test session for us as we completed many laps. We got through most of our programme, which was based around three key elements, firstly to get an initial read on reliability, hence our primary focus on the number of laps completed, secondly to map several parameters of our car, from aero performance to tyre performance, to vehicle dynamics performance. Lastly, it was important to give our drivers sufficient laps to familiarise themselves with what is a completely new car. It calls for a different driving style and a different approach to the various racing conditions. It was also good for the race team to be back at the track. For them, it was a useful warm-up, getting used to procedures such as the pit stops and, for the various crews that make up the team, to all be back working together again and interacting well with our drivers. Our thanks must go to everyone back at the factory, who have worked so hard over the past few months to ensure we arrived at the race track well prepared.”