2021 F1 Ferrari New Car Launch Review

2021 F1 Ferrari – Ferrari endured its worst season in 40 years in 2020 and things had to change.

The first thing to go was Sebastian Vettel, who has been replaced by Carlos Sainz. Not great for continuity, but a necessary step. Vettel was dead wood and not a driver who could accept being second best in any team.

Sainz is a very good replacement but I have to wonder if this is as good a move for him, as it is for Ferrari? This is a team who specialise in underachieving. They lack little in the way of resources and that has been the case for decades. Yet, what return have they got on that investment? Obviously enough in terms of publicity and brand promotion, but in terms of sporting achievement?

They last won the Formula 1 Constructors Championship in 2008 and the last Drivers Championship in 2007. That despite being the biggest, or one of the biggest spenders, each and every year. Underachievement like that does not happen by accident.

Badly Managed

Ferrari is a badly managed team. It has all the resources but not the ability to get the best return on their assets. They are constantly changing this, sacking him, hiring someone else, sacking them. Having a management reshuffle and repeating the process ad nauseum. Their lack of continuity is a weakness and there is no sign of that changing.

In December the Ferrari CEO Louis Camilleri suddenly left. He is not involved with the running of the F1 team but obviously the parent company is the one signing the cheques. The company are looking for a new CEO and in the meantime, the previous temporary CEO, John Elkann, is to fulfil the role.

Just a day before Ferrari had a ‘Team’ launch, they announced, yes you guessed it, another a technical reorganisation designed – according to the Scuderia themselves – to give “absolute focus on the technical and racing priorities, with the definition of very clear roles and responsibilities”. Quite. Just don’t get too comfortable at your new desk people, there will be another re-shuffle mid-season.

2021 F1 Ferrari: Lack Of Continuity

The lack of continuity is a theme at Ferrari and also for new driver Carlos Sainz. He is now at his fourth Formula 1 team in eight years. I put a premium on continuity for a reason. It takes time to settle into a new team, to understand how it works, who are the key players, who you need to use to get the most for yourself and so on. And like wise for the team. They need to get used to the needs of each driver and all these things take time. Sometimes the two parties just don’t fit. There is a lot to be said for staying put in a team where you are doing well.

Last year’s car was an all-new design but a big step in the wrong direction. That was compounded by the FIA clamping down on how Ferrari were using their power units. They never actually said they were cheating, but Ferrari knew they had been rumbled and had to back track. They now had a draggy, downforce laden car with the least powerful power unit. Ferrari were doomed before the season had even started.

Redesigned Power Unit

For the 2021 F1 Ferrari car they have redesigned their power unit. It can only be better than last year but getting back to where they were in 2019? That is asking too much. With no in season development of the power unit allowed in 2021, it is also risky. Get it wrong and they are stuck with it for the whole season. Binotto is saying that dyno figures are good and that they ‘won’t be the worst’. Hardly inspiring but the fact remains that 2022 will see another new power unit. That one is much more important than for this stop gap season.

Their biggest asset remains Charles Leclerc, a driver right up with the very best on the grid this year. He was in a different league to Vettel last year. Now into his third season with the team and his fourth in F1, he is still improving and maturing.

He is joined by a talented teammate who is more experienced than him, but not one who thinks he is the number 1. The slight downside is that there is now more expectation on Leclerc to lead and Leclerc is still relatively young and inexperienced to try and carry such a huge team. He was still making mistakes last year and he isn’t the finished article just yet.

Can They Close The Gap?

Ferrari have a job on their hands too move out of the very packed midfield. They had been part of the big three for years, but now? They are faced with a surging McLaren, an ambitious Aston Martin project and a rebranded Renault looking to move up a gear. Ferrari were 50 points shy of the fifth best team in 2020 and just closing that gap is the realistic target. Joining the big boys again is likely to be a longer game.

The team are confident that their new car will not suffer with the same straight line performance deficit as in 2020. That shouldn’t be difficult to achieve. The power unit will have been improved, but to the same level as the other three power units on the grid? We shall see. Their first job in designing the 2021 car would have been to get rid of the drag that was on last year’s car. In 2019 they had a performance deficit in slower corners, and they addressed that with more downforce, but that design blew up in their face when the FIA clamped down on their illegal power units.

Improvement Likely

The positives for Ferrari are that they will have an improved car. It was pretty clear what needed to change. Their tokens have been spent of chassis modifications to reduce drag and a new rear suspension to improve rear end stability. Combine this with a redesigned power unit which will be significantly better than the 2020 model and Ferrari will have a better package. Even they are unlikely to make a mess of picking low hanging fruit. The driver line up of Leclerc and Sainz is a good one, a better one than Vettel and Leclerc, so long as Sainz settles in quickly.

The question is how far up the table will it move them? I would be surprised if they were to be back to their 2019 level of performance, but with an improved driver pairing and a better car, they will be able to move nearer to the top of the midfield but to re-join the ‘big three’? That would be at the most optimistic end of their expectations.

Ferrari have also been clear that developing the 2022 car is the priority, so do not expect this car to be heavily developed throughout the season. A return to respectability seems to be the limit of Ferrari’s ambition in 2021.

Car Launch

All these launches have followed a very similar theme. Carried over designs from last year, slimmer side pods, modified front wings and or nose cones, rear suspension changes all designed to try and claw back downforce lost to changes to the regulations around the floor and diffuser of the car.

Ferrari have confirmed changes in the design of the power unit. There is a Mercedes style turbo and a new compressor designed to improve thermal efficiency. There are changes to the front wing and nose but they, like everyone else, is keeping their new rear floor designs under wraps for the mean time.

Token spend has gone on the rear of the car which features new suspension and transmission. This, along with the redesigned power unit has allowed the rear body work to be more tapered. A reduction of drag was a key aim in the new aerodynamic package and there are no great surprises from this launch.

Stronger Driver Line Up

There seems to be an expectation that Ferrari are a shoe in for third place in the constructor’s championship. This is not a small team and they have had last year without a cost cap to throw resources at redesigning to the power unit, the major liability of the 2020 car. Their aerodynamic weakness was also clear to see, and it would be very difficult not to make this car a significant improvement to last years car.

The driver line up looks stronger to go with the better car but just because they are Ferrari does not mean some divine right to third place. In fact, the more cynical might say that because this is Ferrari, that is the reason why they will not finish third.

Ferrari confirmed that 2022 is the priority and this car will not be getting much in the way of development. And there is the opposition to consider. McLaren are set to benefit from having Mercedes power, and they too have redesigned their power units. We must assume that the redesign will provide more power and improved reliability.

Aston Martin A Threat

Aston Martin look to be keen to make a big impression this season and we should see them make more of a development push on this year’s car. They also will run the new Mercedes power units.  Alpine do look vulnerable to being overtaken by Ferrari, but last year McLaren were 71 points clear of Ferrari and Racing Point 64 points clear. Ferrari are not chasing teams that are going to be resting on their laurels.

In an ideal world, Ferrari would have started with a clean sheet of paper and redesigned last years car. From front to back, inside and out. However, the 2021 regulations means that a large part of last years car is carried into 2021. This new car cannot be a challenger for race wins unless they get very lucky in the manner of Alpha Tauri did when winning last years Italian GP. To have podium finishes they have beat Aston Martin and McLaren, and then hope that Red Bull and Mercedes haven’t finished in the top four places.

Testing begins on Friday and we will start to get a better picture of the pecking order over the weekend. However, I would be surprised if Ferrari turned up and set the pace.

2021 F1 Ferrari Constructor’s Championship Odds: 28.00

2021 F1 Ferrari Drivers’ Championship Odds: Charles Leclerc 43.00; Carlos Sainz 101.00

-JamesPunt