Ferrari have become the final team to reveal their 2021 Formula 1 car – the SF21.
Ferrari have unveiled their new car for the 2021 Formula 1 season – the SF21. The team unveiled their new machinery online on Wednesday afternoon. Ferrari head into 2021 with a new driver line-up, as Sebastian Vettel is replaced by Carlos Sainz.
Ferrari endured a season to forget in 2020. Having had arguably the fastest car in 2019, they slipped to sixth in the Constructors’ Championship – their worst result since 1980. Questions were asked about Ferrari’s downturn in performance, not least given the FIA’s investigation of the team’s 2019 power unit, and their undisclosed resolution to findings over the engine’s legality.
The team recorded no wins last year, and three somewhat unexpected podium finishes – two for Charles Leclerc, and one for Sebastian Vettel. Neither driver qualified in the top three this season, and the pair recorded only six top five qualifications and fourteen Q3 appearances.
Ferrari hope to be more competitive in 2021 and believe they have made gains in straight line speed over the winter break. Speaking at the Ferrari’s team launch event in February, Team Principal Mattia Binotto said:
“Certainly last year was a big, big disappointment. We know that we cannot repeat such a bad result; we know that we need somehow to do better in 2021 […] I think it’s really a matter of mentality: team mentality, drivers’ mentality, and as Team Principal, no doubt I’m fully aware of the responsibility I’ve got, being part of such a team. I feel… not pressure, but I feel the responsibility, as well the pride, and I know that, as I said, initially we simply need to do better, and that’s part of my first responsibility.”
Do you think Ferrari will move up the competitive order in 2021? Leave a comment below!
After graduating in 2015 with a First Class honours degree in English Language and Literature, Nicky Haldenby, a lifelong fan of Formula 1, founded the Lights Out F1 Blog in 2016. Now in its sixth season, the blog has become a firm fan-favourite, delving deep into the sport’s history books and lifting the cover on unusual F1 statistics. Nicky also writes at F1Destinations and GPDestinations. In 2017 and 2018, he wrote for Badger GP. Nicky is also the host of the F1 Rewind Podcast and can be heard as the resident stats man on the 2 Soft Compounds Podcast.