Ferrari launch 2010 contender
Ferrari have today launched their 2010 Formula One car, destined to be driven by Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa. The car was displayed on the second floor of the new assembly lines for Ferrari road cars in Maranello.
Ferrari's latest F1 car copies many elements that featured on various cars last year, including their new front wing. The end plates thereof are visibly inspired by the Brawn BGP001 that won the championship last year. The front wing attaches to the nose with sculpted pillars, extending on their trailing edge to seamlessly merge onto the nose that is now much higher than on last year's Ferrari.
Also worth mentioning is the position of the camera which is now fixed on the front wing support, rather than on the nose itself.
The nose features bulges similar to last year's Red Bull RB5, and more teams are expected to copy this features introduced by Adrian Newey's Red Bull Engineering team.
More towards the rear end, the sidepods are generally similar to last year's car in the way they are undercut and their reduction in surface towards the rear end of the car. The upper sides however now slope upwards to provide a better position for the cooling radiators, a feature that resembles that of the Benetton of 1995.
The most important change however may be the longer wheelbase which will allow the team to better set an even weight distribution. Even with the narrower front tyres, it seems that Ferrari really wanted more weight to the front of the car, additionally as it will be vital this year to preserve car balance under high fuel loads.
