Scuderia Ferrari have chosen a very ‘aggressive’ concept for the nose design on their Formula 1 car for the 2022 championship, according to a recent report from a reputable Italian media outlet.
Formula 1 teams are reaching the final phase of development for the new generation of cars, as they look to turn the designs they have been working on for several months into reality, with less than six weeks until the first pre-season testing session is scheduled to take place in Barcelona, where the new set of regulations will give us a first view of different-looking cars that will take to the track.
Scuderia Ferrari is putting its hopes into was was called ‘Project 674’ and further details have now emerged from a trusted source as to what can be expected when the Maranello team’s drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz come out of the garage for pre-season testing at the Circuit de Catalunya next month. Formu1a.uno informs that we should expect a ‘more aggressive nose design’ on the new Ferrari car, as compared to the 2022 prototype which was revealed last summer during the British Grand Prix weekend at Silverstone.
At the same time, it seems that the Maranello team has decided to use a “pull-rod configuration on the front suspension” which would be “in stark contrast to the push-rod suspension geometry seen on the previous single-seaters”.
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The decision, according to Formu1a.uno, has been “largely directed by aerodynamics” in that “the pull-rod configuration allows the flow to be redirected towards the bottom of the car and straight into the cooling inlets, which should also be lower, all matched by a more compact rear end thanks to the cooling ‘gills’ allowed by the new regulations” – they wrote.
It is believed that McLaren, who battled Ferrari for third place in the 2021 Formula 1 Constructor Standings, will go for a similar solution, taking into consideration the images they posted recently, while another of Scuderia Ferrari’s biggest rivals, Mercedes, have already tweeted a ‘fire-up’ video, doing so a couple of days before Christmas. The same Italian media outlet informs that we should not expect an equivalent out of Maranello just yet.
That could be a couple of weeks away, with Ferrari said to want to take as much time as they can to refine the Internal Combustion Engine before it has to be homologated.
Other elements of the power unit do not need to be homologated until the opening race weekend in Bahrain from March 18-20, so the power unit in action at Barcelona from February 21-23 may not be the finished article.
The Italian side’s hopes of being able to fight with Mercedes and Red Bull in the 2022 Formula One season could be boosted of the new engine does indeed prove to be a major step forward as compared to its predecessor. Yet Ferrari Racing Director Laurent Mekies confirmed that it would be “very naïve to think it will be easy to close the gap” on the top two.
