Will 30 more horsepower be enough on the Ferrari SF21 to move up the rankings and fight for placings more suited to the Scuderia’s history and expectations? This is the hope what the technical department in Maranello, which is working on the 2021 season to quickly forget what happened during the championship of Formula 1’s 70th anniversary.
The rivals will definitely not just stand and do nothing from the point of view of the engine for next season, as all three Power Unit manufacturers have had excellent reasons to get to work on evolutions which wil be taken to the track in this transition season (in view of the major rule change which will take place in 2022). Honda is in the last season and wants to win to say goodbye in style, Renault wants to make the definitive leap in quality while Mercedes has been able to begin work for 2021 a lot sooner given yet another easy triumph in 2020. The Maranello team for its part should have significant evolutions available regarding the thermal engine (injection system and combustion chamber) and the ERS.
These changes, which are expected to add a significant 30 horsepower to the overall performance, are intended to bring Ferrari back to the top speeds of 2019. That is when the car was competitive enough to win races and take pole positions, and before the FIA intervened with the famous technical ‘clarification’ agreement between the parties in the 2020 pre-season.
According to an article in the Gazzetta dello Sport signed by Paolo Filisetti, Ferrari has worked on all possible areas. Given the impossibility to change some elements such as chassis and cooling system, the SF21 will have a new bottom, a new diffuser with a different attachment point for the upper suspension triangle, and a possible increase in wheelbase. All this should improve the vertical load distribution. Red Bull-style flanks will also contribute to this. Broadly speaking, especially on the front, the new single-seater from Maranello will look very similar to that of 2020, but the hope is that the flow management modified by the new elements can help to offer tyre management, bringing them to temperature in a more homogeneous way by widening the operating window.
