Maurizio Arrivabene and Mattia Binotto impressions after Ferrari launches SF71-H

Proud of its Italian heritage, Scuderia Ferrari has once again presented its new Formula One car to the public via an event at the headquarters in Maranello. The live stream similarly showed the unveiling of the SF71H, which is now more red than ever. While last year the car still featured quite a bit of white, this year’s SF71H features a slightly darker shade of red, and much less white. Only an explicit Italian flag is still apparent on the car’s engine cover, while nearly all previously white and black parts have been made red. For the first time since 2009, the Ferrari features an extensively red livery following the loss of major sponsor Santander. The Halo, which is mandatory this year, has a red fairing and a Ferrari badge placed on the front.

Maurizio Arrivabene, Team principal for Scuderia Ferrari, noted repeatedly to event presenter Marc Gene that he “is not here to talk about feelings. Instead, I want to honour all these people, part of which stand here behind me, who have worked so hard on this new project. We are proud of their achievements, having put togther a car here at Maranello. Because that is what’s important, the car has been build here, at Maranello, and not just anywhere else. It features our Italian roots”.

Technical director Mattia Binotto had something more to say about the car itself: “Our new car is a thorough evolution of what we had in 2017. The SF70H was already quite a strong package, with considerable downforce at lower speeds. We have tried to make changes so that this year, we will also do better in the high speed corners. Additionally, you can see the car looks tighter than before, which is the result of very detailed work. Combined with a focus on reliability, I think we will be in a good position once again”.

The launch was attended by both race drivers as well, before they and the car set off to Barcelona for the first winter test, starting 26 February at Circuit de Catalunya Barcelona. After challenging Mercedes for the title and falling short in 2017, high expectations surround the new car as the team aims to end its ten-year championship drought by the end of the season. It also carries the championship hopes of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen, with Vettel aiming to beat Lewis Hamilton to a fifth career title this year.