The teams that will participate in the 2022 Formula 1 season prepare their cars before the presentation period opens and land at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the tests from February 23 to 25.
One of the teams that is finalizing the touches is Ferrari, which seems to be using a triangular configuration in the airbox of its car, although without the two horns that the SF21 sported last year.
The Maranello team wants to move away from the oval design of this element that attracted so much attention in 2021, although it allowed them to have less obstruction in the flow of air that went to the rear wing.
This means that the engineers of the most successful team in the history of Formula 1 will have to find a way to provide clean air to the power unit and its accessory elements, something that is managed through the airbox channels .
However, given that the shape of the sidepods has had to be redesigned for 2022, it is very likely that the Italians have chosen to relocate the various radiators and electronic components housed around the engine and throughout this lateral region of the car.
Ferrari SF21 airbox detail
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Ferrari SF70H side detail
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
This is due to a change in the position of the SIPS (side impact protection system) for next season, as the regulations require that they be located at least 60mm higher than in past years.
This pretty much rules out a tall air intake design, which was introduced by the Cavallino team in 2017, and was soon copied by the rest of the grid.
With Ferrari having new sponsors, there are also some question marks over what livery the red car will sport. Some rumors indicate that the teams will wear provisional colors for the first pre-season tests in Barcelona.
Less and less is missing to know the outcome of this game of engineers and designers, and on the 17th of the same month, the Italians will reveal the single-seater with which they want to return to the top after 15 years.
