If it goes fast it is beautiful, as Enzo Ferrari affirmed, defender that the single-seaters that won were the most beautiful. Decades after his death, his team unveiled the F1-75, the car with which he will participate in the 2022 Formula 1 season, and may be one of the candidates to win the title.
Those from Maranello have focused on the double bottom, interpreting this aerodynamic concept externally in the upper part of the side, which has a fairly pronounced gap, thanks to the fact that in the wind tunnel they have optimized the flow directed towards the rear wing.
The Italians, however, have not created a real double bottom, as the narrowing of the floor has slightly less clearance than Aston Martin and Alfa Romeo cars. These shapes, which are not contained in the first part of the sidepod, are the result of a long design optimization process in the wind tunnel, with a rear region, where the cooling gills end, that narrows into a kind of second bottleneck zone to include power unit 066/7.
This is, without a doubt, the hallmark of a project coordinated by Enrico Cardile and managed by the head of aerodynamics, David Sánchez , who have had the opportunity to work with more time and calm on the F1-75 and have investigated the concept for converge to the solution of the double bottom.
The difference is clear, 7% more efficient at the rear than with other options at the bottom, although it will be the circuit that confirms the data.
Cooling will be key in the Ferrari F1-75
The openings for cooling the radiator are tall and narrow, like the side, somewhat larger than in other designs, with a shape that makes the flow go down to the bottom, through the low channel on the side, feeding the bottleneck. In short, two is better than one.
The radiators are less sloped than on the SF21, but have not been stretched, only the ERA cooling should be left on the engine, allowing for a particularly narrow shroud design.
Ferrari has done a great job of cleaning up the cockpit area, with a triangular airbox, confirming what was expected, but the intake is smaller than last year’s, and also lower. In fact, the camera is mounted on a protrusion of the anti-roll bar to achieve the minimum size required by the FIA.
Not surprisingly, the two Viking horns on either side of the air intake are taller, while each part of the halo mount has a more horizontal profile. The engine cover is very profiled, so the Italian car shows a design in line with that shown in the Alfa Romeo C42, and in the rear there is no hot air outlet, except between the two rear wing supports, with some more detached pillars and without the swan neck that Ferrari introduced in the past.
The rear wing is also interesting, with a raised central part , and it proposes two spoons, although the most curious thing is the DRS actuator, in the form of a pistol. In the fixed part of both ends, an overlapping piece can be seen because the flap does not join it with the curvature of the main profile, generating an additional air passage.
Front and rear suspensions, this is the arrangement in the F1-75
The rear suspension has a pull-rod arrangement, slightly further forward than on the SF21, reflecting an entirely new gearbox design. Ferrari engineers do not seem to have looked for any particular solution for this region, as other teams have done.
In the front area, the suspension continues to be push-rod , with the wishbones covered in carbon and with various aerodynamic functions. The steering arm is offset from the upper triangle to allow for binding.
The nose is the most innovative part of the Ferrari F1-75
We’ve saved the front for last because it’s the most innovative of the F1-75, with a very long, rounded nose to reduce drag, and it’s also hollowed out at the bottom. The nose becomes a very narrow beak at the tip, and sits on an arched flow conveyor that divides the main airfoil into two parts, allowing air to be directed directly into the splitter and two Venturi channels. The look is innovative to facilitate future development and modifications.
