| Source: ferrari.com | ferrari youtube channel | espn.co.uk |
Technical chief James Allison says the new front wing regulations have not posed a huge problem for Ferrari and expects gains on both the aerodynamic and engine side this season.
The new noses for 2015 will be lower and tapered, much like they were in the mid-1990s, which comes after a backlash to some of the striking nose designs last season. There is less interpretation in the rules than last year meaning it is unlikely we will see such variety in 2015.
Ferrari suffered its first winless campaign since 1993 last year, a failure which prompted a huge upheaval at Maranello. Williams unveiled its FW37 last week and technical director Pat Symonds said the new nose regulations had a big impact on its design, but Allison says Ferrari has adapted well to the change.
“We’ve had to change the way we package the front end of the car to some extent, the way the front wing works and the nose and the turning veins,” Allison said. “But it’s not so big a deal for us, it’s something we adopted early on in the year and just moved on from there … This year’s car is certainly a lot better looking than last year’s car – prettier round the front, tighter round the back and that makes for a nicer car.”
Allison says the area of focus for the new car, which Ferrari will name the SF15-T, has been threefold but has no doubts the team can close the gap to Mercedes and Renault.
“The guidelines are pretty simple; last year we were too slow, not good enough, so fundamentally make a competitive car. As always the challenge for a competitive car is lots of downforce, lots of horsepower, good driveability, so we’ve been working all three of those things.”
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