Filed under: Motorsports, Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari unveils the new F60
Click above to view the new Scuderia Ferrari F60 in high resolution
Most years it's more of the same. All the constructors in the FIA Formula One World Championship unveil their cars, and for the most part they look the incredibly similar to the ones they had last year. Big whoop. But every so often, the technical regulations are shaken up a little and the cars come out looking entirely different. This is one of those years -- say "hello" to the Scuderia Ferrari F60.
The most substantial changes have been made to the aerodynamic formula, which has dictated a bigger front wing and a much narrower rear aerofoila. F1 has also moved back to slick tires, while underneath the more streamlined bodywork Ferrari has fitted the new Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) developed together with Magneti-Marelli, along with the new carbon-encased seven-speed sequential gearbox with limited slip differential.
Ferrari has opted to call this the F60, eschewing the typical numbering system that would have labeled it the F2009 while highlighting the fact that this will be the 60th season of Formula One – in which Ferrari is the only team to have competed in each and every one. Due to weather conditions, the official live unveiling of the F60 was moved from the company's on-site Fiorano test track to its Mugello circuit, where Felipe Massa will test drive it for the first time. Check it out for yourself in the gallery below, and see all the details at f60.ferrariworld.com.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
US 11:36AM (1/12/2009)
I thought Tata were providing sponsorship?
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AZZO45b 11:40AM (1/12/2009)
TATA? Look on the front wings
esteva03 11:46AM (1/12/2009)
there is a TATA underneath the exhaust, on the side.
Cypher09 11:36AM (1/12/2009)
Bernie and Max should be tried for crimes against humanity for writing regulations that produce cars this ugly.
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AZZO45b 11:46AM (1/12/2009)
Agree 1000%. WTF were they thinking,,, ultra WIDE front wings & ultra NARROW rear wing??? Oh year & raise the rear wing too... Looks hideous!
BMW test driver C. Klien has been quoted as saying that there is still unbalance racing behind another car. He also said he fears many issues due to the bulldozer proportions of the front wings.
cFoo 12:23PM (1/12/2009)
Agreed! This has to be the ugliest F1 car ever in the history of the sports.
I sure hope no one will have to be the first to experience a full rear-end smack into the wall. With the smaller body parts at the back to cushion the blow it will surely be painful.
MadMax should stick to his S&M instead of trying to force F1 design on others. His reign saw innovation completely removed from F1.
ken_aisin 2:42PM (1/12/2009)
Just a thought, with the smaller rear wings, will teams charge their sponsors less for having the their names painted on the rear wings?
By the way, Max and Bernie should be jailed for the rest of their life without trial for what they have done to the sport. When they are in jail, I would urge other inmates to punish Max with a whip, and to punish Bernie with a proper haircut :)
AZZO45b 4:32PM (1/12/2009)
Ken...I know I'm being picky, but they have not PAINTED any logo on any F1 car for about 40 years!!! Decals brother... vinyl wraps in the case of the Toro Rosso
andy 8:17PM (1/12/2009)
AZZO45b - shows how much you know. A number of teams do paint logos on the wings of cars for Aerodynamics
AZZO45b 10:57PM (1/12/2009)
Shows how much you know andy... they use decals. then clear-coat over for the aero-advantage you refer to. Clear-coat is NOT paint.
(1) Decals are LIGHTER than layers of paint (2) Decals/ & digital printing allow for accurate reproduction of corporate logos, that a simple paint mask does NOT.
Do you think Toro Rosso hand paints their livery?? Do you know what a weight disadvantage would be??? Ferrari paints the red of their cars... but every thing else is a decal. Some teams "wrap" their base color +livery to save weight... depends on the team.
Mark 5:00AM (1/13/2009)
AZZO45b - Sorry buddy, they're mostly painted on, it's lighter you see. there was an article about it in Top Gear magazine a few months ago, the majority of the logos are hand painted with the paint as thin as possible to the point that it's almost see-through.
AZZO45b 11:52AM (1/13/2009)
Mark: Care to provide a link? I've worked on a few race cars in my day. It was a fight to get certain looks due to team's obsession with reducing weight where ever possible. Spec black on a design? Its unpainted CF (not a bad thing...)
Modern corporate logos are increasingly relying on multi-layered blends & effects. Digital Printing addresses this with ease. When a corporation drops millions on sponsorship they are a tad anal on their corporate I.D. being reproduced correctly. Hard to believe they are going to trust a team to faithfully reproduce it accurately, numerous times through out the season.
Any racing team can have 5-10 colors (in the exact PMS corp. colors) printed onto an ultra thin / ultra light piece of vinyl. Ink is lighter than paint. Its much FASTER than paint & no masking & overspray hassles.
Penske wrapped their entire Porsche RS Spyders to save weight. I know its not F1 but the same quest for weight savings applies in ALMS. The car is basically all yellow (would seem easier to paint the base color) yet its wrapped to save the weight of the paint.
Todd 11:39AM (1/12/2009)
F1's really gone on a diet.
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Sean Flanagan 11:41AM (1/12/2009)
This just doesn't look right with wings that small. Slowing down F1 is not a good move. I do like, however, that Ferrari (and likely the other competitors as well) have taken to shaping the body itself as an inverted wing.
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esteva03 11:43AM (1/12/2009)
i like it very much. it takes me a while to see the difference. but i thin it looks simpler than the old formula. The front wing looks really good too. The only thing i have no opinion for is the KERS system. I hope it doesn't become a predictable passing game were you kno when a car will pass. the series is already monotonous most of the time, i hope this puts more unpredictability rather than the opposite.
vote autoblog!!!
http://2008.weblogawards.org/polls/best-major-blog/
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ack154 11:49AM (1/12/2009)
Uh oh... that "cjane" blog jumped up a bit and is leading again.
esteva03 11:59AM (1/12/2009)
yes i kno. she told her readers "And speaking of blogging about motherhood you can defend my honor (for the last day only!) here. Or you can vote for Autoblog. Either way . . ." so there you have it. angry women who have nothing better to do than read about this girls misfortunes blessings... or something like that. i think is because there aro soo many news about the DET AS people just wait till is over to read all about the new cars.
or maybe is cause i stopped copying the link to the pool on every comment i make?!
by the way the pool ends tomorrow at 5 est so vote today before that time!!!!
US 11:45AM (1/12/2009)
Oh is see now. There is a small Tata logo on the side, near the rear wheel.
Not worth the fuss that was made....
By the way, hate the 'new look' cars.
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Mke F. 11:48AM (1/12/2009)
I dig it! Especially with slicks... New aero should/is supposed to promote more passing...
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hashiryu 11:56AM (1/12/2009)
Those slick just don't look right being same size front and back........