Scuderia Ferrari introduces its new SF71H

Scuderia Ferrari has pulled the covers off its 2018 prancing horse, unveiling the 'SF71H' which it hopes will take the Italian outfit back to a long-awaited world title.

A first glance confirmed the car's overall red robe with hardly any white, highlighted by a few grey underlines. The Halo is also painted in a vibrant Ferrari red, helping it to blend in nicely with the SF71H's overall sweeping design.

The new car has a longer wheelbase in line with that used by Mercedes, together with aerodynamic improvements and suspension upgrades.

"Compared to 2017's SF70H, the wheelbase has been changed slightly, with the side dimensions also revised along with the cooling system," said Ferrari.

"The suspension follows the tried and tested practice of using push-rods at the front and pull-rods at the rear, however, their design has been updated based on experience gained during the first season running the wider tyres."

Team boss Mauricio Arrivabene said that the unveiling of the new car was a particularly emotional day for him.

"This is something that is special for me," he said at the launch event, hosted by the team's former test and development driver Marc Gene. "Any time you see a new Ferrari you get a very special feeling.

• Gallery: A detailed look at Ferrari's SF71H

"When I'm looking at the car I'm thinking about these guys," he continued, indicating the massed ranks of Ferrari engineers gathered around the car for the presentation.

"They're all standing, showing the respect for the brand, for the company they're working for, and for this car," he pointed out.

"I'm thinking about the work of them and their colleagues, constructing this car piece by piece. With passion, with commitment, with a lot of effort.

"They were researching, they were developing, they were caring about every single detail," he said.

"The work they did on the chassis, the aerodynamics, on any part of the car. That's intellectual work, that's manual work.

"This is something that is making the work of these people in Maranello something special," he continued. "Being aware of one thing - that we are building a Ferrari car. That's what matters, that's what makes us proud."

"It's something special because this car is made here, it's made in our factory, it's made in Italy. It's a piece of our country, and this is the emotion I feel every time that I'm going to see this car.

"It's exactly this that matters," he said. "It was made here, not anywhere else."

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