Ferrari has unveiled its new 2021 contender, the SF21, which it hopes will put the Italian outfit back on the right track this season.
The Scuderia's latest design features an all-new livery that includes a color scheme that fades from red to retro burgundy, and a green Mission Winnow logo, a composition that might not get the thumbs up from Ferrari's more conservative fans.
But the cosmetic change isn't the only striking difference with the SF21's predecessor, with the car also featuring a new nose and cape design, and a heavily revised rear end which was evidently the focus of Ferrari's token spend.
A down-on-power engine and excessive aerodynamic drag weighed heavily on the performance of Ferrari's SF1000 last year, a deficit that led to one of the worst seasons in the Italian outfit's modern history.
The House of Maranello's engineers residing in both its chassis and engine departments have worked hard in the past few months to significantly improve the performance of the Scuderia's 2021 challenger which is obviously based on last season's car as teams carried over their basic 2020 designs.
Ferrari's new charger integrates this year's regulation changes which have led to modifications to the car's floor, bargeboards and brake ducts, while the SF21 will be powered by a new unit that has shown promising results during dyno testing according to Scuderia boss Mattia Binotto.
To extract the most of its 2021 contender, Ferrari will rely once again on the talented Charles Leclerc and new recruit Carlos Sainz who has replaced Sebastian Vettel alongside the Monegasque. The line-up will be Ferrari's youngest since Chris Amon and Jacky Ickx in 1968!
"This car was born out of last year's car, due to the new regulations. So it was partly frozen but we tried to improve it in all areas, wherever it was possible," said Binotto in a video presenting the SF21.
"The aerodynamics were revised, and it has a completely new power unit. It's livery has also changed. As you can see, the posterior is a burgundy colour, similar to the very first Ferrari racing car, the 125S.
"It's the same colour we used last year at Mugello to celebrate our 1,000th Grand Prix.
"This year is going to be full of challenges. Visually, we've drawn on our history, but we're also looking towards the future which will always be defined by our Ferrari red.
Ferrari's latest prancing horse will hit the track on Thursday in Bahrain for a 100km filming day, but the teal will really get down to work on Friday when F1's three-day pre-season test kicks off at Sakhir.
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