Sainz says 2022 Ferrari 'very different' to predecessors

Carlos Sainz says he can't wait to show Ferrari's "very different" 2022 car to the team's league of tifosi after seeing the new design in the Italian outfit's wind tunnel.

F1 teams have drawn up their all-new cars from a clean slate following the sport's introduction this year of a fresh set of technical rules centered around a radical new philosophy based on ground effects.

Speaking after Ferrari's warm-up sessions conducted at Fiorano this week, Sainz gave nothing away about his new mount but offered a good tease.

"I've seen it in a lot of PowerPoint presentations and in the wind tunnel," commented the Spaniard. "The 2022 car is, let's say, very different to what we have seen in the last few years in Formula 1.

"I also cannot wait to show it to the tifosi. It is like we have a secret, but we want to tell a secret as soon as possible. Let's see.

"It's not long now. I'm particularly keen on showing the car to all the tifosi, but also driving it as soon as possible."

Charles Leclerc says he's counting down the days to the start of pre-season testing in Barcelona as he's impatient to discover how the House of Maranello's 2022 prancing horse will perform.

"2022 is going to be a very important year," said the Monegasque. "It is a very special year because we have a completely new car.

"I'm really looking forward to be in Barcelona for the first winter testing to try this car. And hopefully with all the work that we've done in the past year to get to this point, we will be as competitive as we all want to be."

• Read also: Ferrari drivers happy with 'wake up call' run at Fiorano

Sainz said his day of running at Fiorano onboard Ferrari's 2018-spec, while it offered an opportunity for the Scuderia's race teams to warm up was also a good physical exercise.

"It's always useful, but also to be back in a 2018 F1 car is good fun," he said.

"It's a combination of useful because as an athlete, or as an F1 driver, you receive your first shock to the body. It is just: 'whoa, yeah, I'm an F1 driver, I need to drive this beast!'

"You also need to hit the neck, hit the lower back, the glutes, everything for the body to remind itself that it is the body of an F1 driver and it is tough.

"And also for the mind, getting back used to the speeds that we go. Also for talking with the engineers, developing a bit the setup of this car, trying to make it more to my liking. You get back in the loop and it's always good fun."

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