2022 Car Launches and Pre-season Testing (March 10-12, Bahrain)

Gregory Brown94 said:This Ferrari is pure eye candy—just look at this beast



I was talking about this yesterday, and turns out I was right 🙂

Another pic below▼

What's the deal with those divots?

swiftmaker12 said:Ferrari looks terrible. The aerodynamics are zero, it’s too heavy, slow, and they just seem totally lost.
Given how Binotto was talking back in 2019 about how Ferkan was putting every single resource into 2022, I’d say they didn't build a car—they built a disaster...

Ferrari won't have any luck until they bring in some outsiders to take over management...
Just hire some waiters from an American diner to run things instead...

Turn off the internet, unplug the cables.

I'm just glad Vettel got away from them in time.
At least he saved himself a few years of stress.

I see it differently. Their aerodynamics are actually brilliant. It reminds me of how Red Bull pushed the diffuser limits back in 2009 (which they eventually took to the extreme). You might think I'm crazy.

Well...

Back in 2009, Red Bull focused on blowing the diffuser using hot air exits, but it all came down to the floor because that year introduced a new aero concept where elements were placed extremely low.

Now in 2022, we have another radical rule change. Instead of those low-set elements, we're seeing a situation where, for the first time in the hybrid era, everything is centered along the Z-axis—from the exhaust up to the rear wing mounts and the diffuser edges. With the F1-75, Ferrari is directing every possible bit of airflow toward the exhaust and those rear wing mounting points.

Honestly, now I'm questioning if Williams, McLaren, or Haas even have good concepts, since they're likely just carrying over knowledge from the old era. Aston Martin and Alfa Romeo are trying something with a double floor, though I'm not sure how effective that really is. Sure, it speeds up the flow toward the rear, but with a double floor, you lose control. You can get that same effect with a standard "bottle-shaped" concept while maintaining much better control over the airflow.

AlphaTauri feels like a total safe bet. I don't like how shallow everything looks; it isn't aggressive, except maybe at the rear where they have that widened hot air exit meant to act as a pseudo-stabilizer.

Ferrari basically took every available concept and engineered the most ideal solution. Literally. It looks hot and sexy; the bodywork is elegantly filled out exactly where it needs to be. Just... perfectly.

I haven't a clue about the aerodynamics or how she'll actually handle, but this is WOW. From the color to the silhouette—if looks could kill, this thing might actually be a monster on the track.

It always takes me a little while to get used to a new look, so I usually wait until at least the third race before I weigh in, but I can't help myself. This Ferrkan looks weird to me. It’s boxy when you see it from the side, but then from above, it’s got this totally different vibe. 😁

In any given scenario, they simply didn't play it safe. I find myself struggling to wrap my head around certain aspects of this, particularly regarding that specific section about the throat area, which just doesn't seem to align with the facts as I see them. Is it possible that they missed the mark entirely? I truly fear they may have completely failed us.

It’s gonna be a real mess once the rain starts pooling on this track--definitely interesting stuff to watch

Since 2009, Ferrari has been stuck in this exact loop.
At the start of the season, they’re all over the news promising miracles and smashing qualifying records...

Then, right around the time we hit the mid-season stretch near Barcelona—or at the very latest by Monaco—they suddenly switch up their tune:

"We're already focusing our efforts on next year's car..." and all that other nonsense.

It's the same story this time... plenty of hype early on, but once those bad qualifying sessions and poor results start rolling in, they'll be scrambling like rats on the Titanic.

ruggedhawk20 said:What are those indentations actually for?

Man, I am seriously looking forward to this. 🎉

So, back in 2021, we saw cars where almost everyone was following the exact same sidepod concept. What does that actually imply, and why should we care now? Since I’m currently diving deep into the Ferrari setup, I wanted to offer a quick breakdown regarding the sidepods and how the fluid flow works.



The blue arrow shows how the directed airflow moves toward the top of the sidepod, and here’s what we're looking at. That sudden drop creates negative downforce, which you can see mapped out on that spectrum. To break it down: red indicates fast-moving fluid, green shows where the flow slows down and stabilizes, and blue represents the stabilized fluid following its natural path along the car's contours. Eventually, it hits the upper part of the diffuser—which features those specific vanes—where it mixes with the underfloor flow. This causes a sudden upward surge, acting like a burst of turbulence that generates extra downforce. So, basically, the fluid in that image serves a dual purpose: creating downforce while maintaining grip. Now, let's move on to the breakdown of the 2022 model.



First off, we have to look at the front wing design changes starting this year. They’ve done away with those specific endplate elements that used to trigger the Y250 vortex—that turbulence responsible for sucking the car down toward the track. Back in 2022, the wing elements were basically bolted right up against the nose. Combined with the Gurney flap, that whole setup generated a massive amount of vortex flow (shown in light green here) that would just exit along the sides of the chassis.

Roze—this is the fluid flow passing through the deflector, which creates that vortex used to stabilize the car and press it down toward the track.

That dark green shade bleeding into deep blue right next to the front right wheel? That’s just turbulence caused by the wheel itself, combined with this year's addition: the vertical plate/winglet. So, we've got three distinct areas of turbulence running along the side, which together create what's known as a low-pressure field. It’s a bit like when a massive semi-truck passes you on the highway—you feel that slight pull toward the vehicle while it's alongside, and then once it clears, there's that sudden gust that feels like it might knock you off your feet. That’s basically the low-pressure field at work, stabilizing the car before the airflow hits the rear. All of this actually helps the air flow smoothly along the sidepod, which I’ve marked with that orange dotted line. Essentially, all the air from the bottom of the sidepod travels cleanly toward the diffuser and the rear wing mounts, eventually turning into the turbulence that stabilizes the car and generates downforce.

I finally got around to fixing that dent.So, what's actually happening here? If you look back at the 2021 car, you can see how the airflow drops aggressively to create downforce before everything funnels into the diffuser. The 2022 design tries to do the same thing, but since the diffuser and the rear wing mount are now positioned right next to each other, the upper edge sits much higher up. Because of that, the air that used to stabilize in the famous sidepod hole of the Ferrari F1-75 just flows naturally along the engine cover, hits the exhaust level, and then turns into pure turbulence behind the car. I tried to sketch it out using colored dotted lines. Red shows the aggressive, fast airflow creating downforce; yellow/green represents the air calming down as it moves through the hole; light blue is the air at the bottom of the hole moving toward the rear; and dark blue is the stable airflow continuing its path backward.

Look at those light blue lines—you can see how the fluids move toward the edges of the opening. Once they hit those edges, a high-pressure field builds up, which creates that suction effect. Since the Ferrari F1-75 has that upper edge on the side that looks almost like a cylindrical thickening, the fluid moving around those side openings stabilizes as it passes that rounded section. In the end, it all converges on the diffuser, just like the fluids passing over the hole and the hot fluid exiting through the vents (that orange-colored area).

The F1-75 is honestly a stroke of pure genius 🎉

ruggedhawk20 said:It’s going to be quite an interesting sight once the rain starts and the puddles begin to gather out there.

Well, that actually brought a specific image to my mind, didn't it? It reminded me of those little inflatable kiddie pools you see in backyards during the summer—you know, that sort of budget, plastic-toy style.🙂

graniteharbor502 said:Yeah, that’s exactly what I was thinking—reminded me of those tiny little inflatable kiddie pools. Total baby style. 🙂

All you need now is a rubber ducky floating in there.

ruggedhawk20 said:All that's missing is a little rubber ducky inside

hehehe, though I wouldn't joke about the Ferrari F1-75. Even if it starts raining, there's no way any water is going to pool up in those holes. Actually, it'll probably be the opposite—heat is just going to vent right out of them 😲

ruggedhawk20 said:It’s gonna be interesting in the rain once all that water starts pooling on the track

I don't know how much you follow this stuff, Mr. President, but it's pretty standard for Formula 1 teams to use ceramic coatings on their cars.
I mean, I assume you guys know what a ceramic coat is—it doesn't just make the paint pop and protect the finish, it actually has that hydrophobic effect too.
If you look at the link below, you can see that back when they were running Racing Point, they had that British manufacturer Gtechiq as a partner https://guarantee.gtechniq.com/about...m-partnership/

And here, you can see Sergio looking absolutely stoked about the ceramic coating


Also, check this out—Williams actually had their own branded ceramic coating
https://www.cleanercars.co.uk/willia...h%20it%20again.

So, Mr. President, it probably won't be that interesting in the rain, because the water isn't even going to stick.

Finally, they’ve actually designed a beautiful car. 🙏

As for raw speed, I’m keeping my expectations grounded—I've been burned far too many times before.

Jeffrey Cook82 said:I don't know how much you guys follow the President, but F1 teams using ceramic coatings isn't exactly news.
Most of you probably know what a ceramic coat is—it doesn't just make things shine and protect the paint, it’s got that hydrophobic effect too.
If you look at the link below, you'll see Gtechiq was actually partnering with Racing Point back in the dayhttps://guarantee.gtechniq.com/about...m-partnership/

Here’s Sergio looking absolutely stoked about all that ceramic goodness.


And here’s where Williams had their own branded ceramic coating
https://www.cleanercars.co.uk/willia...h%20it%20again.

So, Mr. President—it won't matter if it rains, because the water just won't stick.

You can coat it in whatever you want, but a pool is still a pool—it’s gonna collect water regardless.

A photo of the Red Bull RB18 just leaked!



From what I can gather, it looks like they’re following a similar philosophy to AlphaTauri, though the engine cover end seems way more aggressive—it actually has these shark fin-style triangular fins on it. With this sidepod design, it feels like Red Bull is taking a little trip back to 2009 🙂

It seems entirely pointless to have gone through all that effort with the paint job if they haven't managed to integrate a little swimming pool into the chassis ☕

graniteharbor502 As expressed by:
That actually brings a certain image to mind—those little inflatable kiddie pools made of thin rubber. It’s certainly... a specific aesthetic. 🙂

A friend was just joking that since they’re Italian, they probably spend more time worrying about perfecting their pasta than anything else. 🙏 🤣

We shall see; fortunately, an unexpected turn would be welcome, though I find myself lacking any particular sense of optimism. 🐔

I suppose I must admit that the colors are quite striking. 🙂

Gary Anderson has shared his thoughts regarding Ferrari F1-75, and frankly, he isn't exactly singing its praises.
He seems convinced that this car simply isn't built to contend for victories, though one might wonder if we haven't seen these kinds of missteps from them before? 😁

graniteharbor502 said:Gary Anderson analyzed the Red Bull RB18 and he’s not impressed.
He thinks this car isn't winning any races...

Now I'm 100% certain that Ferrari has the absolute fastest car on the grid...

Ferrari is an absolute beast, honestly a total masterpiece, though it looks like those clumsy Italians might actually manage to snag two titles in the next 20 years 😲

The new Mercedes is looking incredible. I’m fully expecting a massive title fight between Mercedes and Ferrari—basically a showdown between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.