First official picture of new Ferrari F2008 revealed - Official Launch Thread

[Giuseppe F1]

Theres a news piece re: tomorrows Ferrari launch over at pitpass.com with what seem to be an official Ferrari released 'sneaky-peak' of the new F2008 complete with the newly added FIA champions sticker on the roll-hoop...

...and I mean 'sneaky-peak' quite literally as you will see:

http://www.pitpass.com/images/headlines/cars/ferrari/2008launchpreview400.jpg

It does look like this could be the new chassis though as the airbox does look different from this year - more boxier/squarer than the F2007's more 'lozenge' shaped airbox IMO

Heres a pic of the F2007 for comparison purposes:

http://formula1.files.wordpress.com/2007/01/ferrari_f2007_1.jpg


Article:

http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_news_item.php?fes_art_id=33614

[Jarno]

How cool does that look??

http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/869/f20083srn3.jpg

[gloomyDAY]

That picture alone just screams DOMINANCE.

I'm also anxious to see the new McLaren. Maybe we'll be looking at the same car, who knows?

[DazzlaF1]

Looks like they're staying with Marlboro as a title sponsor, i thought tobacco sponsorship was supposed to be outlawed.

[Giuseppe F1]

Here she is - the new F2008

Nose/front wing looks v.radical in design:


http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_news_item.php?fes_art_id=33616

Looks like they're staying with Marlboro as a title sponsor, i thought tobacco sponsorship was supposed to be outlawed.

It's not illegal everywhere.

F1 races in countries who allow it.

[Giuseppe F1]

Interesting that they seemed to have given the steering wheel design a major overhaul:

http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_gallery_image_display.php?fes_gal_id=811&fes_image_number=6&fes_reverse_order=

[I am evil Homer]

Ooooofff look at Images 3 and 4 on that link - that's one ugly car....little winglets, vents all over the place.

Ooooofff look at Images 3 and 4 on that link - that's one ugly car....little winglets, vents all over the place.

Blasphemer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bruce D]

Actually I agree. That is one seriously ugly looking F1 car! Really is time that they banned those winglets.

[Viktory]

I think it looks amazing.

But I would say that, wouldn't I :p

[Giuseppe F1]

The newer, higher head rests are very apparent.

Will be interesting how much they will obscure views of the driver from the video shots

[Bagwan]

I like the anti-spy accessories .
Especially the paper shredders attached to the front of the sidepods .

[F1boat]

Looks really cool. I hope that it will be F2004-like dominator ;)

[mstillhere]

Ooooofff look at Images 3 and 4 on that link - that's one ugly car....little winglets, vents all over the place.

Assuming that the car is ugly (which IMO is not) I would be able to quickly overcome the problem if those "ugly" winglets, will allow the car to be world champion again. Also, I would not be surprised to see the same "ugly" winglets on other cars including, who knows?, on the main Ferrari competitor. :)

[Sleeper]

Here she is - the new F2008

Nose/front wing looks v.radical in design:


http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_news_item.php?fes_art_id=33616

There so radical that Williams and Renault were running something similar last year!

I cant see a huge difference myself, and the cars going to have a lot of detail changes before Melbourne anyway, but the biggest changes have been made to the gearbox and electronics, which have had the biggest rule changes for this year.

[philipbain]

The newer, higher head rests are very apparent.

Agreed, the new head protection rules don't exactly help with the looks of the thing but to be honest its another evolution of Ferrari's successful cars that can be traced back to the late 90s. There is nothing that really screams from it as being revolutionary in any way, its just an evolution, its packaged more tightly, the monocoque is more cut away in areas that it is possible to cut away under the rules, its a bit more smoothed out in some areas and borrows some ideas from other cars that raced last year (the upper front wing looks quite 2007 Renault for example) as you would normally expect.

[philipbain]

Looks really cool. I hope that it will be F2004-like dominator ;)

Oh yeah, because a repeat of a season like 2002 / 2004 would really help maintain the momentum that the sport gained in 2007 despite it's best attempts to self destruct.......

In all honesty what has made the best seasons over the past 20 years or so is when different driver and car combinations are very close to each other in performance, the reason that the years that the Ferrari / Schumacher combo were so dominant (i'm thinking 2001, 2002 & 2004) were such a turn off is because it was so uncompetitive and there was absolutely no uncertainty about Schumacher winning the title because the car was the best by a clear margin, Schumacher was the absolute #1 driver so competition from his team mate would never be a concern (combine this with the fact he was never paired with anybody would could challenge him on speed on a consistant basis during his time at Ferrari) so what would be the point in watching? And when this is the case its negative for everybody involved as if less people are watching there is less exposure for sponsors, manufacturers, technical partners etc.

In all honesty I dread this year's Ferrari being as dominant as it was in those years, though don't get me wrong, I would certainly like to see it be competitive with the rest of the top teams and the more top teams that thier are the better, but to wish any car to be that dominant would be to wish F1 to become devalued and no self-respecting F1 fan wants to see that.

[LeonBrooke]

About the front wing, I was thinking... Toyota :s

I have to say I'm a bit disappointed, I thought it would be a bit more exciting to look at, but realistically, Ferrari's '07 car was fast, so they stuck with what worked, fair enough.

As for the head protection... it reminds me of the 1996 (I think) Ferrari, so again I'm disappointed because I expected something a bit more exotic.

[Speedworx]

Sex on wheels!

[I am evil Homer]

Assuming that the car is ugly (which IMO is not) I would be able to quickly overcome the problem if those "ugly" winglets, will allow the car to be world champion again. Also, I would not be surprised to see the same "ugly" winglets on other cars including, who knows?, on the main Ferrari competitor. :)

Quite possibly...I find most modern F1 cars ugly cluttered messes and this is no exception. The side pods and exhaust area are just horrific

[Hawkmoon]

The reason the front wing looks familiar is because it's the F2007's wing.



The front and rear wings will be new, while at this debut they are identical to the previous car. The chassis and the sidepods are slimmer. We've worked on every aspect of the car to improve its efficiency.


http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/64535

[Cozzie]

The aerodynamics look horrible, I hope McLaren don't steal them! But the livery is really quite attractive, it just looks dominant.

[wmcot]

I never make judgements on "launch" versions of cars since they always go through major changes before the first race. I'll be excited to see how it has evolved in Melbourne!

[leopard]

Actually we hope premium price from the winning team to attract more sponsor to put their color into the car other than those old faces, that is almost certain that Renault will have new partners like Telmex, Mutua, and Hugo Boss.

[555-04Q2]

That is one sexy car !!!!!!!!!!!!

[SGWilko]

I think most of todays breed of F1 cars are, by design, inherently displeasing to the eye.

The only car that I thought remotely nice last year was the Williams - neatly packaged as ever.

Long gone are the days you would drool at the launch of a new racer. The Ferrari 641, 1991 Williams, 1993 McLaren, 1995 Ferrari and the 1991 Jordan were all things of beauty.

Now its all lumps and bumps and apendiges and flip ups, yuk!

[ArrowsFA1]

I think most of todays breed of F1 cars are, by design, inherently displeasing to the eye...Now its all lumps and bumps and apendiges and flip ups, yuk!
Couldn't agree more :up:

I used to have a real sense of anticipation about what each of the new cars would look like, but not now :(

[petrolhead ben]

It's virtually the same as the F2007 to look at. Most changes must be inside the car. I know there are changes on the outside but they must be subtle because I personally don't notice them. But isn't it nice to see the number 1 on kimi's car at last.

[wmcot]

I think most of todays breed of F1 cars are, by design, inherently displeasing to the eye.

The only car that I thought remotely nice last year was the Williams - neatly packaged as ever.

Long gone are the days you would drool at the launch of a new racer. The Ferrari 641, 1991 Williams, 1993 McLaren, 1995 Ferrari and the 1991 Jordan were all things of beauty.

Now its all lumps and bumps and apendiges and flip ups, yuk!

Yep. All the cars look very complicated unless you are an aero engineer. All the aero devices are a nightmare for model builders!

[ioan]

All the aero devices are a nightmare for model builders!

But than the satisfaction of having built a challenging model is also bigger! ;)

All the cars look very complicated unless you are an aero engineer.

To be honest, they are complicated even for those of us who are aero-engineers.

However, it's not just due to the increase in wind-tunnel technology. CFD is the main reason why the growth of these aero 'growths' has increased ten-fold.

What used to take weeks of designing and model-building (often based on nothing more than either a 'give it a go' approach or just a knowledgeable hunch to begin with), is now done with CFD.

The feed-time for updating aero parts has dramatically reduced and so has the ability to translate those results.

Mind you, as Honda know, it all then has to be tested in a properly calibrated wind-tunnel.......but the amount of time and money spent chasing dead-ends is much lower.

[SGWilko]

Didn't want to start a new thread, but this is mildly amusing.....

The Ferrari Formula 1 Team fired their entire pit crew yesterday.

The announcement followed Ferrari's decision to take advantage of the UK Government's Youth Opportunity Scheme and employ people from Glasgow.

The decision to hire them was brought on by a recent documentary on how unemployed youths from the Glasgow area were able to remove a set of wheels in less than 6 seconds without proper equipment, whereas Ferrari's existing crew can only do it in 8 seconds using millions of euros worth of high tech, state-of-the-art equipment.

Gordon Brown went on record as saying this was a bold move by the Ferrari management, which demonstrated the international recognition of the UK under New Labour.

As most races are won and lost in the pits, Ferrari now has an advantage over every team. However, Ferrari may have got more than it bargained for...

At their first practice session, the Glasgow pit crew successfully changed the tyres in under 6 seconds, and then within 12 seconds, they had re-sprayed and re-badged, the vehicle and sold it to the McLaren team for 8 bottles of Stella, a kilo of speed and some photos of Coulthard's bird in the shower.

:laugh:

[ioan]

This joke comes up almost every season.

[LeonBrooke]

...they had re-sprayed and re-badged, the vehicle and sold it to the McLaren team...

Well it's McLaren's duty to return the car to Maranello as soon as possible and report this incident to the FIA. After what happened last year an incident like this could ruin them forever. And Ferrari need to suspend their entire new pit crew. But when they start advertising for new people, McLaren will probably just send more Glaswegians along to the interviews in disguise. The whole thing's as corrupt as an American presidential election :rolleyes:

[wmcot]

The whole thing's as corrupt as an American presidential election :rolleyes:

Take that back or Hillary will come over and hit you with her purse (or hire someone to do it for her...)

[jens]

Looks very innovative to me. What's the hole in the front nose there? An air collector? Haven't seen that there for ages - probably since the 70's?

So double front wing seems to have become a standard these days. I hunched already years ago that one day it's gonna happen. Wonder when will the double rear wings appear? :p :


About the front wing, I was thinking... Toyota :s



Maybe Toyota's front wing was :up: - just other parts weren't. :p :

[LeonBrooke]

Looks very innovative to me. What's the hole in the front nose there? An air collector? Haven't seen that there for ages - probably since the 70's?

I believe it's for cooling in cars which have power steering.


Maybe Toyota's front wing was :up: - just other parts weren't. :p :

Could be - but it's ugly...

[philipbain]

The hole in the nose is actually not for cooling as such, but to supply air to the cockpit, providing an airflow into the cockpit has a couple of advantages, firstly it can reduce the ambient temperature in the cockpit and more importantly it reduces the effect of the cockpit being an aerodynamic "dead zone" which can create a turbulent flow ("dirty air" in laymans terms) around the cockpit area which then has an effect over the back of the car.

[LeonBrooke]

Ah right, but I'm sure I read somewhere that they're unncecessary on cars without power steering for some reason...