Ferrari F10: 2010 Challenger

Introducing the F10

Ferrari F10 launched the "F10" at their Maranello base in Italy on 28 January 2010. Team principal Stefano Domenicali kicked off the event’s proceeding, introducing Alonso and Massa to the assembled guests before finally revealing the car. Once again, Ferrari were the first team to reveal their car for the 2010 season with some crucial differences. The front wing design is very "red bull" ish and the Diffuser war starts again with teams introducing "triple" and "quadruple" diffusers.

Ferrari unveiled their new challenger on Monday January 12th 2009 at their Maranello base. The Italian team were the first to reveal their car for the 2009 season, and it is thought that the car will follow recent tradition and be called the F2009 (F60).

Fernando Alonso, "This is my first presentation with Ferrari, and it means a lot to me,” said the Spaniard. “I’d like to thank the whole team because I know they have worked really hard over the last few months to create this dream, this new car. We are ready to take on this challenge. Felipe and I will be a very strong team and we hope that we will make all the Ferrari supporters around the world very proud to see this car winning the championship."

The most noticable different between the 2009 car and 2010 cars are:

1) From the front, the 2010 cars will look distinctly different to their '09 predecessors due to the narrower front tyres and the wider rear bodywork needed to accommodate the larger fuel tank required following the ban on refuelling. The slimmer front tyres - which address the imbalance of front and rear grip that resulted from the reintroduction of slicks last year - will widen the space between tyre and chassis, thus making this area even more important aerodynamically, so expect to see it featuring some interesting aero components.

2) Although the refuelling ban for 2010 is a change to the sporting regulations, it has technical implications too. The fuel tank's capacity has almost doubled from around 120 litres to at least 235 litres, while the car's minimum weight has been increased from 605kg to 620kg. To accommodate the larger tank, the car's wheelbase will likely be increased by around 15cm . Another 2010 change is that wheels covers have been banned. This is primarily to avoid problems during pit stops which, with no refuelling, will be incredibly fast. It's been estimated that pit stop times will be cut to under four seconds.

3) The changes for 2010 are perhaps most striking from overhead. As a result of the ban on refuelling, the fuel tank will be longer and wider. The wheelbase is likely to be about 15 cm longer than in '09 to accommodate this larger tank, though teams could opt to move the driver forward slightly or build shorter gearboxes to minimise this increase. At the front, the narrower front tyres will change the handling characteristics and weight distribution of the car, while the driver has control of the front wing flap angle from the cockpit.

First Test in Valencia

A video below of the first test in Valencia on 1st February 2010.