Ferrari was keeping more than just an eye on rivals unveiling their 2022 challengers and team boss Mattia Binotto has already admitted that they have copied one detail and incorporated it in the F1-75.
With the world still feeling the effects of the pandemic, teams have been forced to launch cars in a virtual mode. This has inevitably given them a lot more maneuverability with respect to just how much of their cars they want to display.
It is already a known fact that teams can be rather secretive during this time and try to give rivals as little of a hint about their challengers as possible.
Red Bull recently even faced backlash from certain sections after it was discovered that the car they displayed in front of their fans was just a gimmick and the real car for the 2022 season is likely to be distinctly different.
With the 10 teams revealing their cars on separate days, Ferrari was positioned 7th in the list. This gave them a chance to have at least a bit of a look at what the first 6 teams had presented.
Something clearly caught Binotto’s attention as he has since confirmed that the team has added this element and incorporated it in a brand new design for the F1-75.
“We will see if there are any interesting ideas we can adopt,” said Binotto, as quoted by Planet F1.
“On the F1-75, there is already a detail from a car that was presented in the past few days, and especially in this first phase we will all be watching each other very closely.”
It is worth giving Ferrari credit for at least giving a pretty realistic representation of what its car will look like in 2022. Indeed, the team received widespread praise for the design and livery used in the F1-75.
Binotto urges fans to remain patient
Former Ferrari driver Jean Alesi was in awe of the F1-75.
“It is very, very sleek, with a bit of a refined nose. The car is already impressive, a jewel. The Red Bull was nothing special because it’s a show car, but Ferrari is a shock,” Alesi said.
Binotto claimed that Ferrari decided to take a bold approach with respect to its design this year as the team looks to find itself back among the upper echelons of F1.
“We have made different choices than others, maybe less conventional,” Binotto said.
“I would call this car brave because it is the child of a team that has gone through difficult times in recent years but has always stayed united and tried to improve.”
However, Binotto said it is integral that the team maintains a certain degree of patience. He argued that no hasty decisions should be made based on the first two races of the season and further claimed that he was convinced that the team had got it right this year.
“I think we will have to wait for five or six races to understand the full potential of the car,” he added. “The true values of the cars will only become clear after a few races.
“[But] when we look at the data, we are convinced the car will work.”