- Ferrari
Ferrari unveils radical new F1 concept
Ferrari has released an image of an F1 concept car in an attempt to fuel debate about the future of the sport.
The stylised rendering has been launched on its own micro-website by Ferrari's in-house design department and shows what an F1 car could look like with "minimal changes" to the current technical regulations.
"Our challenge was to create something that was - to put it short - better looking," read a statement. "We value your comments on that."
The images have been released amid intense debate over the future direction of Formula One as the F1 Commission gets ready for a vote on regulation changes in time for 2016.
Although the Ferrari image is not related to the specific proposals set to go in front of the F1 Commission - including 1000bhp engines, wider cars and wider tyres - it shows what the Italian team thinks could be possible for the sport in the future. Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene has been championing an overhaul of F1 since starting his new role last year and in January made his vision for the sport clear.
"By 2017, I too would like to see cars that win over the fans, with cars that they can get closer to and that are aesthetically more appealing, maybe even producing a noise that gets your hair standing on end, like that produced by a heavy metal band," Arrivabene said. "That was what it was like back in the day when Niki [Lauda] was racing and I was an enthusiastic fan, clutching my general admission ticket. However, I don't think a simple evolution is enough in this case.
"Instead, a real revolution is called for, with significant and radical changes. By that I mean more power, higher speeds, not necessarily involving the use of more fuel, but definitely applying a cost reduction to those components that are of little interest to the general public."
Ferrari has opened a comments section on the microsite to garner fans' opinion on the new concept.
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
