Friday, February 19, 2016

Ferrari present the SF16-H - in red and white



Ferrari have pulled the covers off their 2016 Formula One car. The SF16-H features a red and white colour scheme, the first time in over two decades that the team have used such a livery.

After winning three Grands Prix last season en route to second in the constructors’ championship, Ferrari are banking on their new machine to close the gap to Mercedes in the hands of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen.

“Naturally our goals are growing,” said Vettel, who secured all of the Scuderia’s 2015 victories. “We all want more and hopefully this car will help us achieve it.”

On the Italian squad’s goals for 2016, team principal Maurizio Arrivabene commented: “Normally I don’t set the objective, it is my boss. Last year it was three victories and we got it.

“This year we need to push a bit more, so it is going to be the championship - at least we would like to fight until the end. It won’t be easy, our competitors won’t be sleeping, but for sure we are all committed to do our best.

"We don’t go to the races with a big statement, but we do with a big commitment. Humility is our driver, our passion, our commitment."

The SF16-H features tighter rear packaging than its SF15-T predecessor thanks to Ferrari’s efforts in making their latest power unit more compact.

Describing the team's progress in recent seasons, technical chief James Allison stated: “Back in 2013 we were not at the right level - not enough power, downforce, kinematics. We have worked very hard on all those areas.

“Last year was a decent step forward, and we hope this car gives us another good step forward and makes us truly competitive. It isn’t down to one area: we have improved across the board. All our hopes are in this car.”

(source: f1.com)

Williams unveil 2016 challenger


Williams have unveiled the FW38, the car with which they will contest the 2016 FIA Formula One World Championship.



Having finished third in the constructors' championship for the past two straight seasons, the team are confident their new machine represents a significant step forward - but are in no doubts about the challenge that awaits them.

"Williams has started to cement our position back amongst the front running teams after finishing third in the Championship in the past two seasons," founder and team principal Frank Williams said. 

"This has been a great achievement given the resources of those around us. Staying where we are will be a challenge in itself, but we are determined to keep improving because only winning will ever be good enough. 

"We have a very stable team going into 2016, with Felipe and Valtteri teaming up for a third successive season. They work well together and both have the ideal blend of speed and consistency. 

"Our technical team has also remained very consistent which will be to our advantage and we have some of the best engineering minds on the grid at our disposal."

Deputy team principal Claire Williams added: "2016 promises to be a very competitive year in Formula One and there will be a number of strong teams who have us in their sights. 

"We are confident that we have made a step forward over the winter and that the FW38 will build on the strengths of the FW37 and address some of its weaknesses. We started design work on the car earlier than normal and hopefully this extra development time will stand us in good stead.

"The car we are launching today is by no means the final product. We are already planning updates for Melbourne and will be pushing for constant improvements over the course of the season.

"Williams enters 2016 in a strong place. We have a great team of people and over the past two years we have started to regain our competitive edge.

"Now we need to build on that and take this team back to where we all want it to be."

Williams have retained Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas for a third straight season - the longest they have kept the same line-up since the days of Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya, whom they fielded from 2001-'04. Bottas finished fifth in the drivers' championship last year, one spot ahead of Massa, with the pair each claiming two podiums during the season.

(source: f1.com)

The 2016 grid looks like this!


Finally we know the full grid! Here it is:



Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg



Ferrari
Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Raikkonen



Williams
Valtteri Bottas, Felipe Massa



Red Bull
Daniil Kvyat, Daniel Ricciardo



Force India
Sergio Perez, Nico Hulkenberg



Renault
Kevin Magnussen, Jolyon Palmer



Toro Rosso
Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz Jr



Sauber
Felipe Nasr, Marcus Ericsson



McLaren
Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button



Manor
Pascal Wehrlein, Rio Haryanto



Haas
Romain Grosjean, Esteban Gutierrez