Jan.30 (GMM) Ferrari and the similarly-powered Sauber teams on Friday separately revealed their new 2015 cars.
Ferrari’s long and low-nosed new car, to be raced by former Red Bull champion Sebastian Vettel, is the SF15-T.
Team boss Maurizio Arrivabene said the Maranello team, having completed a revolutionary shake-up after its disappointing 2014, is targeting “at least two” race wins this season after the drought of last year.
“The car looks beautiful,” said Vettel.
Teammate Kimi Raikkonen agreed: “When it looks good it should be a pretty good car, but obviously we have to wait until we get testing and see how it is.”
Arrivabene, meanwhile, dismissed recent reports that Rory Byrne, the legendary Ferrari designer who shone in the Michael Schumacher era, had stepped up from a mere advisory role.
“Rory will act as a mentor for (designer) Simone Resta,” he insisted, “on specific project details and he will not work on the whole car project.
“Anyway, his (Byrne’s) enthusiasm and the energy he shows have really amazed me. He still wants to win!”
Sauber, meanwhile, confirmed speculation it has switched from its customary grey livery by revealing the striking blue and yellow C34, in the colours of new driver Felipe Nasr’s major backer Banco do Brasil.
Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport revealed that heavy modifications to Ferrari’s turbo V6 engine for 2015 required Sauber to make significant chassis changes compared to last year.
“2014 was a very disappointing year,” said team boss Monisha Kaltenborn. “We have to improve and be able to fight for championship points.”