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Ferrari SF-15T will look to reclaim former F1 glories in 2015

The parade of cars for the 2015 Formula One World Championship continues apace, as Scuderia Ferrari has unveiled the vehicle that fans of the Italian team will doubtlessly be hoping drivers Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen will pilot to victory. After the questionable styling of last year's vehicles, this new Ferrari continues the trend of more aesthetically pleasing designs. The vacuum-cleaner-like snout of last year's F-14T has been replaced with a longer, rounded bill that feeds more gracefully towards the cockpit. The new front end is arguably the most noticeable change for 2015, while changes elsewhere on the open-wheeler's body are mere evolutions of last year's design. In fact, that's kind of the theme around the SF-15T. The brake-by-wire system, clutch and gear ratios (which are locked after the first race) have all been optimized based on last season's experiences, while the weight of the car has increased by just 11 kilograms, as per sporting regulations. Take a look at Ferrari's batch of images showing its new challenger, and let us know whether you think this new design will fare better than last year's troubled F-14T. TECHNICAL FEATURE OF THE SF-15T The SF15-T the sixty first car built by Ferrari specifically to take part in the Formula 1 World Championship. It is the second car made by Ferrari since the reintroduction of turbo engines in 2014. The first year of these new regulations was extremely challenging for the Scuderia and the lessons learned have been applied vigorously to the SF15-T to create a car that is in every respect a large step forwards with respect to the F14-T. Chassis The most striking visual difference between the SF15-T and its predecessor is the lowering of the front end of the car in accordance with the change of regulations for the 2015 season. After a few seasons of rather unappealing aesthetics, the 2015 rules permit the SF15-T an attractive nose shape which also brings excellent aerodynamic performance. Aside from the nose area, the regulations for 2015 are largely unchanged. This has given the Team a stable base on which to engineer a much stronger chassis than the year before: A casual glance at the back of the car reveals a much more tightly packaged rear end which allows more downforce to be extracted from the critical surfaces around the rear of the car. The rear wing family has been extensively redesigned to deliver stable performance in corners while producing a larger DRS effect on the straights.

Ferrari wants to provide Red Bull with its own engines

Ferrari is proposing a different sort of arrangement that could provide Red Bull with the engines it needs to continue competing in Formula One. Rather than sell the team the same engines its own competition department uses, the Maranello outfit suggests creating a separate engineering program for Red Bull to get its own engine package. The issue of where Red Bull will get its engines has been looming over the paddock for several months. Though its current partnership with Renault yielded four straight world championships, the relationship has gone sour over the last couple of years as performance has dropped off. That has left Red Bull looking for a new engine supplier, but with Ferrari, Mercedes, and Honda all powering their own entries, none have been particularly keen to motivate Red Bull. A proposal to bring Volkswagen into the sport in partnership with the team fell apart in the wake of the diesel emissions scandal. And while the FIA may be moving ahead to bring an independent engine supplier into the series, that doesn't look likely to take shape in time for next season. Ferrari – like Mercedes and McLaren-Honda – says it won't simply hand one of its chief rivals the same engine package as it uses itself. But speaking to Motorsport.com at Ferrari's Finali Mondiali event at Mugello this weekend, Sergio Marchionne proposed a different course of action. That would involve making the building blocks of Ferrari's power unit, along with the wealth of its engineering talent, available to Red Bull for the team to plot its own engine development program in parallel to Maranello's own. The Ferrari chairman (and Fiat Chrysler chief) says he has already raised the idea with Red Bull chief Dietrich Mateschitz and his racing adviser Helmut Marko. If it does work out, we could potentially see Ferrari setting up similar programs with its other customer teams. Those currently include Sauber and Marussia, and Haas and Toro Rosso could soon join the mix as well. Adding Red Bull would mean that over half of the grid would be powered by Ferrari engines as soon as next season. Related Video: News Source: Motorsport.comImage Credit: Red Bull Motorsports Ferrari F1

Chris Harris brings together the 918 Spyder, LaFerrari, and P1

The Porsche 918 Spyder, Ferrari LaFerrari, and McLaren P1 show that a hybrid powertrain can make for blistering performance despite its electric assist. This trio doesn't arrive on track together very often, but Chris Harris assembled these three stars at the Portimao circuit for a nearly hour-long demonstration of their amazing capabilities. So, which one is quickest around the track? Harris provides an answer with in-car video of all three contenders. His team also goes out of its way to even the playing field by sourcing tires independently from Pirelli for the P1 and LaFerrari. With the technical part out of the way, Harris can start having fun by doing his usual slides during the driving comparison. Tiff Needell and Marino Franchitti also eventually show up to provide the perfect recipe for a track battle in these hypercars. If you don't have the time, skip about 14:25 into the clip just to see the lap times. However, those numbers only tell a tiny part of the story. The whole video is definitely worth a watch.