A cleaner look and myriad improvements for 2013
Last year was widely believed to be Felipe Massa’s last tour with Ferrari, as the scuderia was thought to be courting Mexican rookie Sergio Perez. Instead, after it came to light Lewis Hamilton was exploring opportunities down paddock, McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh beat the Italians to signing Perez.
With both teammates’ services retained at Ferrari for the fourth consecutive year, the new F138 has been the focus of Maranello’s newly restructured technical organization. However, their work is far from over, as they won’t pop the cork on the final product until the first race in Australia.
“The car we will race in Melbourne will be quite different to the one seen at the launch and the first test,” explained Simone Resta, whose first job since joining Scuderia Ferrari has been to get the F138 right from the start.
“In the past few weeks we have improved, and indeed in those ahead of us now we can improve further, the performance of the car, which guarantees that the F138 in Melbourne will be significantly different to the F138 at Test 1…and hopefully quicker.”
The latest chassis brings sexy back for 2013, ditching the Owen Wilson nose for a smoother treatment. Suspension components have been heavily revised or completely replaced, with the rear receiving much-needed new bodywork. Elsewhere, the F138 is the product of lessons learned from last year’s F2012, so don’t expect Ferrari to be battling the likes of Williams and Force India when the green flag first drops in Melbourne in March.
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