Ferrari unveil car to power team back to F1 glory

MILAN: Ferrari unveiled their car for the new season on the internet Friday, the legendary Italian stable counting on the SF15-T to bring back the glory years after a miserable 2014.
Fernando Alonso’s lowly ninth place in the season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix completed a wretched year for the men from Maranello, their first winless season since 1993.
Ferrari’s lacklustre performance in taking only fourth in the constructors title race triggered sweeping changes at their Italian HQ in a bid to put the team back at the top of Formula One.
In November, team chief Marco Mattiacci was sacked after just seven months in the post with Maurizio Arrivabene appointed in his place.
That switch came days after Red Bull’s four-time world champion Sebastien Vettel was signed on a three-year-contract to replace Alonso after the Spaniard’s move to McLaren.
Vettel links up with Kimi Raikkonen, the Finn who clinched Ferrari’s last world championship in 2007.
In December, Mexican Esteban Gutierrez was lured from Sauber along with out-of-work former Torro Rosso driver Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne as test and reserve drivers.
Vettel and Raikkonen will go into battle against Mercedes’ world champion Lewis Hamilton in the aggressive-looking SF15-T, which features a long protruding nose.
A major overhaul of the car’s engine has been undertaken in a bid to reel in last season’s runaways champions Mercedes.
The car, the concept of British designer James Allison, will have its first official runout in the first batch of pre-season testing at the Spanish circuit of Jerez starting on Sunday.
The 2015 F1 season gets underway with its traditional curtain-raiser in Melbourne on March 15.