F1: Ferrari optimistic about their new car design

Ferrari boss Louis Camilleri

Ferrari boss Louis Camilleri said yesterday that he was "reasonably optimistic" about reaching an agreement on the new design for Formula One cars to replace the current models in 2021. "I'm reasonably optimistic about an agreement within an acceptable timeframe," Camilleri said at Ferrari headquarters in Maranello. Ross Brawn, F1's managing director of motorsports, last week unveiled plans for futuristic new cars to be used from the 2021 season to improve racing and be more attractive to fans.

The former Mercedes team principal said he had been working with teams and motorsport governing body FIA to develop new aerodynamics that would enable cars to follow each other at shorter distances without a loss of performance. Brawn showed three different concept designs and said the 2021 cars would incorporate the best features from all of them. The unveiling came days after designs had been leaked on social media. The three design concepts include simpler front and rear wings and a sweeping integrated halo cockpit protection system to improve aesthetics.

"There's a general consensus on the main objectives, but ideas on how to get there diverge greatly," Camilleri said. "There's been progress but we're still far from an overall agreement that all participants can sign." Camilleri's illustrious predecessor Sergio Marchionne, who died in July, was at the forefront of efforts to resist a bid by F1's new owner, the United States' Liberty Media, and the FIA, to make racing's top sport more egalitarian.

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