Ferrari F1-75 - 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix

Ferrari’s competitor for the new era of 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season, the F1-75 was Maranello’s spearhead for their mission to propel themselves back into title contention. In the hands of Monegasque racer Charles Leclerc and Spaniard Carlos Sainz, in their fourth and second seasons respectively with the team, the F1-75 was looking to continue the Scuderia’s progress in the Constructors’ Championship during Formula 1’s longest ever season.

To build the self-labelled ‘brave’ Ferrari, the engineers at Maranello required an open mind to innovate and comply with the new 2022 technical regulations. This was demonstrated most clearly in the car’s dark red bodywork, where the rules allowed the most flexibility, with Ferrari launching the car with uniquely aggressive sidepods. There had been much work on the hybrid power unit during the 2021 season and 2022 pre-season, with a view to create a system with the utmost efficiency in the energy transformation process. Every single part of the engine was reviewed, then replaced or optimised. The power unit’s packaging was now completely different, especially in terms of the cooling. The return of ground effect cars naturally meant a lot of the changes were underneath the car, and the simplified aerodynamics on the top side of the car were quite clear.

The name of the F1-75 celebrated of 75 years of Ferrari road cars. Though the Ferrari name precedes Formula 1 with its humble pre-war beginnings as the racing division of Alfa Romeo in the hands of Enzo Ferrari, Enzo Ferrari’s first creation, the 125 S, was built in 1947. The F1-75 was a celebration of the sport’s longest-serving and most successful team. It was designed to win, and ultimately there is no better way to honour Ferrari’s tradition. Ferrari's four victory wins in Bahrain, Australia, Great Britain and Austria, as well as a further 16 podiums throughout the year's 22 races, marked an extremely strong resurgence for the team in comparison to the 2021 season. The F1-75 scored an impressive 554 points, 230.5 more than the previous year, earning second position in the Constructors' Championship, runners-up to the dominant Red Bull team. The team also claimed 12 pole positions and 5 fastest laps, Leclerc finished the season second in the Drivers' Championship with 308 points, whilst Sainz earned fifth with 246 points.

In the first qualifying sessions of the new season, Leclerc took an impressive pole position 0.123 seconds ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, whilst Sainz started from third, setting a time just 0.006 seconds slower than the Dutchman. All three maintained their positions at the start of the race, Leclerc covering off Verstappen’s advances into Turn 1. Red Bull attempted the undercut on Lap 15, pitting first and cutting down what was a 3.5s deficit to just 0.35s when Leclerc emerged in the lead on Lap 16. This triggered a three-lap battle for the lead, in which Verstappen took the lead three separate times but was unable to hang on against the resilient Leclerc, which only ended after Verstappen locked up into Turn 1 on Lap 19. The second round of pit stops were much more comfortable for the lead Ferrari. On lap 46, the AlphaTauri of Pierre Gasly caught fire, necessitating a safety car and giving Leclerc a free pass to make his third pit stop. The restart, now on Lap 51, saw the Monegasque driver tear off into the distance which Verstappen, now nursing a steering issue, just could not sustain. Sainz, who had remained in third and was holding off the advances of the other Red Bull of Sergio Pérez, capitalised on Verstappen’s woes and took second position, claiming a perfect start for Formula 1’s most prestigious team.

This fine 1:5 scale model is of the Ferrari F1-75 as raced by Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz to a 1-2 victory in the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix at Bahrain International Circuit on the 20^th of March 2022. This was Ferrari’s first win and 1-2 finish since the 2019 Singapore Grand Prix, and Leclerc’s first win since Monza in 2019. It was also Sainz’s seventh career visit to the podium, and his fifth as a Ferrari driver.

The Ferrari F1-75 is limited to 50 pieces at 1:5 scale.