Mercedes' main rival? Ferrari F1 launch the SF90

With Ferrari bidding to win their first championship (drivers' or constructors') since 2008, the Maranello team unveiled their 2019 car, the SF90.

Having fallen short in the second half of the 2017 and 2018 seasons, Ferrari will be hoping that the SF90 will be able to maintain a season-long challenge for top honours.

In a launch event at the Ferrari headquarters, the team displayed their 2019 livery, which featured a darker matte red scheme, with black, white and grey detailing for the wings, floor and sponsors.

Ferrari will compete with the driver line-up of Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc, who swaps seats with Kimi Raikkonen, who was praised for his efforts during his time at Ferrari.

In the technical information released about the car, Ferrari boasted gains on the power unit (particularly on the energy store) as well as a sleeker engine cover design.

"For the 2019, Ferrari 064 Power Unit, both the thermal and mechanical efficiency has continued to develop. This was achieved working on engine combustion, energy recovery and fluids. The Power Unit layout has been designed in symbiosis with the overall car design, while Energy Storage system reduced its weight and volume.

The engine cover of the new Ferrari to be raced in 2019 is considerably narrower in order to improve the car’s aero efficiency. Work on refining engine components and relocation of some of its ancillaries has led to a reduction in the space taken up, thus allowing for a much more compact bodywork design.

"This has the advantage of cleaning the airflow to the rear wing. The air intake now has a similar shape to that found on the 2016 car, while work on the fluid-dynamics inside the car means it has the same level of cooling efficiency as the SF71H, while taking up less space.