SF90 is the 65th racing car that will be running the Formula One World Championship. Its matte red livery aims at reducing the car's weight to heighten its performance.
The car was officially presented on February 15th, 2019 in Maranello. Contrary to the traditional glossy finish, the colour chosen for the new livery is matte red, with some matte black parts such as the main sponsor Mission Winnow, the exhausts area and the elements of the front wing.
Scuderia Ferrari explained that the decision to opt for a matte finish for its SF90 was mainly dictated by technical reasons related to performance, as the matte finish increases, even if only of a few hundred grams, the aerodynamic efficiency of the car and reduces the weight.
"The reason behind this decision is not aesthetic, but technical," explained Mattia Binotto, team principal of Scuderia Ferrari. "A few hundred grams may not sound like much but when you push everything to the limit even this can make a difference".
Ferrari has followed the lead of Red Bull, which moved to a matte finish in 2016.