Ferrari F60 and Toyota TF109 side by side – pictures (2009 F1 cars)

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Ferrari F60 and Toyota TF109 (click to enlarge)

The first two F1 cars of 2009 have been officially unveiled – so now we can get a close-up look at the pair of them and see where the designers have gone in different directions.

Here’s a look at the Ferrari F60 and Toyota TF109 side by side.

Front wing (above)

The most striking difference between the F60 and TF109 at the front is the shape of the front wing and nose. The two teams have gone in distinctly different directions: Toyota’s nose is shorter than Ferrari’s, and has narrower connections between the wing and nose.

A glance at the top-down picture below, however, reduces the impression that the TF109’s front nose is much narrower than the F60’s. It can be tricky to figure out which differences are due to how the pictures were taken.

Ferrari’s front nose has extra flaps mounted inboard of the end plates to increase downforce – 2008-style bridge wings are banned. Both cars feature the moveable flaps allowed by the 2009 rules, but Toyota’s look simpler.

View from above

Ferrari F60 and Toyota TF109 (click to enlarge)

The top-down view reveals some more interesting differences. From the front of the sidepods back to the rear wheels the F60 is strikingly narrower and more tapered than the TF109. In front of the driver as well the nose seems much more slender on the Ferrari. Again, it’s hard to know how much of this is down to the difference in camera angles, but the Ferrari appears more svelte than its Japanese rival.

At the front of the sidepod we find the controversial bits everyone’s talking about. In Ferrari’s case, they’ve used a small opportunity for aerodynamic freedom afforded by the rules to attach their wing mirrors.

These constructions are smaller than similar devices seen in the past on the Renault R27, for example, and it remains to be seen whether they will be afflicted by the same vibration problems. It’s safe to say these are legal, but they do go against the spirit of the rules where were intended to remove such appendages from the sidepods.

Side-by-side

Ferrari F60 and Toyota TF109 (click to enlarge)

The side-on view makes the difference in the front nose shapes very clear.

I’ve no idea why the regulations require the rear endplates to extend as far beyond the end of the main part of the rear wing as they do (advertising?) but it looks terrible. Toyoa have a cut taken out of the top of theirs which lessens their impact.

Tomorrow the McLaren MP4/24 is revealed and we’ll have a third 2009-spec F1 car to take a look at.

More pictures of the Ferrari F60 and Toyota TF109

Toyota images (C) Toyota F1 world; Ferrari images (C) Ferrari spa

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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19 comments on “Ferrari F60 and Toyota TF109 side by side – pictures (2009 F1 cars)”

  1. The endplates effectively act in the same way as a much wider wing would, without the added disruption to the airflow.

    I assume this is the reason the endplates are so large; the larger the endplate, the larger the effect.

    So in effect you increase the downforce, without disrupting as much of the airflow.

  2. The nose of the Toyota seems really high, almost reminiscent of a mid-90’s car.

  3. I know it is early days and that these are far removed from the Aus-spec cars but I still think that with its tighter packaging, more sophisticated wing design and side-pod turning vanes that the Ferrari is the more sophisticated.

    Looks better too. Looking forward to the McMerc comparisons tomorrow!

    Edit: Interesting rear wheel covers on the Toyota though, seems to have many angled slats on it to let air out in several locations rather than the traditonal large one.

    1. Yes, they ran similar rear wheel fairings last year and have carried them over. I was expecting these to be banned, actually, but I guess not.

  4. The cars look really pretty when on those side pics… I missed that… They look like old 90’s cars…

  5. I think the cars look fantastic, sleek and uncomplicated and yet still curvy and modern. I can not wait to see a full grid of these lined up!

  6. The difference in front and rear wings is still odd but otherwise, the look is gradually growing on me… I suppose that’s what the powers that be want.

    I like that these cars aren’t completely identical, it was a worry of mine.

  7. You have to give it to Ferrari…they really do come up with some elegant designs despite the significant technical changes. The TF109 isn’t bad, but when you put the two side by side there’s quite a contrast in aesthetics. Especially from the top view, you can see how they molded the coke bottle shape where as Toyota kinda splattered a body together (the paint job only adds to that imagery).

    Can’t wait to see the McLaren tomorrow…their front wing was much better than BMW and Honda’s so hope the rest of the car comes out good.

  8. I think I prefer the Toyota. Although the Ferrari is pretty lush looking down from above.

  9. The Ferrari looks like it expects higher front downforce to compensate for a seemingly rearward weight bias. Interesting for low speed cornering…

  10. WORST LAUNCH EVER….
    http://www.mclaren.com/index.php

    Mclaren… there’s a timer, it counted down to 0… then nothing happened.

    no new news, no new anything, just a timer with 00d00h00m…

    i mean really, totally useless.

    1. The McLaren launch is at 11am today (Friday)

  11. EAKMotorsports
    16th January 2009, 5:08

    aff that ugly wheel cover gonna still come one !!!!

  12. Jordy - The Egg Man
    16th January 2009, 8:51

    Not as fast as the french Ferrari

  13. What surprised me is when I looked back at last years cars yesterday, and found myself laughing at how stupidly low last years rear wings were. It’s like they are almost non-existent.

    FIA just need to allow a wider rear wing with reduced endplates and I wouldn’t have any problem with the current year’s cars.

    Regardless though, I really do like the look of this year’s cars.

  14. Grudgingly I have to admit that the cars are slowly growing on me although it has to be said they are not easy on the eye at first glance…

  15. McLaren gave away the picture in this webpage?

    http://www.mclaren.com/f1season/2009/launch/gallery.php

  16. God those rear wings look so weird. I don’t dislike them, but it seems they just don’t belong. It’s not the height, its the width that makes them look weird.

    The rest of the cars and the front wing are awesome though.

  17. I like em both.

    Anyone care to comment to the TF’s suspension? it caught my eye to see it so high (as Keith pointed out) to the extent that you can see the j damper’s structure ‘marking’ the chassis. Seems like that way they were able to have the tall suspension w/o violating any rules regarding nose height

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