FIORANO MODENESE, ITALY - Formula Two driver Mick Schumacher recently got the chance to put Ferrari’s F8 Tributo through its paces around the Fiorano test track in Italy, a circuit that brings back fond childhood memories for the 20-year-old as he used to watch his father Michael drive there.
After getting down to business in the 530kW V8-powered sports machine, Schumi Jr was impressed by how controllable it was.
“It’s very easy for me to control the car, which is not always a given in a sports car, and especially in a car which has a lot of horsepower, ” he enthused.
Schumacher, who is a Ferrari Academy driver, was pleased that the car did not snap unexpectedly while sliding, and that while doing that he could feel, in his body, every little movement that the car was making.
Schumi Jr was also smitten by the car’s adjustable diffuser.
This forms part of a state-of-the-art aerodynamic system, derived from the company’s motor racing exploits, and which helps to make the car 10 percent more aerodynamic than its predecessor.
Also helping it attack those corners is the latest-generation Side Slip Angle Control system, as well as the Ferrari Dynamic Enhancer, activated in ‘Race’ mode.
The car is powered by a 3902cc turbocharged V8 that produces 530kW at a screaming 8000rpm and 770Nm from the 3250rpm mark. This, says Ferrari, is good enough to get it from 0-100km/h in just 2.9 seconds, with 200km/h coming up in 7.8 seconds and the top speed is quoted at 340km/h.
The F8 Tributo was launched in South Africa in June this year.