Ferrari F310 vs F310B

[EvilPhil II]

Got a bit of a historical question for the F1 nerds on here.

It has bothered me for years that the 1997 Ferrari F310B is considered a B-spec of the 1996 F310. I have stared at these cars for hours and I honestly can't see a single thing they share on the surface.

Even the F310B tub and head protection area look completely different. The nose shape is noticeably squarer too.

Also, if they could adapt a B-spec car to this extreme extent while it technically remains the same chassis, why didn't they just fix the headrests and high nose during the 1996 season? They knew right away they misunderstood the rules.

So what am I missing here? How exactly did this qualify as a B-spec car?

[Moebius]

For me this topic covers multiple aspects, some related to Ferrari, namely, that they were very inconsistent with their naming conventions for their Formula 1 cars, and for us fans, what constitutes the concept of a "B-Car" versus a natural evolution of the same.

The original F310 versus F310B does not follow the same naming lineage, as for example the 412T1 (1994) and 412T2, which we can identify as two separate cars, although sharing some similar concepts. These followed the earlier late 1970's lineage of the 312T1 through T5, although the 412T1 did have it's B version after Brunner revamped the work of Barnard.

To F1 fans, more recent ones, a B-Spec, typically is linked with a significant different version within the same year, like the MP4/19B, and a decade earlier the MP4/10A, B and C. Even around that timeframe, we had the FW14 (1991) and it's evolution the next year, FW14B, with some even considering the FW15C as car that should have been named FW14C.

Meaning, that the nomenclature B-spec, not being standardized.

What is clear, is that the 310 and 310B are an evolution, at least at the engine side, the first V10 from Ferrari. The rumour mill might even say that they called the car F310B, not to call it a copy of the FW18....