Discovering the new PUMA ULTRA 5 ULTIMATE

After revealing the new ULTRA 5 ULTIMATE, PUMA officially presented its new boots at an event in Milan on Thursday at a go-kart track with some of its top athletes: Nesrine Bahlouli, Chanté-Mary Dompig, Laura Giuliani, Theo Hernandez and Christian Pulisic. A shoe that we will see on the pitch during the most important stages of the competitions and that Milan Femminile goalkeeper, Laura Giuliani, has already defined as follows: "the first feeling I had when I put them on my feet for the first time was that I had been wearing them for at least two weeks. A shoe that adapts very well to the foot, very easy to wear, easy to put on even for those who have to put them on, take them off very quickly. Of course, compared to past models this was not a given." In fact, the new ULTRA 5 ULTIMATE Formula Edition features several innovations, first and foremost PUMA's SPEEDSYSTEM outsole, which features an elastic plate and innovative cleat configuration for lightning-fast acceleration. The FastTrax cleat design offers multi-directional traction for maximum stability, and an all-new PWRTAPE SQD support frame was added to stabilise the foot inside the shoe without hindering agility and freedom of movement.

But it's not just these details that make the ULTRA one of the most comfortable shoes, as the designer told us in our microphones, we also delved into the all-carbon sole and its implications for the new ULTRA 5. "The main difference you'll notice in both editions is that the CARBON version features an all-carbon sole plate, making it the fastest version of our fastest shoes. ULTRA 5 CARBON's SPEEDSYSTEM sole is made entirely of carbon fibre, which makes it 32% faster than the non-carbon version, allowing it to change direction in an instant and explode in any direction before the defender can react, for unrivalled speed."

Stability and speed are in fact two indispensable requirements on the pitch, for whatever role you play, whether you are a goalkeeper or a movement player. This is also confirmed by Giuliani, who seeks as much stability as possible from a boot, "because our supports, the supports for a goalkeeper, are fundamental.So we talk about speed, and speed is simply a quickness of support often.Then there are other qualities that come to the rescue, but if the feet are not stable and don't have the right response from the ground, it is difficult to be quick and fast.So for a goalkeeper, the quick movement makes the difference between a save, or taking a goal, or somehow getting in a clean way, or going for a rebound. On top of that, the front cleat especially in the riser, so when you go to make a save and then there is a second ball it gives you the chance to have more grip on the ground. Now you have the possibility to have the stability right away to go on the ground and then get up quickly, so it's very interesting this discovery."

But the ULTRA is not just about stability and speed and can be worn by every type of footballer, the German brand in fact continues to offer its Women's Fit with a slimmer fit adapted to the anatomy of the female foot. The ULTRA 5 is designed to enhance the comfort and performance of female athletes, and is uniquely constructed to support women who make a difference on the pitch, with a tailored fit designed specifically for the female foot.    

In our day spent with PUMA, football was not the absolute protagonist, because as the brand's mantra, ‘forever faster’, reminds us, the German brand has used its technologies and studies by crossing them with those of motorsport. So after seeing Theo Hernandez triumph, beating two promising young Ferrari drivers at the wheel of his go-kart, there was also the opportunity to talk about the use of carbon, one of the most explosive and lightest materials, in his football boots. Taking a cue from motorsport collaborations, carbon in the new ULTRA 5 has been implemented in a new way. In fact, as one of the designers involved in the project put it: "the particularity of the application is that we changed the pattern of the weave and the direction of the fibres to create a unique application of the material that provides an even faster sole."

Nesrine Bahlouli, Chanté-Mary Dompig, Laura Giuliani, Theo Hernandez and Christian Pulisic were not the only guests but also present with them were Dino Beganovic and Oliver Bearman from Ferrari. It was with the latter that we had the chance to discuss the intersection of football, fashion and Formula 1. Worlds that seem light-years apart and that instead in recent years have done nothing but touch each other, until they collide into one big sphere. Something that even those on the inside of this world have not failed to notice, like Ollie Bearman who emphasised the lifestyle side of the racing world: "now that F1 has become very mainstream, there is a lot of interest in both the drivers and the clothes they wear that are getting cooler and cooler. I mean, the race suits, the shoes, the whole outfit, I think, is pretty unique in terms of sport and I think there's a lot of room to do a lot of interesting things."

But Ferrari is above all "passion, hard work and dedication", a family where everyone gives their best and supports each other massively, Ollie Bearman tells us again. In short, a team that certainly needs no presentation and that represents the dream of any motoring enthusiast of any age, where speed is an essential prerogative, the same that characterises the new purple ULTRA 5.