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Ferrari unveil new F1 car in bid to regain pride
They won’t have Michael Schumacher but they will have the new F10 car
The Ferrari F1 team has unveiled its 2010 car, and there is a lot riding on it. Ferrari hopes it will reverse its Formula 1 fortunes this year after a disastrous 2009 season. At the steering wheel will be new team member and F1 double champion Fernando Alonso who has joined from Renault in place of Kimi Raikonnen.
Alonso will team up with Brazil's Felipe Massa, who is back after suffering severe head injuries while qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix last season.
Named the F10, the new car was shown off this morning to sports journalists at Ferrari's headquarters in Maranello, Italy, where they have been working on it since last summer, when they realised last year's model, the F60, was not up to standard.
Alongside the newly compulsory expanded fuel tank, the new car features aggressive sculpting and a fin on its airbox as well as a double-decker diffuser. It also benefits from bulges and intricate detail on its front wing end-plates that resemble those from last year's Red Bull car - which came second in the constructors' championship - and are designed to maximise airflow to the back of the car.
Last season saw Ferrari win just one race, finishing fourth in the constructors' standings, 102 points behind winners Brawn. Ferrari's problems were compounded by Massa's horrific accident which almost cost the Brazilian his life.
Team principal Stefano Domenicali said: "The last championship, for different reasons, was not very positive. But now we are dealing with this one, looking to be competitive. This is what Ferrari deserves to be."
The Ferrari unveiling comes four days after the Mercedes F1 team unveiled their 2010 car, along with a new line-up that includes Michael Schumacher.
Ferrari missed out last summer on gaining seven-time world champion Schumacher, who was all ready to come out of retirement and step in for Massa but was unable to do so because of a neck problem. Schumacher is now fully fit and ready to take on Alonso and the rest when the new season starts with the Bahrain GP on March 14.
