Ferrari vow to return to top as they unveil new F1 car

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. Advertisement Ferrari have unveiled the car they hope will take them back to the front in Formula 1 after a painful 2009. The new F10 car will be driven by two-time champion Fernando Alonso, who has joined from Renault in place of Kimi Raikkonen, and Brazil's Felipe Massa. Team boss Stefano Domenicali said: "We are coming off a season that was not competitive and this should mark a turning point. We want to win." Domenicali predicted a third title for Alonso during the next three years. Alonso - whose last world crown came with Renault in 2006 when he defeated Ferrari's Michael Schumacher was more cautious. "This is my first presentation with Ferrari which is emotional for me," said the Spaniard, 28. Fernando is a double world champion, and we say he will have a third title

Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali "We are ready to face the challenge and take up the responsibility of realising the maximum potential of this car." Massa was scheduled to give the 2010 car a shakedown at Ferrari's private Fiorano test track but icy conditions put paid to the run-out. The unveiling of the car also represents a fresh start for Massa, who sat out the final eight races of 2009 after a life-threatening crash during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix. Massa ploughed into the barriers after being hit on the helmet by a spring that had come loose from Rubens Barrichello's Brawn, fracturing his skull and narrowly avoiding permanent damage to his left eye. "This is a special moment because last year was very difficult as I had the accident," said Massa, who became a father to Felipinho in November. "I'm very happy, and I now want to work more than ever, so I really hope this will be a very competitive car and we will be fighting for the championship. "I will have a strong team-mate but I've shown many times that I'm able to win and fight, whoever my team-mate was." Alonso and Massa clashed over a number of on-track incidents in 2007 but the new team-mates have pledged to leave their old squabbles in the past. The new Ferrari appears a much more aggressive design than in 2010 Nevertheless, many F1 experts are predicting fireworks between the new Ferrari team-mates, especially given Alonso's tempestuous relationship with McLaren when he was Lewis Hamilton's team-mate in in 2007. Alonso said: "I've always had strong team-mates and I never had any problems with them. I have a great relation to all of them and it won't be any different with Felipe. "Felipe and I both race for Ferrari and it is important that a red car wins." Domenicali is tipping both drivers to bring success to the team. "Fernando is a double world champion, and we say he will have a third one (title)," remarked Domenicali. "He is already among the big champions in F1, and this is now the right moment for him, for us. "But we have two new drivers. Why two new drivers? With Felipe we are talking of a new version of Felipe. "After such a dramatic championship like last year, with the accident in Hungary, Felipe has all the assets to prove he can be very successful. "He can prove he wants to return to the pathway that destiny interrupted in Hungary." Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo added: "I notice some healthy humility and great determination and that's what I want from this team." 606: DEBATE The 2010 season is palpably close. I cannae wait

purpleDogzzz Massa is scheduled to give the F10 its first running on Monday during the opening day of the pre-season test in Valencia, Spain, before Alonso takes the wheel for the next two days. Alonso said he was already feeling positive about the car's competitive potential ahead of the first race in Bahrain on 14 March. "I'm very calm regarding the possibilities of the F10's development," he added. "The work we're doing in February, with Felipe's and my suggestions on the car, makes me confident as far as the first race is concerned. "What raises our confidence are the technicians, the data from the wind tunnel, the suspension, the mechanics and the engine. "It might even happen that the data on the track will be even more encouraging." Ferrari won just one race last year, after being champions in 2007 with Raikkonen and missing out by just one point to Hamilton with Massa in 2008. Last year they failed to interpret a major change in regulations as well as the Red Bull and Brawn teams, and effectively wrote off the year from mid-season to concentrate on 2010. That, and the arrival of Alonso, means the pressure on Ferrari to bounce back is enormous after what some observers perceive to have been a slow but consistent drift away from competitiveness following a major upheaval after 2006. That was the year Michael Schumacher drove his last season for the team, and which also saw the departure of technical director Ross Brawn, now the boss of the new Mercedes team. The F10 is a great step ahead in terms of our competitiveness

Ferrari technical director Aldo Costa Since then, sporting director Jean Todt and chief designer Rory Byrne, who were keystones of Ferrari's domination of the first half of the last decade, have also left. Todt has become president of governing body the FIA and Byrne has retired. With the new F10, Ferrari appear to have learned the lessons of 2009. The nose bears a strong resemblance to that of last year's Red Bull, which ended the season as the fastest car. The front wing shows intricate detailing, the sidepods have a unique shape which is designed to maximise airflow to the rear of the car, and the back of the car appears very clean and narrow. "The F10 is a great step ahead in terms of our competitiveness," said Ferrari technical director Aldo Costa. The Williams team also gave their new car a debut on Thursday, the FW32 is taking to the track at Silverstone. The team did not release any pictures of the car, which is also due at the Valencia test, although Autosport magazine managed to grab one, which was published on its website.



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