Fernando Alonso (right) shakes hands with Ferrari chairman Luca diMontezemolo at the unveiling of F138 (below) in Maranello yesterday.
Agencies/Maranello
Glamour team Ferrari took the wraps off their new F138 Formula One car yesterday and set their sights on a winning start to the season after turning last year’s beast into a beauty.
The broken, stepped nose that drew shocked gasps when unveiled last season - with some saying it was the ugliest Ferrari yet - was smoothed over with a more aesthetically-pleasing flowing front.
Looking fast and racing fast do not always go together, and even ugly cars are loved when they become winners, but the signs were at least more promising ahead of the first test of the season in Jerez next week.
“It is more beautiful,” agreed team principal Stefano Domenicali after the wraps came off at the Maranello factory.
Ferrari were painfully off the pace at the start of 2012 but their reliability and the prowess of Fernando Alonso kept them in the chase with the Spaniard fighting for the title all the way to the wire in Brazil.
The double world champion, denied a third crown by Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, told reporters that the Italian team could not afford to make the same mistake. “There will be three teams who win all the races and we have to be one of those,” said Alonso, who will miss the Jerez test to give himself more time to prepare physically and mentally for the battle to come.
Last year saw seven winners in the first seven races, with six different teams triumphant over the season, but Alonso said that would not happen again.
“I think it was a one-off as a result of the regulation changes,” he said. “Now, with things a bit more stabilised, we saw at the end of the (2012) season the top teams emerge and so I think it will be highly unlikely we will have seven races and seven winners.”
Champions Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren were the top three teams last year, with McLaren winning the final race in Brazil.
The Ferrari’s 138 designation derives from the year and the V8 engine, which will be replaced in Formula One by a turbocharged V6 in 2014 after eight seasons of use.
Domenicali said the team, who are now using the Toyota wind tunnel in Cologne while the Maranello one is redesigned, had changed procedures to ensure they made the best start possible.
“Unfortunately in recent years we have at the beginning of the winter unfortunately not been able to be right on top of what we are doing,” said the Italian.
“We have already forgotten those things which left us with regret last year and we have started improving on the positive aspects of 2012, such as reliability and strategy during the races.”
Afterwards, he said: “Next year, we will try and improve the car, trying to start further up the grid, thus avoiding accidents. Let’s hope we also have a bit more luck.”
Ferrari described the F138 as “an evolution of last year’s race-winning car, although every single part has been revised in order to maximise performance while maintaining the characteristics which were the basis of the F2012’s superb reliability”.
“The rear of the car is much narrower and more tapered than before,” said Ferrari, although “significant modifications will be made to the car’s aero package” before the Australian Grand Prix on March 17.
One major change Ferrari has made, one year ahead of schedule, is in the electronics domain with the early introduction of the single control unit that will be used in 2014.
Alonso is set to get his first taste of the F138 at a pre-season testing session in Barcelona from February 19. It means Brazilian Felipe Massa will be at the wheel for the first pre-season test at Jerez in Spain next week.
Massa, who finished seventh overall last season, believes the car is equipped sufficiently to allow Ferrari to aim for both the drivers’ and constructors’ titles.
“I hope it will bring the two titles to Ferrari. It’s the only thing we want,” he said.
Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo said last year he wants to see three-times champion Vettel race for the Italian team in the future.
But yesterday Di Montezemolo ruled out the possibility of seeing Alonso and Vettel in the same team. “Absolutely not,” replied Di Montezemolo.
Team Principal Horner extends contract with Red Bull
London: Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has had his contract extended ahead of a season in which the Formula One champions will chase a fourth successive title.
A team spokeswoman said the 39-year-old Briton had agreed a multi-year extension.
Horner has been at the helm of Red Bull since the Austrian energy drink company entered the sport in 2005 after taking over the Jaguar team.
Red Bull and Germany’s Sebastian Vettel, the youngest triple world champion at the age of 25, have won both titles for the past three years.
The Milton-Keynes based team is due to unveil their 2013 car at the factory tomorrow before testing starts at the Jerez circuit in Spain on Tuesday.
Marussia to present new car in Jerez pit lane
London: Russian-licensed Marussia and Malaysian-owned Caterham will both present their new Formula One cars in the Jerez pit lane next Tuesday before the start of the first pre-season test.
Marussia, the former Virgin Racing team, said on Thursday that British rookie Max Chilton would be the first to drive the MR02 car.
The British-based team have yet to name a second driver, although reports in Brazil suggested it would be well-sponsored Brazilian Luiz Razia, last year’s GP2 runner-up and a former tester for both Virgin and Caterham.
Caterham, who have French former Marussia driver Charles Pic as one of their drivers in the CT03 car, have also yet to say who will complete their line-up. The two teams have competed in Formula One for the past three seasons without scoring a point and scrapped for 10th place last year, with Caterham securing it at the season-ending round in Brazil.