No matter if you have seen many new cars, more than a few whose design bears your signature, the first day a Formula 1 car rolls out on track always has a special significance, however much you might be used to these sort of things. It is a universal truth and Scuderia Ferrari’s Chief Designer Nikolas Tombazis is no exception to the rule.

“It’s true that you always experience a special feeling when the car goes out on track for the first time and you cannot deny it,” said the Greek designer when he met with journalists who had gathered at the end of the first day of the Jerez test. “And today was no different to many others I have been through just like it.”

What was different was the work carried out by the team when compared to other debuts in the recent past, as Tombazis explained. ...