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. ...

The F2012 is the fifty eighth car built by Ferrari with the express purpose of taking part in the Formula 1 World Championship. It adopts a well established tradition of being named after its year of manufacture.

The project, which goes by the internal code number of 663, constitutes the Scuderia’s interpretation of the technical and sporting regulations that apply this year: the main changes when compared to 2011 concern the height of the front section of the chassis, the position of the exhaust pipes and the mapping for the electronic engine management. Practically every area of the car has been fundamentally revised, starting with the suspension layout: both the front and rear feature pull-rods, aimed at favouring aerodynamic performance and lowering the centre of gravity.

The front wing is derived from the one introduced on the 150º Italia in the final part of its racing life and has been evolved from there. Further evolutions are planned in this area for the opening races of the season. The nose has a step in it that is not aesthetically pleasing with the requirement from the regulations to lower the front part ...

The word team is one of the most frequently heard in Ferrari man Alonso’s vocabulary and today was no exception. “I have always stood up for the team, because when one is going through a difficult moment, as was the case last year, there is no point in blaming one another,” said the Spaniard. “We have made a few important changes but we know that making up ground will be neither easy nor the work of a moment. With the team and with Stefano Domenicali, I have always had a very open relationship right from the very first day. When it came to beginning to discuss an extension to the contract I was pleased with the way things were going between us and it seemed natural to renew it for many years.”

2011 was also not an easy year for another participant at Wrooom, namely Valentino Rossi: “it’s true that for both him and me the last season was not so great, even if we tried everything to redress the situation. We have to work, to improve and to have a better vehicle and both Ferrari and Ducati are working hard to achieve this: I really hope that 2012 can go better for both of us.”
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Fernando Alonso is not the sort to bandy around predictions and that was again the case this morning in his first press conference of 2012. So far, none of the cars that will take part in the World Championship has turned a wheel on track and so it is very difficult for the Spaniard to say who will be the ones to beat:

“I don’t have a crystal ball, so I don’t feel I can make any predictions. Theoretically, it will be Red Bull, but I say that based only on the fact that, for the past two years, they have won both titles. I reckon we will have to wait for at least two or three races, which means up to Shanghai, to really understand what the hierarchy is. Maybe some people think that the tests mean something, but that is not the case. On paper, we have everything in place to do well, but I can be neither optimistic nor pessimistic, partly because I have only seen the new car in the wind tunnel and from the diagrams on the engineers’ computers. I don’t think there will be a big difference compared to the other cars, because the regulations are very clear, but there will definitely be some innovations and good technical ideas.”
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Felipe Massa’s future depends on what happens now. At the end of 2012, the contract between the Brazilian and Scuderia Ferrari will come to an end, but the pressure that might build with this expiry date does not seem to have unsettled Felipe.

“I am well aware that in some ways, the first part of the season will be more important than the second,” he said. “When we reach the mid-point of the season, we will talk about my future and see what are the chances of continuing to work with Ferrari: The most important thing is the results: if they are good, making decisions about the future will be much easier and there would be no point in changing a situation that everyone was happy with.

“I want to read in the papers that Felipe is back, fighting for the wins and to do that, we need everything to be right: if we have a good car then I know I can fight for the title, as I have already done in the past,” ...

For a driver, inevitably his first adversary is his team-mate: he’s the only one with the same car and the only one from whom one has no secrets. Felipe Massa has always had very strong team-mates, of the calibre of Michael Schumacher, Jacques Villeneuve and Kimi Raikkonen, but usually he has never struggled as much in terms of results as he has with Fernando Alonso. Despite this, the relationship between the two Scuderia men seems today to be more solid than ever. Over the past few days on the slopes of the Dolomites, Felipe and Fernando have spent a lot of time together, even when not “on duty” for the media.

“Fernando and I work together towards having a quick car and for the good of the team,” said Felipe. “He is a great driver but clearly I would like to see my name always at the top of every time sheet. The gap that we have seen between us over the past two years could, in my opinion, be closed if we have a competitive car.”
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