Ferrari's new 248 F1 - not the end of an era says di Montezemolo
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Image Gallery ( 16 images )January 25, 2006 To say Ferrari had a bad year in racing in 2005 is an understatement. Going into the year with six consecutive constructors titles and five consecutive drivers titles, Ferrari finished a distant third in the constructors championship and Schumacher’s claim on being best ever slipped when he too finished a third with Alonso more than doubling his points haul. Ferrari's President, Luca di Montezemolo was very clear in his pronouncement as the 2006 Ferrari F1 machinery and staff were introduced to the media at Autodrome Mugello yesterday: "After having lost two titles at the last round, in 1997 and 1998, and six consecutive world crowns, I don't want the 2005 results to seem like the end of an era. We have lived through some incredible years. Last year we suffered a little from the successive rule changes but now we are looking ahead. We want to get back to winning ways.” Accordingly, Ferrari showed a completely new car.
"It is right to change", began the President in reference to the new location, "to give priority to the track and to work without losing precious time. Today is an important day as we are presenting a car that is the fruit of a precise project that takes into consideration the regulations and experience of the past years.”
Montezemolo recalled Ferrari’s history over recent years and the aim for 2006 was to get back to a championship challenging position. "The 2006 norms are an improvement, we think", continued Montezemolo commenting on the modifications made by the Federation.
"The qualifying format will be more exciting and the tyre changes are back. We also agree with the changes planned for 2008. Formula 1 has to guarantee overtaking, it has to be an arena for experimenting with extreme technologies and, at the same time, optimise costs with cuts made to superfluous spending. The FIA is going in the right directions and we adhere to this philosophy as it fits with our ideas of Formula 1. It is a sport in which we have always been involved and in which we will continue to be.”
The President then reflected on the Scuderia's drivers: "we have on the teamDomenicali a man like Michael Schumacher, who I consider to be the best driver who has ever driven for Ferrari, not only in terms of speed but also of consistency. Michael bonds with the team even when things are not going well and is able to pull out extraordinary performances that we all remember. He has perhaps built something unrepeatable at Ferrari. Now we have Massa, a young driver of enormous potential who has been with us for years. Working with Michael will help him very much and it was right to keep up with the generational changes Formula 1 is witnessing."
Montezemolo then spoke about the technical changes: "We are living in times of significant change from a technological point of view. We had been fans of the V12 for many years and then, in the mid-1990s, were forced to switch to V10 engines with which we had great success. Now we are back to the V8s that we last used in 1964 when we won with Surtees. It is a big challenge in terms of power and reliability. It drives us all on to do our best along with our partners and technical suppliers.”
The President continued: "we are working with the Centro Ricerche Fiat, our technical partners who work on the 8 cylinder roadgoing engine, and all our partners, especially Bridgestone and Shell, to develop the engine and get the most from the car. It is pleasing to have just renewed a contract with an extremely important partner like Acer, who supply cutting edge resources. Martini Racing is another major partner and a name that is historic in racing and a symbol of made in Italy.”
The traditional press conference held at the presentation of the new single-seater that will compete in the Formula 1 world championship began with the engineers who have developed the car over the past months -Aldo Costa, Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne. Byrne opened and underlined how his role in the company was changing. He was progressively filling a consultancy role for all the new House of Maranello projects and, in particular, regarding the engineering of the cars.
Alda Costa – creator of the 248 F1
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