30 Jan 2011

Ferrari unveil new car

7:13 am on 30 January 2011

Ferrari drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa have taken the wraps off the first Formula One car of 2011.

The team hope the car will be good enough to make amends for just missing out on the 2010 drivers' world title.

A strategic error at the final race allowed Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel to overhaul Fernando Alonso's lead.

The launch at the Italian team's headquarters in Maranello provided the first glimpse of an F1 car designed to meet the challenges of 2011's regulation changes.

The new car - named to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the reunification of Italy - was given a brief run at the team's Fiorano test track by Alonso today and will be flown to Valencia in Spain for the first pre-season test, which starts on February 1st.

Alonso will drive for the first two days in Valencia, with team-mate Massa taking over for the final day.

But a number of new parts will be added to the F150 between then and the first race.

Last season Alonso won five races and entered the final grand prix 15 points clear of Vettel, but could finish only seventh after the team's decision to make an early pit stop backfired. He spent the rest of the race stuck behind Renault's Vitaly Petrov while Vettel stormed to victory.

The next teams to unveil their cars are Renault, Sauber and Lotus on January 31st, with world champions Red Bull, Mercedes and Toro Rosso following suit on February 1st.

McLaren are the only top team who will not have a new car at the Valencia test.

They plan to run an updated 2010 car there before taking the new car to the second test in Jerez on February 10th.