[QODLink]
Sport
Ferrari unveil new car
The defending F1 champions launch their new model.
Last Modified: 06 Jan 2008 17:21 GMT

Ferrari: The new look for 2008 [AFP]
Ferrari has presented its 2008 Formula One car, highlighting a series of technical changes and the return of the No. 1 on the red model's nose.

Kimi Raikkonen earned Ferrari its first driver's championship last season since Michael Schumacher accomplished the feat five consecutive times from 2000-04.

It was also the squad's first constructor's title since 2004.

Ferrari has named the car the F2008.

It is the 54th car the Maranello outfit has built for F1.

It features a new electronic system called SECU (Standard Electronic Control Unit) that is the same for all F1 teams this season.

Other new details include a revamped transmission, which must be used for four consecutive races, and more safety features, including lateral guards near the drivers' helmets.

According to new rules for materials, the car is heavier than last year's edition, weighing in at 605 kilograms, including water, oil and the driver.

There is also a complete overhaul in aerodynamics, although Ferrari said more changes will be put in place before the first race in Australia in March.

Raikkonen is scheduled to test the F2008 for the first time on Ferrari's home track in Fiorano on Monday.

The team then heads to Madonna Di Campiglio in the Italian Dolomites for the squad's annual winter retreat.

Source:
Agencies
Featured on Al Jazeera
In the frozen peaks of Afghanistan's Kunar province, a ferocious clash for supremacy rages amid the mountaintops.
Indigenous community with "third world conditions" sits 90km from diamond mine, prompting fight for resource royalties.
There is a unique and dangerous commerce system at work in Amazonia, where children risk their lives for a few pennies.
Organisations that influence social, cultural and political issues in the US have been hijacked by the far right.
<  > 
join our mailing list

Enter Zip Code
Go