The new Formula One race car from Ferrari

Ferrari unveiled their new Formula One racing car, the F10, at the Fiorano track in Maranello, Italy on 28th January 2010.

Ferraris president, Luca di Montezemolo referred to the unveiling of the car as a rebirth for a team that had suffered in 2009 with just one victory. At the event, Montezemolo also welcomed twice World Champion Fernando Alonso to the Ferrari team. The Spaniard replaces Kimi Raikkonen and joins Brazilian Felipe Massa for the 2010 season of racing. Massa had previously been out of action since receiving a serious head injury in August 2009.

The F10 is the 56th single-seater produced by Ferrari to contest the world championship and the team hope it will help them win it.

The car is the result of an intense programme of work that started in the spring of 2009 and intensified during the summer.

The F10s engineering team included technical director Aldo Costa, engine boss Luca Marmorini, designer Nikolas Tombazis, and chief designer Nikolas Tombazis.

The design team had to review the whole car, from the nose to the rear wing, because of the substantial changes in some of the F1 rules and to recover a performance deficit that was evident from the 2009 season.

The car was made longer and wider to accommodate the now bigger fuel tank, and the cars rear axle was revised to exploit the double diffuser as much as possible. Work on aerodynamics led to the widening of the diffuser, making it more efficient through improving the airflow underneath the car, and therefore the downforce and grip on the road. The work on aerodynamics also resulted in raising the cars nose and modifying the floor.

Because of the new rules, the team had to get rid of the static flange on the outside of the wheels that had a very important aerodynamic effect that needed compensating.

The F10 has a completely revised gearbox that is smaller than the 2009 model. The result is that it creates more space for the diffuser.

The front suspension now has revised dampers and the rear suspension has some kinetic changes.

The all important engine is a type 056 with 8 cylinders. The cylinder block is made from sand cast aluminium and is a powerful V90, 32 valve.

The F10 obviously has great potential for the Ferrari team and maybe 2010 will be their year.

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