New Ferrari 'radical' according to designers.

The traditional Ferrari launch ceremony may have been transplanted from Maranello to Mugello in order to facilitate the team's test and development programme, but that did not lessen the media's enthusiasm for the event, in which the new 248 model was officially unveiled.

Despite returning to the team's former identification policy to reflect the return to the use of V8 engines - 248 standing for 2.4-litre V8 - designers Aldo Costa, and Rory Byrne, along with technical director Ross Brawn, were quick to point out that the new car was anything but retrospective.

"We imposed a radical change from both a mechanical and aerodynamic point of view, mainly due to the V8 engine," Costa revealed, "The aerodynamics are still at a preliminary stage and will be until the first race of the season, but the chassis is totally new, above all in the centre section.

"We decided on this in order to optimise the weight distribution and lighten the entire structure.The same goes for the suspension, especially in the completely redesigned rear end. The transmission, too, is all new, and constructed from composite materials, as is the differential. In building these two new elements in particular, we had to pay close attention to the characteristics of the V8, and the greater vibrations generated by the engine brought more initial problems.

Brawn confirmed that work on the new car had begun 'from the midway point of last season, when we realised we could not challenge for the top spots', after seeing Renault and McLaren prove to be the strongest players of 2005.

"We began concentrating more on development, especially the blend of the aerodynamic configuration and the characteristics of the new V8," he continued, "Despite the progress that the Bridgestone tyres have made with the reintroduction of tyre changes, we expect to see lap times that are a second or two slower than last year."