Ferrari kicks off 2020 F1 launches by unveiling new car 

Ferrari has become the first Formula 1 team to officially launch its 2020 car, revealing its latest challenger ahead of the new season. 

The Italian team took the wraps off its new car - dubbed the SF1000 to mark Ferrari's 1000th grand prix later this year - in a special launch event at the Romolo Valli Municipal Theatre in Reggio Emilia near its Maranello headquarters on Tuesday evening. 

Ferrari is the first of the 10 F1 teams to physically launch its 2020 machine, kicking off a week of car reveals prior to the start of pre-season testing next week in Barcelona. 

The SF1000 has retained the matte red paint look introduced last year for weight-saving purposes. 

Ferrari’s latest car will be tasked with ending a 12-season title drought for the Scuderia, with the team’s last championship coming in 2008 when it claimed the constructors’ crown. Kimi Raikkonen remains the last driver to have won a championship for Ferrari, thanks to his 2007 success. 

Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc will once again form Ferrari’s driver line-up in what will mark their second season together as teammates. 

Leclerc came out on top of the intra-team battle in 2019 and beat Vettel to fourth place in the championship standings, having claimed two victories to the German’s one. Throughout the year there were notable flashpoints of tension between Vettel and Leclerc, which came to a head in Brazil when the pair crashed into each other. 

Ferrari will hope its latest challenger is less erratic than its complex 2019 design, which was fast but proved inconsistent and unreliable. Speaking at the launch, Ferrari CEO Louis Camilleri said he is confident his side has "all the talent and determination" to meet its ambitions of victory in 2020. 

The team failed to record a grand prix victory until the Belgian Grand Prix following last year’s summer break and only managed three across the season, though its SF90 did score nine pole positions. 

In contrast, arch rivals Mercedes took 15 victories en route to sealing its sixth consecutive world championship double, matching Ferrari’s record of six straight constructors’ titles in the process of maintaining its dominant clean sweep during the V6 hybrid era.  

Red Bull and Renault are the next teams to unveil their respective challengers on Wednesday, before McLaren reveals its MCL35 on Thursday, and Mercedes and AlphaTauri launch their new cars on Friday 14. 

Racing Point and Williams are set to take the wraps off their cars on Monday 17, with the latter a digital-only launch. Haas and Alfa Romeo will then roll out their 2020 cars in the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya pitlane on the morning of February 19, an hour before the opening pre-season test gets underway. 

The first winter test runs between February 19-21, before the final three days of testing takes place on February 26-28 ahead of the opening race in Melbourne, Australia on March 15.