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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, January 28, 2010

Autos: Ferrari unveils 2010 car — the F10


Associated Press

MARANELLO, Italy — Ferrari launched its car for the upcoming Formula One season Thursday, naming it the F10 in hope of a return to the team’s winning tradition.

For years, Ferrari named its cars with an “F” for Ferrari followed by the year, but last year’s uncompetitive car was called the F60 to honor Ferrari’s 60th year in F1.
“We’re coming off a season that was not competitive for us and this should mark a turning point for the future,” team director Stefano Domenicali said. “We want to win again.”
In another change, the new car features white wings to feature the team’s new sponsor, the Spanish bank Santander.
Last season, Ferrari finished a disappointing fourth in the constructors’ standings and Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe Massa and Giancarlo Fisichella placed sixth, 11th and 15th, respectively, in the drivers’ ranks.
Fisichella replaced Massa midseason after the Brazilian nearly lost his life in a crash at the Hungarian Grand Prix, suffering severe head injuries. Massa is set to return this season and Fernando Alonso has been hired to replace the departed Raikkonen, while Fisichella will be the team’s reserve driver.
Alonso was a two-time Formula One champion with Renault, and Ferrari is expecting big things from the Spaniard.
“You can’t have two without three,” Domenicali said. “The moment is right, for him and for us.”
Still, it was Massa slated to take the F10 for a brief spin on Ferrari’s private Fiorano track later Thursday, with the Brazilian also scheduled to be behind the wheel for the car’s first official test in Valencia, Spain, on Monday.
“After a season as dramatic as the last one — but also fantastic for the birth of his son — Felipe can show what type of driver he is,” Domenicali said. “He can restart from that straightaway in Hungary, where destiny stopped him.”
The season begins with the Bahrain GP on March 14.