Ferrari technical director Aldo Costa has revealed that the team's F2008 will be completely new.
World champions hoping for improved reliability from all-new car
Ferrari technical director Aldo Costa has revealed that the team's F2008 challenger will not be an evolution of this year's car.
Costa said that the Scuderia will be looking to start next season with a bang as they looked to defend both the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships.
He told
Gazzetta dello Sport: "It will be completely new, even though you can't make radical changes because of the regulations."
The new car will be launched in January and Costa explained that it will feature a number of new components in line with new rules governing both standard Electronic Control Units (ECU) and gearboxes - which must now last four races.
"The front of the car will be different, as far as the monocoque is concerned, with differently shaped sidepods, and the wing will be new too," he continued.
"Electronics change completely, with the single ECU that forced us to work on engine and gearbox. This will have to be used for four races in 2008."
Winter period crucial
The 46-year-old added that testing - which has featured input from the now retired Michael Schumacher - has progressed well so far and he is adamant that the winter period will be crucial to the Italian team's fortunes.
And, despite Ferrari's successes last season, Costa also stressed the need for more reliability, an attribute which became - relatively speaking - a bugbear for the team in 2007.
"The first tests at Barcelona and Jerez were positive," he said. "We simulated four races with no problems. There will be new components in the suspensions and the gearbox, with even quicker shifts."
"Our intention is to start 2008 strongly. We will push to the maximum during the winter break in order to show up at the start of the season in good conditions.
"What happened in 2007 has to be judged based on what our rivals were doing: if they improved mid season it means they worked better. But we carried on with development by making a lot less errors.
"However, besides being more consistent, we will need a more reliable car."
