Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, Ferrari

The Nuclear Test Ban Treaty may have made the world a better place, but the test ban in place in Formula One has had some other rather interesting effects. Take Jaime Alguersuari, for example, who was racing in actual grands prix before getting a chance to actually test out the machinery. Or Michael Schumacher, who had to sharpen his skills in a GP2 car before coming out of retirement. Or in this case, Fernando Alonso, who had never even lapped Ferrari’s iconic private Fiorano test track… until now.

Ferrari took advantage of a loophole in the regulations that allows teams to run their cars during the season for “promotional purposes.” So in order to test the revisions that the Scuderia made to its F10 racer in advance of this past weekend’s European Grand Prix, and allow their two-time world champion to get some track time at Fiorano, Ferrari had to release this clip. Follow the jump to watch the video from inside the cockpit, and consider the team suitably promoted.

[Source: Ferrari via Axis of Oversteer]

Continue reading Video: Fernando Alonso shows us how to get around Fiorano… and the test ban

Video: Fernando Alonso shows us how to get around Fiorano… and the test ban originally appeared on Ferrari News on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 14:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Motorsports, Ferrari, Racing

We know, we know. The pace set on track tests doesn’t necessarily indicate how a given team, car or driver will perform in an actual race, let alone across a whole season. But it’s hard not to read too much into it when we’ve been waiting for a sign since the end of last season, when the winningest team in all of motorsports - which has been working on this car since the middle of a dismal last season - with its veteran driver recovered from injury, and with a two-time World Champion taking the helm for the first time, when all these elements come together and the team absolutely dominates.

Half of the F1 teams that’ll be competing for honors this season descended on Valencia for three days of official testing. And when all was said and done, Ferrari had dominated the time sheets on each of the three days. The first two days saw Felipe Massa run the new car, setting the fastest times on both days. Then Alonso took his turn on Day 3, beating Massa’s time and everyone else’s in the process - including returning seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher in the new Mercedes and reigning champion Jenson Button in the new McLaren.

For his part, Alonso was quick to quell speculation. Reliability, fuel loads, yadda yadda yadda. But when this is the first and only indication we have of how the season is shaping up, we can’t help but sit back and stroke our five o’clock shadows in contemplation. We invite you to do the same while viewing the mega gallery of on-track images below.

[Source: Ferrari]

Pics Aplenty: Alonso, Massa dominate Valencia testing in new Ferrari F10 originally appeared on Ferrari News on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With nearly all the seats accounted for and the first group test at Valencia (scheduled for February 1) fast approaching, the time has come once again, boys and girls, for the unveiling of the 2010 F1 cars.

A couple of months ago, it looked like all the teams would get together under the auspices of the Formula One Teams Association to unveil their cars in one massive exposition concurrent with the Valencia test session, but that won’t come to fruition. Several teams are expected to debut there still, while others are doing their own thing once again. And Ferrari is first among them.

Unveiled at the team’s headquarters in Maranello, the new F10 is the chariot with which Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa will be contending for the championship against other top-rated challengers from Mercedes GP, McLaren and Red Bull, to say nothing of the other ten teams on the grid. The latest Prancing Horse - whose Santander-dominated red and white livery we saw a few days ago - is the product of several months of development, as the Scuderia stopped development of last year’s car half-way through the season after realizing it was way off pace and concentrated on this year’s car instead.

You can have a look at the initial batch of photos in the gallery below, but don’t expect to see much of the rear end of the car. Ferrari kept its diffuser design - of the double design that caused controversy last year but won’t be banned until next - hidden from prying eyes for the time being. Stay tuned for the more as the teams roll out their latest.