The car which Scuderia Ferrari will use to contest the 2006 Formula 1 World Championship, currently codenamed 'Project 657', made its much anticipated public debut yesterday at the Fiorano track. Powered by an all-new 4.2-litre V8 engine and driven on its debut by Michael Schumacher, the plain red machine turned in 51 laps during the day, with the seven times F1 World Champion eventually posting a best lap around the team's private test track in 59.569 seconds.

Michael Schumacher is this season driving forward development of the new car, anxious not to be left out of the F1 title hunt for a second year running. In fact, he cancelled his traditional long winter holiday to test the brand-new V8 engine in a heavily adapted F2004 'mule' just prior to Christmas, posting highly competitive times. Word emanating from the Ferrari team implies that they are happy with progress thus far.

With a host of new aerodynamic regulations coming into force this year, the new car, Project 657, features in particular heavily revised rear upper bodywork,  significant changes to the rear splitter and suspension, and an unusual-looking rear wing arrangement. Schumacher will be joined at the Scuderia this year by Brazilian Felipe Massa as Rubens Barrichello has switched to drive for the Honda team. Development testing of the new 2006 F1 car will resume on Friday 20th January, again at the Fiorano circuit, with an official media presentation scheduled for early next week at Mugello, prior to a full test session taking place at that circuit.
 

Meanwhile, the case of stolen Ferrari secrets that has embroiled the Toyota F1 team, has moved up a gear with German investigators announcing yesterday that they have now filed charges against three former high profile Toyota staff members. Toyota Motorsports, who run the F1 operation, is based in Cologne, and the prosecutor's office there has accused the three men of breaking competition laws by utilising a data analysis programme which was brought to the team by a former Ferrari staff member who joined Toyota back in 2002. The prosecutor's statement further added that the Toyota officials' used the programme in full knowledge that their actions were illegal.

The prosecutor's statement points straight to the top of the team, with it saying that "the three people in question, as verbally divulged by the Cologne authorities today, are Ove Andersson (former Team Principal), Gustav Brunner (former Chief Designer) and Rene Hilhorst (former Head of Aerodynamics)." It went on to add that a "separate investigation into the Ferrari staff member is being conducted in Italy and by Cologne prosecutors." With all three having since left the employ of the Japanese carmaker, Toyota Motorsports was keen to stress that the action being taken by the German prosecutor was against the three individuals in question and not itself.

Test Details: Date: 16.01.2006; Circuit: Fiorano track, 2.976 km - short course 1.413 km; Driver: Michael Schumacher; Car: project code number 657; Weather: air temperature 0°C, track temperature 0/1 °C. Overcast.