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Ferrari CEO Jean
Todt concluded the press conference of the preview of the
new Ferrari F2007, which was held with journalists in
Fiorano in the buildings at the private race track of the
Prancing Horse in Maranello. With him there was Antonio
Ghini, Director of Communication at Ferrari, and Luca
Colajanni, Head of Motor Sport Press Office.
Jean Todt: "The year 2007 is different to the last
years for many reasons. Usually this first greeting of the
year it is held at Campiglio, but last week I remained here
to work on other things within the company. This fact is a
symbol of the new cycle at Ferrari. Yesterday we did some
shopping in Milan with Michael and we talked about many
things. Right now he is in the garage to have a look at the
car, but he is not the driver. I had a strange feeling
seeing Kimi dressed in red, because until now we had to hide
when we spoke to each other, while now we can do it in a
normal way. Ross Brawn is fishing; you met the new Technical
Director Mario Almondo in Campiglio and today you got to
know also Aldo Costa and Gilles Simon, as heads of their
respective departments.
"The upcoming championship will be a difficult battle,
because we have strong and ambitious competitors. We have
always been ambitious, we also try to be strong. Obviously
we have to reply with facts and right now we have the
elements. The car is ready and tomorrow Massa will drive it
if the weather allows it.
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The shape of the side-pods and their openings are
revised on the Ferrari F2007, based on modifications
to the cooling system, which also implies exits for
the radiators on the upper part of the bodywork,
while the engine air intake is also substantially
different. |
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The front and rear aerodynamic configuration of the
Ferrari F2007 is expected to change considerably
before the start of the World Championship. The
position of the rear view mirrors seen on the 2006
car remains unchanged and the same goes for the
exhaust system. |
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"It will be a working day also for our customers, as
the day will be concluded with the prize giving for the
Corse Clienti season 2006. As far as the new organization of the Scuderia is
concerned, I have to underline that Ross Brawn was the
Technical Director excluding the engine, while Almondo is
Technical Director of the chassis and the engine. This
organisation is interesting, because Almondo has ample
experience at Ferrari; he has different responsibilities and
a different role than Ross. At the race track Baldisserri
will be the boss; it is a different distribution of roles;
the responsibilities are divided differently.
"Kimi's team will be the one that was Michael's last year;
there will be no modifications. As far as the
competitiveness is concerned we can see an improvement at
all levels in the simulations. We have to confirm that on
the race track, because what counts in the end is the stop
watch. There is the big difference concerning the tyres,
which will be new and different for everyone. We do not
expect an advantage. We've already seen that there are
around two to three seconds difference, as compared to 2006.
Last year we were competitive but not reliable enough. So we
absolutely have to get back to the levels of the years 2000
to 2004 when we were victorious."
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