Ferrari has announced that its new 2009 season Formula 1 car will be launched in Maranello next Monday (January 12) and will turn a wheel for the first time when it takes to the team's private test track, Fiorano, later that same day in the hands of championship runner-up Felipe Massa. Expected to be called the F2009, the new car will aim to recapture the drivers' title that the Scuderia surrendered to Lewis Hamilton last year as well as defend constructors' honours.

The F2009 will be the first of the new breed of F1 cars to be launched that will have to comply the revised regulations for the new F1 season, changes that include the use of slick tyres, revised aerodynamics, and a new kinetic energy recovery system. The new Ferrari will however be presented in Maranello in interim format, with the definitive 2009 version to be finalised closer to the start of the new season. The next new launch will be from Toyota (Jan 15), followed a day later by McLaren, and then on Jan 19 by Williams. BMW will present its new challenger a day after while Red Bull have pencilled in Feb 9 to show its 2009 challenger.

Meanwhile Honda Racing's Ross Brawn has told Autosport that the up-for-sale team has made tentative enquiries with Ferrari over a possible engine supply for this year. "Honda has already said it will not supply us with engines, so that's why I contacted Ferrari," he told the magazine. "We haven't signed anything yet but I really appreciated the support from president Luca di Montezemolo and Stefano Domenicali. It's like being among former schoolmates, they still see me as one of their own."