The Ferrari F60,
the new single-seater that the Scuderia hopes will carry it
to more title glory this year, is back on the track: the
appointment is set for tomorrow, Tuesday, 10th February, at
the Sakhir circuit in Bahrain. It will be the first of eight
days of testing for the Scuderia from Maranello, until 19th
February. Felipe Massa will be behind the wheel until
Wednesday, followed by Kimi Raikkonen on Thursday and
Friday, while in the next week Kimi will be on the track
Monday, 16th and Tuesday 17th, with Felipe behind the wheel
the two final days. BMW and Toyota will join the Scuderia
Ferrari on the track.
The F60 will be fitted with some minor updates in Bahrain, especially
on its two wings, while, all things considered, it will be
configured as it was presented during the test sessions at
Mugello. Over the last weeks the Team has been working a lot
with the simulator at the FIAT research centre with Marc
Gené, Andrea Bertolini and Gimmi Bruni: the main goal was to
further deepen the knowledge of the new car and the
behaviour of the 2009 tyres.
Meanwhile at Maranello the
team
has been analysing the first data collected of the F60's functioning,
worked on the test bank, and has developed new aerodynamic
solutions, which will be used at the first Grand Prix of the
new season, on 29th March in Melbourne, Australia.
The test sessions at Sakhir will be intense: with this
year's tests limited there are just 16 days left until the
Championship starts. Therefore it will be fundamental to
make the best use out of the remaining time. Under this
aspect Ferrari decided, like over the last years, to test on
the Bahrain circuit, considering the better weather
conditions compared to Europe. Furthermore the temperatures
there will be above 20°C, which will enable the Team to examine
the car's reliability and verify the tyres behaviour under
conditions similar to the ones during the season.