With a special free practice session which allowed the participants to gain confidence on the track, the Ferrari Finali Mondiali, the Prancing Horse’s traditional event which takes place at the end of the annual motorsport season, got underway at Valencia’s Ricardo Tormo circuit yesterday. Since 1994, the first year the Ferrari Finali Mondiali were held, this event has left Italy and this weekend it is being held in Spain which greeted fans under a sunny sky with temperatures of almost 30°C.

The Ferrari Finali Mondiali actually got underway with a parade of select Ferrari road and race cars the day before, Wednesday, as Valencia's Paseo de la Alameda was turned into a catwalk for Ferrari for a few hours. This was a quick preview of what will happen during the next three days during the Ferrari Finali Mondiali.‬‪ The main road into the city centre was shut down to traffic to host the parade which was led by the F2008, the Formula 1 Constructors' Championship title winning car from the 2008 season, which was driven through the streets by Spanish pilot Marc Gené, who is one of two official test drivers for the team from Maranello.

The intense programme over few days foresees the a series of races that will decide the world titles in the three Ferrari-organised series' – Italia, Europe and North America - of the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli, the finals of the Shell Historic Challenge, the fascinating championship dedicated to the historical cars, as well as shows focused on the participants in the international GT racing competitions, celebrating many important results gained in this year, including Houston-based Risi Competizione's second successive win in the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hours with the Ferrari F430 GT.

The non-competitive appearance of the Formula 1 single-seaters used in past seasons by the Scuderia, and the laboratory cars from the exclusive FXX Programme – involving client-test drivers in the ambitious development of future road-going Ferraris - will add further diversity to the event. The greetings from the Scuderia with the traditional event-closing demonstration of the current F1 cars on track will conclude the Ferrari Finali Mondiali on Sunday.