Team boss Stefano Domenicali said they feel a "responsibility to win from the very beginning" of the season. The F2012 features an innovative step on the top of the chassis in response to regulations aimed at improving safety by lowering F1 cars' noses.
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Lead driver Fernando Alonso said: "We have to be optimistic. We have to fight for the title."Ferrari have made no secret of their desire to make amends for a poor 2011 in which they won only one race - the British Grand Prix with Alonso. It was an especially disappointing return as they had narrowly missed out on the title in Alonso's first year with the team in 2010, handing it to Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel with a strategy error in the final race of the season.
They have restructured the technical team, with Englishman Pat Fry replacing Italian Aldo Costa as technical director, and much is expected of the new car, dubbed the F2012. Domenicali paid tribute to Alonso for his "incredible extraordinary season" in 2011, and pointed to the fact that the double world champion had extended his contract with Ferrari until the end of 2016.
"That is a sign of the responsibility we feel," Domenicali said, addressing Alonso directly. "We have to offer you a competitive high-performing car. I'm sure it will be winning from the very beginning."The car has a number of significant features. The step on the top of the nose is there to enable it to meet regulations on the dimensions of the chassis while opening up the area under the nose to create as optimised airflow as possible.
Ferrari admitted in a statement that the nose design was "not aesthetically pleasing" but added: "This is a way of raising the lower part of the chassis as much as possible for aerodynamic reasons."Ferrari said the rear of the car was "much narrower and more tapered" than on last year's car, partly thanks to a new gearbox casing".
The car appears to have exhaust outlets aimed at the rear floor of the car in a bid to improve aerodynamics following the banning of last year's must-have technology, when gases were blown along the rear floor of the car, increasing downforce.
It also finally follows the trend established in 2009 by Red Bull in adopting pull-rod rear suspension, which has a benefit in terms of weight distribution and aerodynamics over the previous standard, known as push-rod. Interestingly, it also features an unusual pull-rod front suspension system - for the first time on an F1 car in 10 years.
Alonso added: "(The car) looks very different from what we have seen in the past two years. I am going to start with the same strength, determination. "I really want to see red cars always on the podium and always winning. We will keep working all together and I'm sure we will do great this year.
"I really believe in the skills we have here in Ferrari. We have to be optimistic. We have two months to get ready for the first race in Australia (on 18 March). We have to fight for this title, we have to get as many points as possible at every race.
"We want to win the drivers' and the constructors' championships. I'm sure we will be able to get great targets even if I feel great responsibility driving a Ferrari."Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo praised the team's "aggressive" design, adding: "We want to go back to the top level, we want to win. We don't want to lose the world championship at the very last race, we have all the ingredients for a perfect recipe."
Di Montezemolo repeated his demand to Alonso's team-mate Felipe Massa to up his game in 2012. The Brazilian's contract runs out at the end of the year and he is not expected to be retained. "As for Massa, he knows as much as we know that he has to do something great, something better after a not-so-positive season," di Montezemolo said. "We are offering him the best conditions to do a great job."Pre-season testing starts in Jerez, Spain, on 7 February.