Autoblog

Although we're still a little while from seeing the single-seater unveiled, sources indicate that the open-wheel racer Ferrari will design under its new partnership with the A1GP racing series will be based heavily on this year's F2007, the F1 car Raikkonen and Massa have piloted this season in pursuit of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship.

From that starting point, we can expect the body to be widened some to accomodate an engine larger in displacement but somewhat lower-revving than the current F1-spec V8s. The smart money would be on a less extreme and less fragile aerodynamic package than used in F1.

[Source: A1GP]

When Ferrari unveils a new road car, it's big news. Slightly less so when the Prancing Horse takes the wraps off the next season's F1 race car; the strict FIA regulations pretty much have Formula One designers' and engineers' jewels in a vice, so each new car is by and large the same as the old one, with slight modifications. The devil is in the details on this red screamer – don't expect some groundbreaking innovation like a third set of wheels or a vacuum-powered ground-effects system.

Ferrari took the wraps off the F2007, its fifty-third F1 car, at a press conference Sunday in Maranello. Although some details will be tweaked before and throughout the season, this is fundamentally the car which Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa will be driving in pursuit of the 2007 driver's and constructor's championship. Visibly the car looks mostly the same as the 2006-spec 248 it replaces. The suspension was redone primarily for aerodynamic efficiency; the side-pods were reshaped to accommodate the new cooling system; the air intake atop the car was changed; the rear end of the car is narrower thanks to the revised carbon fiber gearbox housing; and the entire car rides on a longer wheelbase. In meeting 2007 safety requirements, the weight of the car is up nearly ten kilograms over the 248.

More after the jump.