Ferrari

Ferrari 248 F1: - The Ferrari 248 F1 is a Formula One car, designed by Aldo Costa and Rory Byrne for the 2006 season.

Name and livery: - The car is named after its V8 engine - 24 is the capacity in decilitres, and 8 the number of cylinders. The name breaks the F200x system used from 2001 to 2005, and returns to a system previously used in the 1950s and 1960s (cf. Ferrari 312). The 248 model was driven by race drivers Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa. The 248 F1 is the first Ferrari since the F1-2000 not to wear the number one, denoting that the driver is world champion. The car also featured new sponsor decals such as Martini.

Chassis: - The car was an update of the previous year's F2005. Although the V8 engine is shorter than the V10 used in the F2005, the wheelbase is actually the same, reported to be 3,050 mm. The wheelbase was retained via a new longer gearbox casing.

2006 season: -The 248 F1 was used by Ferrari in every race of the 2006 season, unlike in other recent seasons (2002, 2003 and 2005), in which the team had used the previous year's car at the start of the season, while developing a new car.

The car performed well in qualifying at the season opener, the Bahrain Grand Prix, with an all Ferrari front row. However the performance of the car was generally not as fast as the Renault R26 in the first half of the season. At the Malaysian Grand Prix, the car suffered significant technical problems - a piston problem meant that both drivers had to change their engines during the weekend, incurring qualifying penalties, and for the race the engine speed was limited to prevent a failure. This problem continued to affect the car for the Australian Grand Prix

An aerodynamic upgrade introduced for the San Marino Grand Prix brought the pace of the car to approximately level with the Renault. At the United States Grand Prix, in Indianapolis, Ferrari were dominant all weekend, resulting in the first Ferrari one-two finish since the same race 12 months beforehand. This seemed to represent a genuine turning point for the car's competitiveness. Modifications throughout the season continued to improved the car's performance, to the point where it was considered the fastest package of all for the remainder of the season - the car won 7 of the last 9 races of the season.

Overall, the car gave Ferrari 9 race wins and 4 pole positions, and second place finished in both the Drivers' and Constructors' World Championships. In addition, it was the last car that seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher raced in a Formula One season.

Ferrari F2007: - The Ferrari F2007 is a Formula One motor racing car, with which Ferrari competed during the 2007 Formula One season, it being the fifty-first single-seater car which the team have built to use in Formula One. The car is famous for providing Kimi Räikkönen with his first World Championship title, which he failed to get with McLaren, and also providing the team with the first Constructor's title since Michael Schumacher won the title in 2004.

The car was unveiled to the public on January 14, 2007 at Ferrari's Fiorano test track in Maranello, Italy.

Chassis: - The chassis was significantly altered from the 248 F1, the car Ferrari used during 2006 to finish as runners-up to Renault in the constructors' championship. The wheelbase is 85mm longer, from 3050mm to 3135mm, with the extra length added between the cockpit and front wheels, in order to maximize aerodynamic performance.

Mechanicals: - The gearbox itself, which is still mounted longitudinally, is fitted with an innovative quick-shift system (seven plus reverse). The suspension adopts a zero-keel configuration, a first for Ferrari. The dropping of the single-keel is most likely due to the departure of previous designer Rory Byrne, whose previous, ultra-successful designs (notably his championship-winning Ferrari and Benetton cars) all featured a single keel.