Costa: 2008 car will be 'completely new'

The Maranello-based team are due to unveil their new car in January, and have set their sights on making as strong a start to 2008 as they did last year - when Kimi Raikkonen dominated the Australian Grand Prix.

Speaking about the new car, Costa told Gazzetta dello Sport: "It will be completely new, even though you can't make radical changes because of the regulations.

"The front of the car will be different, as far as the monocoque is concerned, with differently shaped sidepods, and the wing will be new too.

"Electronics change completely, with the single ECU that forced us to work on engine and gearbox. This will have to be used for four races in 2008.

"The first tests at Barcelona and Jerez were positive, we simulated four races with no problems. There will be new components in the suspensions and the gearbox, with even quicker shifts."

Costa admitted that McLaren gained the upper hand in the middle of the 2007 campaign because their development rate was better, but thinks that reliability will be key to next year.

"Our intention is to start 2008 strongly," he said. "We will push to the maximum during the winter break in order to show up at the start of the season in good conditions.

"What happened in 2007 has to be judged based on what our rivals were doing: if they improved mid season it means they worked better. But we carried on with development by making a lot less errors.

"However, besides being more consistent, we will need a more reliable car."