Analysis: Ferrari look to fight back

"We will go into this season with a great motivation, great humility and also a great determination to get back to the top," team boss Jean Todt told a news conference at the Mugello circuit.

"We have the team, we have the means and we have the drivers, so there is no excuse not to return to where we were, and this will be our aim."

Ferrari finished last season a distant third overall, behind champions Renault and runner-ups McLaren, ending their run of six successive constructors' titles and Schumacher's five drivers crowns in a row.

The arrival of a new Ferrari is usually as much a highlight of the Italian social calendar as sporting, but there was little glamour on Tuesday as the team left their Maranello factory for the wintery test track.

After ending 2005 with just one hollow win, at the six-car US Grand Prix, Ferrari got straight down to business by unveiling the new 248 as part of a regular working day at the Mugello circuit.

Seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher, who has yet to decide whether to make this his final season at the age of 37, did the opening stint, with new Brazilian teammate Felipe Massa also present on a bitterly cold morning.

The car was then parked on the start line for a team photograph during the lunch break, with fans watching behind a wire fence.

"How nice it is to do a launch with the new car running outside, a very pleasant background," technical director Ross Brawn told a news conference punctuated by the occasional wails of a V8 engine.

Looking Good

Ferrari and FIAT president Luca di Montezemolo said Schumacher had already indicated things were looking good.

"He took me on one side and said 'the first feeling is promising'," he said.

Massa, the 24-year-old who has yet to stand on the Formula One podium after three seasons with Sauber, also sounded positive after trying out the car earlier at Fiorano.

"The car was quick straight away and reliable," he told reporters. "We have, for sure, good expectations for this year but we will see when all the cars are together and we can compare properly."

The new rules, with V8s replacing V10s, have forced Ferrari to introduce their new car earlier than in recent seasons.

"We are running the car earlier than we have before. The V8 presents quite a lot of new problems, vibration in particular, and we were keen to get a car out early," added Brawn.

"We will have an update on the aerodynamic package before the first race.

"Last year wasn't successful and we hope to have identified the reasons why ... probably overall we were reasonably happy with the (2005) car but we didn't make as much progress as other teams did on the tyres, the car, the engine.

"We will try to make more progress this year."