New Ferrari to Make Race Debut in Spain

Ferrari's 2005 Formula One car will make its race debut at the Spanish Grand Prix in May, team boss Jean Todt said on Friday.

"We are going to present the new Formula One car at the end of February," he told a news conference in the Italian Dolomites.

"We are going to start the Championship with the F2004B to a specification which takes into account the new regulations and today our programme expects to do the first four Grands Prix with the 2004 car.

"Why four? Well, simply considering the new rules, one power unit for two Grands Prix, we want to do two sequences of two Grands Prix and then we are going to start from Spain with the new car," said the Frenchman.

The Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona is on May 8.

Ferrari won 15 of last year's 18 races and are chasing a seventh successive constructors' title, while Michael Schumacher aims for an eighth drivers' crown alongside teammate Rubens Barrichello.

The new regulations have doubled the life span of a Formula One engine, forcing teams to use the same ones for two successive races in a bid to cut costs and reduce speeds.

Todt said he expected an "extremely difficult" Championship ahead, given the rule changes on engines, tyres and aerodynamics. There are also an unprecedented 19 races this year, with several back-to-back.

"Clearly, this will require continuous and intense effort on our part but this is true for everyone," said Todt.

"It's going to be important to have an extremely competitive and reliable car because should one have problems the possibility of managing these problems in such short intervals is going to make our lives difficult."