A1GP boss eager to please Ferrari

The 2008/09 season was officially launched at Mugello this week, with the definitive aero package on the Ferrari-designed and powered car seen for the first time publicly.

Teixeira, who has overseen the switch from the Lola-Zytek package, believes the partnership with the iconic Italian manufacturer will be a fruitful one.

"We always said we needed a recognised manufacturer partner and it could have been Mercedes, BMW or anybody, but we aimed for Ferrari because they're the biggest name in motor racing," he told .

"This is the first time they've put their name to anything outside F1 that they don't directly control, so it's a huge responsibility for us and they are still nervous too. We just have to protect their name in the same way they have done themselves for the last 60 years."

Teixeira also confirmed that Michelin had beaten three other tyre manufacturers to replace Cooper-Avon as the control supplier.

"We're very happy with that deal too, in over 4300km of testing we've been very impressed. The reliability of the whole package looks good and that's exactly what we're looking for at this stage of the car's development."

The car ran at Paul Ricard in France this week and will complete two more days of testing at Magny-Cours within the next seven days, before the competing nations get their hands on the new kit for the first time for two days at Silverstone in August.

The season will start at Mugello on September 21.