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Fernando Alonso has described Ferrari's as a comfortable environment after his first day of testing with the Scuderia on Wednesday. The Spaniard easily topped the timesheets to ensure the Italian team remained quickest in Valencia, six tenths of a second faster than compatriot Pedro de la Rosa's Sauber.
With the field's three Spaniards in the top four positions in Valencia on Wednesday, the huge turnout of 36,400 was delighted with the final classification. "It was an important day for me, being in a Ferrari for the first time," Alonso explained to a large crowd of reporters.
"I think I maximised the use of the day, in terms of laps and time on the track, and I feel good. In the car I have many things to adjust to - the seat, the pedals, the steering wheel and even the helmet, which is a new brand for me. I've also never run with Brembo brakes, so that was a first for me as well.
"I had a good base in the car thanks to Felipe (Massa)'s job over the first two days; I think it was a really, really big help for me because I didn't lose time having to set up the car - I just concentrated on being comfortable because Felipe's setup was good enough to keep running with in the morning."
Fernando was also delighted with the massive amount of supporters at the Ricardo Tormo circuit, so much so that traffic jams trailed for over five and a half miles on nearby roads. "It's great," Alonso recognised. "It's not a holiday today, it's not a weekend, it's just a normal day of the week and so many people came here to support the team, to support me and to enjoy Formula 1.
"As I have repeated many times, it's unbelievable, the feeling here - the atmosphere, the passion from everybody. It's very nice to be in the garage and speak Italian with all of the mechanics. There's a sense of humour which is very similar to Spain's so I feel very, very good so far - I keep enjoying life!"
Ferrari and Felipe Massa remained on the top of the timesheets as testing recommenced in Valencia on Tuesday. The Brazilian set the pace with a best effort of 1:11.722 as Kamui Kobayashi finished second on his first outing for Sauber. Lewis Hamilton was driving the McLaren for the first time this year on his way to third place.
The weather remained dry at the Ricardo Tormo circuit on Tuesday as the second day of the 3-day test continued. With temperatures fluctuating in the early teens for the majority of the afternoon, Nico Rosberg climbed back into the Mercedes for a full day of running as Hamilton and Kobayashi were welcomed to the track.
Having set the best time on Monday, Massa remained quickest in Valencia as Kobayashi took his turn to drive the Sauber to second overall, as team-mate Pedro de la Rosa - who returns on Wednesday - had done on Monday.
Ferrari will show a hybrid concept at the Geneva Auto Show, based on the Italian automaker's 599 flagship. Ferrari CEO Luca di Montezemolo made the announcement while unveiling the company's latest Formula One race car. Di Montezemolo also stated that this prototype is slated for production but did not give any timeline.
Ferrari has been known to be working on hybrid technology, a fact the automaker couldn't deny when patents for a hybrid drivetrain surfaced last year, however, company representatives have said hybrid F-Cars are not in the automaker's immediate plans.
The 599 Hybrid concept is expected to use a kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) setup similar to the ones designed for Formula One, including a lithium-ion battery pack with electric motors built into the rear transaxle. This setup would allow for regenerative braking, a start-stop function and an electric boost capability to add even more acceleration to the 599's already impressive 620-hp V12 engine. Under city driving it would also help improve mileage by 30 percent. That will be particularly noticeable on such a gas-hungry beast as the 599, which currently only gets 8.7 mpg, bringing it up to 13.8 mpg.
Di Montezemolo made it clear that that while in the past Ferrari lead the charge in getting race car technology to street cars, it now wants to be a pioneer in transferring the efficiencies found at the pinnacle of motorsport to the street.
Ferrari has announced that the unveiling of its 2010 car on Thursday will be broadcast live online. The contender, which is being launched at the team's Maranello base, will be the first for former double World Champion Fernando Alonso as he switches from Renault.
With the presentation set to be begin at 10:30am local time (9:30 GMT), Ferrari will also be revealing the name of its latest car as drivers Alonso, Felipe Massa, Luca Badoer and Giancarlo Fisichella are joined by other key personnel.
Should the weather hold up at Ferrari's Fiorano test track, the team also hopes to see its latest model take to the circuit for a promotional video. This year is not the first in which Ferrari will launch its car online, however, as the Italian squad has done so every year since 1996.
Ferrari's Thursday launch can be followed via the team's website.
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