Scuderia Ferrari Malboro - Ferrari F10

The Ferrari F10 was launched at Maranello by Ferrari president Luca di Montezemelo and the team's new driver line-up of Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso. With an 056 engine in the back and design cues from two of last year's dominant teams, Ferrari is scheming to return to winning ways this year.

On the driver front the team has not changed the line-up that much. Giancarlo Fisichella joins as 'lead' test driver - the team is still retaining Marc Gene and Luca Badoer although neither of these two are likely to sit in a car during a Grand Prix weekend. The biggest change has been to negotiate an early and financially attractive end to Kimi Raikkonen's contract, the team having signed Fernando Alonso.

Alonso has a history for expecting number one billing in a team. At Renault it went unchallenged, while we all know what happened at McLaren in 2007. Ferrari have been keen to state publicly that the team comes first. Alonso for now appears to be playing ball while Felipe I'm sure will be consolidating his already solid base within the team.

In the past Massa had a reputation for being a bit wild but his time with Ferrari has mellowed his driving style somewhat. Despite having a car that was not at the front on race day he put in some stellar performances before his season was cut short by his life-threatening accident at the Hungaroring. That he is back in the cockpit and as fast as ever bodes well for this year.

The F10 - where do Ferrari get their chassis numbers from - has inspiration from the two fastest cars on the grid last year. The front looks distinctly Red Bull while the back looks distinctly Brawn. In the middle is the Ferrari 056 engine and of course that large fuel tank. Ferrari may be at a slight disadvantage here, their engine is said to be less fuel efficient than, for example, the Mercedes.

The team has all the ingredients it needs for a successful 2010, and if they have produced a front-running car then either Alonso or Massa could take the championship for the team. On balance I'd favour Felipe to come out on top in the battle between the team mates, provided it stays clean. Fernando needs to be mindful of the need to play fair, and be seen to play fair - Luca id Montezemelo will not countenance the kind of blatant gamesmanship that went on at McLaren.

author: Phil Haigh