Ferrari's Pre-Season Plans

While I rarely post individual articles when team's announce their pre-season schedules, I have made a special exception in this case, as Ferrari's plans are uniquely intriguing. Today, they announced that their new car will be unveiled on Saturday 25th January, at 1:30pm (GMT) and the name of the latest product of Maranello will be decided by the fans. Ferrari are setting a precedent ahead of 2014...

You Decide The Name...

Its always refreshing when a team show their connection with the F1 community, who make the sport the success that it is. Lotus have been magnificent in engaging with the fans in recent years, as their highly active Twitter account is a prime example of the powers of social media. They have received widespread acclaim for the account, which regularly speaks to individual fans directly.

However, Ferrari's latest pioneering venture is a radical move, yet the nature of the team's naming process opens up this opportunity. They do not follow a linear approach to their car names like the majority of their rivals, with the F2012, preceding the F138 - Stark contrast to Red Bull's numerically ordered machines. 

This season, the decision has been largely left to the fans. We are able to vote for one of five options;

• F14 T
• F14 Maranello
• F14 Scuderia
• F166 Turbo
• F616 

Votes can be cast on Ferrari's dedicated 2014 reveal website. The name of the 2014 challenger will be announced at 3:30pm on Friday 24th January. In addition to the voting, fans can also submit questions to Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen and Stefano Domenicalli, which will be answered following the unveiling. With Ferrari also being the first team to release their 2014 replica apparel, they are certainly appeasing the Tifosi this winter. Long may it continue.

And Ferrari Make Four

Ferrari become only the fourth team to announce a date for their car launch as the first pre-season test in Jerez is just around the corner. The pressures which come as a result of the radical regulation overhaul is shown as teams are struggling to prepare their package in line with the ever approaching deadlines. Remarkably, even before a team had declared an unveiling date, Lotus stated that they would not be attending the first test, opting for additional development time at Enstone. 

With only McLaren, Caterham, Mercedes and now Ferrari having announced a launch date, it appears that attendance in Jerez may be scarce - Hopefully the teams who are yet to declare their status, will do in the coming days, or else the first test may become somewhat of a non-starter.