The Ferrari F1 team have become the first team to unveil their 2010 challenger in a predictably boring media event at their headquarters in Maranello, with the F10 taking design cues from Red Bull, and livery cues from a blind person.
The car, which will be driven by Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa in the new season, essentially carries the same livery as was leaked last week when photographs were unearthed showing Fernando Alonso driving a 2009 car with Santander sponsorship for a media campaign.
Hence, despite white wings almost always looking dreadful on Ferraris, the huge front and rear wings have been painted white to hold the Santander logos, while the Marlboro barcode remains on the airbox.
The car's official name was revealed, the F10, which possibly stands for the number of seconds the design team spent on the livery.
Design-wise, the most noticeable feature on the F10 is it's Red Bull-esque nose, with a thin tapered end and a slightly ugly 'dimple' in the middle of it. As well as that, the car features an obviously longer wheelbase, something all the cars will have this season to incorporate the larger fuel tanks required in a post-refuelling ban world.
Ferrari kept the diffuser setup at the rear of their car covered up, in a spectacularly pointless move that will hide the design from rival teams for all of around three hours. But it probably looks exactly like last year's Red Bull one.
Speaking at the launch, Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali said that the coming season was hugely important for Ferrari after their depressignly average 2009, and suggested that having Felipe massa back following his injury was almost like the team had signed a "new version" of the Brazilain driver.
"This championship will be very important for us," Domenicali frowned, "The last championship, for different reasons, was not very positive, that is why we are dealing with this one looking to be competitive - and this is what Ferrari deserves to have."
"We have two new drivers, why two new drivers? Fernando Alonso, is a twice world champion and we will say after the second one he will have a third one. He already appears among the big champions in F1, it is the right moment for him, for us, he wants to be successful and we want to repeat what the team concept is in our group.
"Felipe, we are talking of a new version of Felipe, but after such a dramatic championship like last year with the accident in Hungary and such a fantastic season, Felipe has all the assets to prove that he is a very successful one, he can prove that he wants to restart his pathway that destiny interrupted it in Hungary. Good luck to both of them."
Both Alonso and Massa were quietly confident about the new car and the season ahead in their own soundbite-throwing at the launch. Two-time F1 champion Alonso, who replaces Kimi Raikkonen in the Italian team this year, talked about his emotions following his first ever Ferrari car launch.
"This is the first time for me, the first presentation for Ferrari, and it is a big emotion for me," Alonso blubbed, "I want to thank the whole team because they have worked really hard in the last few months to create this dream, this new car, and I want to thank sponsors and partners as they have worked hard and there is a lot of passion.
"We are ready to take this challenge and the responsibility to bring it to 100 per cent of its potential. Felipe and I will be a very strong team and we hope we will make all the Ferrari supporters around the world very proud to see this car winning the championship."
Meanwhile, Massa was even more generic in his comments following the unveiling, saying: "It is undoubtedly a great pleasure to be here at another presentation of Ferrari, it is a special moment because last year was very difficult.
"I had the accident and everything else that happened. I am proud and very happy and feel that I want to work more than ever, so I would really hope that this will be a very competitive car and we will be fighting for the championship and our Ferrari, the red car, will be in pole position.
"We are really willing to do this and I am happy to be here."
The team also took time at the launch to announce the creation of a new Ferrari Twitter page, which attracted opver 1,000 followers in no time at all. The team is expected to announce plans for Stefano Domenicali's Facebook page and Felipe Massa's Bebo profile at a later date.
Massa was set to give the car a track debut later on on Thursday with a "short run" at the Fiorano test track for a promotional video. Possibly a Santander promotional video entitled: "How to screw up evocative F1 liveries with massive garish sponsor logos".
However this was called off due to icy track conditions at the track.
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