Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali has described Ferrari's approach to the 2012 season as being a "break from the past", as the team looks to bounce back from their disappointing 2011 championship campaign.
The Ferrari team have been bigging up their new aggressive approach to car design for their all-new 2012 machine, set to be unveiled on February 3rd.
And after winning just one race all season in 2011, with a design that was criticised for being too conventional, Domenicali says that the team is looking to improve in every area with their new machine.
"Let me say that especially from a mechanical point of view it is a break from the past," he told reporters at the Wroom media event on Wednesday when asked about their new car.
"It is going to be a different car - but the diversity becomes relevant if it becomes competitive. There are some new concepts in the car that have never been used in our previous cars."
As for the season as a whole, he added: "We know that there are expectations and it is part of our heritage and part of our presence.
"I see inside the team a lot of great effort to maximise the performance in a lot of areas – the performance for sure, I would say."
He said that the team would need to improve in every area for the season ahead, after their lacklustre performances last year.
"As you know we have to be on top of every detail to make sure we are a winning team," he rambled.
"We have to stay ahead of others at the starts, we have to improve the pit stop operation, we have to be on the spot with reliability, and we know on the mechanical side the car has to be perfect.
"In terms of strategy management in the race, all these areas have to be at the limit if you want to win, and this is the target we have within the team."
Meanwhile, Domenicali also suggested that 2012 would be a "crucial season" for Felipe Massa, after two underperforming years for the Brazilian driver.
Massa has come under pressure after trailing well behind Fernando Alonso in 2010 and 2011, and is out of contract with the team at the end of 2012.
"We are expecting a lot from him and he is expecting a lot from himself," he said regarding Massa, "We need to be realistic, this is a crucial season for him and his future.
"We will do everything to help him. I am confident that Felipe will take out from himself the maximum he can deliver because the potential he has is very, very strong."
Despite the pressure mounting on Massa though, Domenicali denied that the Ferrari squad had approached the still-recovering Robert Kubica over a drive for 2013.
"That was not on our plan. I can see there was speculation," he muttered.
"For sure Robert Kubica is a great driver who had very severe injuries and at the moment he is still working very hard to try to go back to his normal living.
"For sure that kind of injury is taking a long time to recover from so I can say we will wait and see if he is going to recover, but at the moment there is nothing in place."
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