Ferrari's New Chief Looks for a Fresh Start

Stefano Domenicali, the new formula one team principal at Ferrari, has said he hopes the political rows and disputes that bedevilled the 2007 world championship can now be consigned to the history books and that the new season can start on a clean sheet in Melbourne in March.

Domenicali, who succeeds Jean Todt as head of the Maranello-based team now that the Frenchman has moved into overall charge, said that how the season ahead developed would depend to a large extent on the approach of their key rivals, McLaren.

Last year McLaren lost all their constructors' championship points and were fined £50m for illegally using confidential Ferrari design data. Only a public and wide-ranging apology prevented the British team from possibly being suspended from this year's championship, a move that would have threatened their commercial survival.

"The wounds are difficult to heal because of the context in which they came out," said Domenicali. "However, it is my responsibility from an operational point of view to look into the future. When you burn your fingers, you do not get close to the fire again until you learn how to manage the wind and other variables. So we will see what their [McLaren's] approach is going to be." He made it clear that civil and criminal actions against McLaren personnel were continuing.

Giancarlo Fisichella will be confirmed this morning in Mumbai as the No1 driver for the Silverstone-based Force India formula one team for the coming season. The veteran of 194 grands prix will partner Germany's Adrian Sutil in the team which was originally founded by Eddie Jordan in 1991.