Winter weather delays Ferrari launch

Feb 2, 2012, 8:57 GMT

Berlin - Winter weather has forced Ferrari to scrap the official launch of their 2012 Formula One car on Friday, the Italian team said.

Ferrari said in a statement on Thursday that the car will now be shown off on their website only, along with interviews with drivers and officials.

Ferrayri said they had no choice but to cancel the presentation at their Maranello headquarters because heavy snowfall was forecast to continue and temperatures to drop further.

'The decision has been taken to cancel the presentation ceremony for the new car,' Ferrari said.

'The decision was taken because of the weather conditions and because of the difficulties that would have faced the 300 or so people due to attend from the team partners, the authorities and representatives of the media in their attempts to get to Maranello.

'Photographs and all technical information relating to the car, along with exclusive interviews, will be available to all on www.ferrarif1.com.'

Like other European countries, Italy has been affected by chilly temperatures and heavy snowfall. Several top flight football games were postponed in midweek.

Ferrari were due to be the second big F1 team to unveil the new car for Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa, following McLaren, who presented their latest model on Wednesday in England. World champions Red Bull are set to launch their 2012 car on Monday.

Pre-season testing starts next week in Jerez, Spain, and the first season race is on March 18 in Australia.

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