MICHAEL SCHUMACHER has made it clear that he is hoping for a dramatically improved performance from the new 1997 Ferrari, possibly the last such car to be designed by the British engineer John Barnard, which will be unveiled today at the team's Maranello base.
"I expected some problems in the first year, but I will not be happy if they are repeated in the second season," said Schumacher. "This time we need to have reliability and performance so that we can win more races and mount a serious world championship challenge."
Barnard has been responsible for designing Ferran's grand Wixcars from a design base in Surrey S 1993, having previously been with the team from 1986 to 1989.
However, his present contract expires next July and strong speculation suggests that he will switch to Alain Prost's planned new Formula One team if the former world champion driver is successful in his bid to purchase the rival Ligier outfit as a basis for his own operation.
However, British design influence at Ferrari is set to continue with former Benetton engineer Ross Brawn taking over this month as technical director of the team's racing department in Maranello.
Brawn previously worked with Schumacher when he won the 1994 and 1995 titles for Benetton and the German driver is known to hold him in high regard.
Whereas Barnard designs the cars and works on future development projects, once the cars are completed and delivered to the race team Brawn will now oversee their operation at the races.
The new Ferrari is a more conventional design that last year's type F310 with which Schumacher won three races, but Barnard describes as "total fiction" rumours that the car will be fitted with a radical full width central wing in an attempt to find a loophole in the technical regulations.
"No such loophole exists to my knowledge," he said. "In fact, the intention of the rules is specifically to prevent this sort of development."
The new Ferrari has a high nose section and the driver sits in a more reclined position within the cockpit - a change intended to benefit airflow into the engine airbox which was always something of a problem with last year's car.
"I think that Williams will still be the team to beat," said Schumacher, "but I think we will be able to challenge them more closely this time."
Schumacher is expected to give the new Ferrari its preliminary shakedown trials at the team's own Fiorano test track this week, before undertaking an intensive development programme at the Jerez circuit in Spain later this month in preparation for the first race of the season in Melbourne on March 9th.
