Former driver Maurizio Flammini, who first had the idea in 1984, has now proposed the scheme again, city officials said.
"It's an idea Flammini has proposed and mayor Gianni Alemanno has said it is possible," a city council spokesman told Reuters.
Reuters said Flammini wanted to see a grand prix in Rome from 2011.
Formula One already has three street races in Valencia, Singapore and Monaco.
The Italian Grand Prix is currently hosted at the Monza circuit.
The introduction of KERS in Formula One this season has prompted widespread safety fears, especially after a BMW Sauber mechanic suffered an electric shock during testing at Jerez in Spain last year.
But FIA race director Charlie Whiting believes that work done by the governing body, as well as efforts by teams, should minimise the risk of dangers to drivers, team personnel and track safety workers.
"Through the Technical Working Group, we set up a KERS Safety Working Group chaired by BMW," said Whiting on Tuesday.
"They've met quite a few times and they've come up with a long list of suggestions, parts of which have already become regulations, and some of which will form the basis of a comprehensive document we'll circulate to all circuits and tracks hosting a Grand Prix.
"The teams are taking this very responsibly for their own safety, of course. They're also looking at how the marshals will respond to broken-down cars. There will be things like the KERS status warning light that will be on all cars. Marshals are going to be educated by the documentation we'll provide.
"Also, the systems themselves should be safe. If there's a risk, it should be clear to a marshal who walks up to the car. He should approach the vehicle, look at the KERS status light and, if it is in the wrong state, he shouldn't touch the car.
"Also, people working on the track are being briefed about how to pick up parts, which will be clearly identified by colour coding. If they potentially contain high voltage, they have to know how to move them. They will also wear gloves, which are good for a thousand volts."
Whiting said that teams were working together to help improve knowledge of the safety aspects of the new electronic systems.
As well as being safe, Whiting thinks that KERS will help improve the show and provide off-track benefits to the car manufacturers involved in the sport. However, he was not convinced yet about the positives of having such a variety of KERS technology being developed by the teams.
When asked if it was right for F1 to have so many dissimilar ideas for the new technology, Whiting said: "Difficult to say. Presumably the teams involved have done things for their own good reasons.
"Obviously, the best solution will emerge, eventually. This is what always happens when we have something new. All the teams have significant simulation tools at their disposal. They've used these the best way they can to find and arrive at the best technology. There's no clear leader as we speak but one will emerge, I'm sure.
"Also, I think KERS will add significant interest to Formula One. It's going to be very interesting to see how the drivers deploy it, because the rules state that the release of the power has to be under the complete control of the driver - that's the important part."
Q. What was the idea behind all the changes we'll see this year in this area?
The key element of this is, first of all, a neutral section of the front wing (the middle half metre of this device is a prescribed section). The incidence of that profile and its position relative to the reference plane are carefully prescribed. It's the most critical part. The front wing is wider and there are no turning vanes or bargeboards: the area where you can put them has been severely restricted, because there's only room for very small devices.
Also, the diffuser has been made smaller, and the rear wing is higher but narrower. I can't go into the specifics of why these things were done, but we arrived at this package by five sessions of wind tunnel work. It's been carefully thought through. Now, we'll have to wait and see how it works on the track.
Q. What has been the loss in terms of downforce of these measures?
CW: The target figure was 50% less. But, as ever with these things, one never knows how much the engineers have managed to claw back.
Q. Have some unexpected devices already appeared on the new cars?
CW: You know, we write the rules to enable the teams to design cars as close as possible to the technical spec. They've been working in areas they hadn't previously been trying to work in, so there's not much we can do about that. I'm confident we've achieved a fairly significant reduction in downforce, but that's not the critical thing: the critical thing is the effects. As long as we have the effects, we should be okay.
Q. Presumably, these effects have to be considered in conjunction with the slick tyres...
CW: Yes. An increase in mechanical grip and a decrease in aero grip were what we wanted. We' should achieve 6 to 8% more mechanical grip with slick tyres, but it'll clearly depend on the compound because Bridgestone will provide a range of tyres -4 different ones to be exact. They are still developing these, so we don't know exactly how it's going to work out.
Q. Is it true to say that Bridgestone is working on a bigger gap between the available compounds at each race?
CW: Yes. This year, once again, each driver will have to use two different types of slick tyres during the race. We wanted to have a bigger difference between them. Sometimes, in 2008, this gap was a matter of one or two tenths. We thought it would be better if it was bigger. The Bridgestone engineers are working on that.
Q. There seems to have been some talk during the winter tests about this difference being massive...
CW: What happens in winter testing is probably not indicative of what will happen in the warmer conditions of the first four races. It's something we'll have to look at, as we certainly don't want too big a difference between the two types of tyres available at each race. This said, I think it would be to everyone's benefit if there were a slightly bigger gap.
Q. What would be this ideal gap?
CW: My personal opinion is at least half-a-second. But it's only a personal opinion. Sometimes, in 2008, the difference between the two types of tyres was negligible wasn't it? One couldn't see the difference between the two, really.
Q. A lot of teams seem just about ready to use their KERS system now. Is it worrying?
CW: The reason for KERS is very clear. We want to showcase technology. I think F1 using this sort of system will help manufacturers. Obviously, Formula One is going to be doing something to speed up the development pace on road cars. The other thing, obviously, is overtaking. For a driver to be able to use the extra horsepower at his disposal for overtaking has, I think, the potential to improve racing and that's what we're hoping for.
Q. Team are using very different solutions in this area. Is it healthy for Formula One to have so many dissimilar ideas for a new technical challenge?
CW: Difficult to say. Presumably the teams involved have done things for their own good reasons. Obviously, the best solution will emerge, eventually. This is what always happens when we have something new. All the teams have significant simulation tools at their disposal. They've used these the best way they can to find and arrive at the best technology. There's no clear leader as we speak but one will emerge, I'm sure.
Also, I think KERS will add significant interest to Formula One. It's going to be very interesting to see how the drivers deploy it, because the rules state that the release of the power has to be under the complete control of the driver - that's the important part.
Q. Some people have raised some concerns about safety with KERS. What has been done, as far as the FIA is concerned, to make sure the system won't cause any problems?
CW: Through the Technical Working Group, we set up a KERS Safety Working Group chaired by BMW. They've met quite a few times and they've come up with a long list of suggestions, parts of which have already become regulations, and some of which will form the basis of a comprehensive document we'll circulate to all circuits and tracks hosting a Grand Prix.
The teams are taking this very responsibly for their own safety, of course. They're also looking at how the marshals will respond to broken-down cars. There will be things like the KERS status warning light that will be on all cars. Marshals are going to be educated by the documentation we'll provide.
Also, the systems themselves should be safe. If there's a risk, it should be clear to a marshal who walks up to the car. He should approach the vehicle, look at the KERS status light and, if it is in the wrong state, he shouldn't touch the car. Also, people working on the track are being briefed about how to pick up parts, which will be clearly identified by colour coding. If they potentially contain high voltage, they have to know how to move them. They will also wear gloves, which are good for a thousand volts.
Q. What about safety in the design of the KERS components and their integration in the cars?
CW: The teams are coming up with this themselves. All the electronics experts are talking to one another and coming up with various ways to make sure they don't get into any kind of difficulties.
Q. There's also some kind of uncertainty recently about the number of engines the teams will be able to use over the season…
CW: It's eight engines for the whole year. A driver will only incur a penalty if he uses a ninth engine. So the teams can use the engines as they like. There's no three consecutive race rule because there doesn't seem to be a need for it any longer. The engines will not have to do three complete events now.
In the past, as you know, the two-race engine was used only on Saturdays and Sundays. Now, for 17 races, the eight engines will have to do the three days of each Grand Prix. What the teams will do is to have a Friday engine that'll probably do the first four races or something of that nature. They'll then take the engine out and use another one for Saturday and Sunday. All we've got to do, - it'll be extra work - is to make sure that these engines remain sealed and are untouched.
Q. So, once you've started the event with one engine, you will be able to change it whenever?
CW: Exactly!
Q. In terms of performance gains, can you say what has been allowed for the teams, especially for Renault?
CW: As you know, I can't really give you confidential information. But we gave all the teams the opportunity to submit a list of things they would like to change in order to achieve engine parity, because there seemed to be some disparity between engine performance, which was not intended.
Then, with Honda's withdrawal - they appeared to be the ones down on power – the engine manufacturers agreed among themselves that they would not seek any engine parity changes, and they would allow Renault to do something. It's what I would describe as a minor upgrade. It's a one-off thing; it's not an on-going thing. Now, teams have submitted their list; we've agreed to it and that's the end of it until 2012.
Q. It was difficult to follow some races in 2008 because of the safety car rules. Will you change them this year?
CW: Yes. The rule introduced in 2007 was a bad one, and we've gone back to the 2006 regulations. The only difference is we intend to implement a minimum time back to the pits. When we deploy the safety car, the message will go to all the cars, which will then have a "safety car" mode on their ECUs. As soon as that message gets to the car, it'll know where it is on the circuit, and it'll calculate a minimum time for the driver to get back to the pits. The driver will have to respect this and the information will be displayed on his dashboard.
If you remember, the reason we closed the pit entry was to remove the incentive for the driver to come back to his pit quickly. That's gone now, as you won't be able to reach the pits any quicker than your dashboard display allows you to.
Q. What other measures have been taken recently in order to reduce costs?
CW: What we've done, as far as regulations are concerned, is to slash the maximum amount of testing from 30 000 to 15 000 kilometres. Moreover, there will be no in-season testing. That means no testing between seven days before the first race and 31st December of the same year. So no testing whatsoever except for eight days of aero testing in a straight line.
Q. This might be a big problem for young drivers who want to get into F1. They won't be able to get any kind of training…
CW: There's provision for a few days of young driver training as well.
Q. Finally, there's a big cut in wind tunnel testing…
CW: That's right. No more than forty hours per week for each team.
Q. Why was this measure taken and what does it imply?
CW: This is simply because some teams were running twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week with three shifts -including model makers- and all that sort of thing. Quite clearly, it's very hard for a team that hasn't got that kind of resources to keep up. Forty hours a week seems to be something everybody can cope with.
Q. Will you be able to check that nobody uses a sub-contractor to do extra work in a private facility?
CW: We're obviously looking into all those things: if it emerged that anyone had been doing something underhand, they would be in very serious trouble. Also, we're putting measures into place in order to make sure that people don't have any incentive to do so.
The first group test of 2009 has been ruined by the poor weather at the Portimao circuit, with rain and even hailstones hitting the track during the four days of the test.
Today there was no significant running on the track because the rain made it impossible for the medical helicopters to take off.
"This was a difficult test because of the weather and we learnt that the Algarve does not always live up to its reputation of good conditions," said Kobayashi. "The rain, and even hailstones, seriously hampered progress during the week.
"The conditions compounded the difficulty of running on a new track surface as the oils come out from the tarmac, making the surface very slippery, even when we did have dry running."
In-season testing has been banned this year, so winter testing is more crucial than ever.
Despite the frustration, Kobayashi is optimistic teams will have enough proper testing to be prepared for the start of the season.
"For Bridgestone we are confident that there will be sufficient testing for teams before the season starts to enable good, safe, racing," he said.
"Of course, any test days lost means that teams have not been able to test their new cars and continue learning about our slick tyres, however we will see several more tests before we visit Albert Park in Australia for the first race of the season."
Kobayashi admitted nonetheless that he was impressed with the Portuguese circuit's facilities.
"The Portimao track is certainly an impressive facility and a challenging circuit to learn for teams and drivers. The track surface is very smooth, just as you would expect of a new facility.
"At this test the rain did not help with the grip levels, so in terms of gaining data for us to evaluate, we were at a disadvantage."
As it was the case in 2008, drivers will have to use both compounds during races, and there have been fears during winter testing that the gap between the softer and the harder rubber is too big.
Whiting said it was in the sport's best interest that the compounds are significantly different, but he made it clear that the FIA will look at the situation to keep the situation under control.
"What happens in winter testing is probably not indicative of what will happen in the warmer conditions of the first four races," Whiting said on Tuesday.
"It's something we'll have to look at, as we certainly don't want too big a difference between the two types of tyres available at each race. This said, I think it would be to everyone's benefit if there were a slightly bigger gap."
He added: "We wanted to have a bigger difference between them. Sometimes, in 2008, this gap was a matter of one or two tenths. We thought it would be better if it was bigger. The Bridgestone engineers are working on that."
Whiting admitted that the ideal gap between the two types of tyres would be around 0.5 seconds per lap.
"My personal opinion is at least half-a-second. But it's only a personal opinion. Sometimes, in 2008, the difference between the two types of tyres was negligible wasn't it? One couldn't see the difference between the two, really."
With gusts of up to 70km/h affecting the Spanish circuit, and debris blowing onto the circuit at one point, Nick Heidfeld spent his second day in the F1.09 focusing on systems checks and gathering mechanical data.
But the German still managed to complete 91 laps and was satisfied with the day.
"Although the test had to be interrupted once when the wind blew some debris over the track, I managed to do some long runs in the afternoon," said Heidfeld.
"I finished the day with some race start simulations on different tyre compounds."
No times were released by the team.
BMW Sauber's managing director Walter Riedl added that while the wind had been inconvenient, at least the track had remained dry - in stark contrast to the weather at Portimao, where most of their main rivals had tested this week.
"We managed to collect a great deal of data and have already made initial progress," said Riedl.
"Although the strong winds made testing difficult during the last two days, we benefited from the fact that the track was dry throughout and outdoor temperatures were higher than during our tests in December, which meant we were able to glean some valuable insights concerning the tyres as well.
"We have already used the 2009 version of the V8 engine with its rev limit of 18,000 rpm, as well as employing KERS.
"Overall we are very happy with the testing, particularly with regard to the high reliability of the new car.
"Now we are naturally very keen to see where we stand in terms of the competition, but we will have to wait for the next test to gain a first impression."
Marmorini had headed Toyota's engine department for years, having worked at the Japanese squad since 1999.
But the Italian decided to leave the company before the start of the season, as he was frustrated by the lack of engine development available in Formula One due to the freeze introduced.
Howett said Marmorini, who is replaced by Kazuo Takeuchi, also wasn't happy with Toyota's approach to KERS development.
"Personally, I am very sad that he left," Howett told the official Formula One website. "I think that he was frustrated on the one hand that there was really no opportunity for engine development, and also probably didn't agree with some of the strategic decisions - probably our more conservative approach to KERS.
"In the end, I think he didn't really want to leave and we didn't want to lose him, but there was still a gap that led to that.
"Mr Takeuchi is 100 percent a motorsport person, who has been involved in the original car programme, the IRL program and NASCAR, so he is an absolute racer."
The Austrian left the sport at the end of last year after selling his 50 percent stake in Scuderia Toro Rosso to Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz.
And although he is not actively pursuing a return to action, having become a race-winning team boss last year, he has made it clear that he is far from finished with the sport.
When asked in an interview with this month's F1 Racing about whether he has achieved all his ambitions in Grand Prix racing, Berger said: "No. I love what I'm doing.
"When I stopped with BMW, I was worn out. Now, it's just a circumstance that happened. I'm quite happy to close a chapter with some success, and see what the future brings."
But despite leaving his future plans open, Berger says that he is not actively chasing a new opportunity to get him back into the sport.
"If there's something, then I look into it," he said. "I'm not looking."
He added: "It comes how it comes. I don't see a lot of sense to do something different because I've been in racing for 30 years. If I put my effort into something, I'd like to do it where I have the experience.
"But I'm relaxed. If it doesn't happen, I'm also happy to just go and watch races, and be a fan."
After just 33 minutes of the session gone, the track had to be closed down as the heavy rain made it impossible for the medical helicopters to take off.
Toro Rosso, Toyota and Williams had briefly run in the morning.
The test has been very frustrating for the teams, with rain hitting the track almost every day.
It is yet unclear if the test will resume today.
The Briton only clinched last year's title at the final corner of the dramatic Brazilian Grand Prix, but McLaren F1 CEO Whitmarsh reckons Hamilton would have swiftly recovered his composure had he been defeated by Felipe Massa, whereas the team top brass would have found it very hard to swallow.
"If Lewis had not won the championship last year I think it would have been tougher for us as a team, rather than him," Whitmarsh told the Guardian.
"I think this building would have been a very dark place for many of us over the winter.
"Don't get me wrong. It would have been psychologically testing for Lewis if he hadn't won. He would've had that inevitable thought: 'Is this ever going to happen?'
"But he's at such an early stage of his career he would have recovered far more quickly than me or Ron (Dennis)."
Whitmarsh expects a different approach from Hamilton now that he has clinched his first championship, but has no concerns about his motivation waning.
"2009 is going to be such an intriguing year for all of us - and perhaps Lewis most of all," he said.
"He was a boy who, at the age of eight, started to dream of becoming world champion. He probably got out of bed every morning having dreamed that same dream.
"You shouldn't underestimate the change that happens when you achieve a dream at a very young age.
"There have been fascinating studies of world-class athletes who dream of winning an Olympic title or a world championship and when they succeed they suddenly realise it's not quite as fulfilling as they imagined. They ask themselves the question: 'Where do I go from here?' I think Lewis has already answered that question.
"Lewis will rightly tell you that the only current objective is to win again this year to show that he is a worthy champion. We'll see what happens after that.
"But I think he can do whatever he wants because the immense pressure he was under last year has been released. We should be in for quite a journey."
The Australian's contract with the Milton Keynes based team runs out at the end of 2009. He says he is not considering a switch elsewhere - and he hopes the team want to stick with him too.
"I am happy with Red Bull and I hope Red Bull will be happy with me," Webber told autosport.com during an event for Red Bull in Kitzbuehel.
"If I keep my consistency and get everything out of the car, I will have no worries for the future. I plan to stay on with Red Bull long-term. In fact, I do not see me working with any other team."
Although Webber is still recovering from the broken leg that he suffered in a bicycle accident at the end of last year, he has already had his seat fitting in the team's new RB5. And he is upbeat about the team's chances for the season ahead.
"I see no reason why Red Bull should not do well in 2009. The car looks extremely good. We have all the key people for success. I am sure we will run with the top this year."
Speaking about his recovery ahead of his scheduled return to the cockpit on February 11, Webber said: "Everything is on schedule, the new car and me.
"At the moment, I can put pressure on my broken right leg at 25 percent. For Melbourne late March I will have 80 percent, but that's enough for racing".
The £250 million circuit, which is based on Yas Island, will be completed alongside the hotels, marina and other leisure facilities that will be situated near it.
John Bullough, the chief executive of the Aldar Properties company that is developing the venue, said that work had progressed well enough for the track to be opened months before the race is due to take place.
"All of the Yas Island phase one will be finished this summer, with obviously the Formula One Grand Prix circuit, the infrastructure, seven hotels, a major marina, the yacht club, a golf course," Bullough told Abu Dhabi newspaper The National.
"The Yas Marina will be flooded in the spring. Everything is going to be finished well ahead of the race."
With the greater resources applied to it since mid-2008, the F1.09 appears to be more complex and considered than any of its rivals. Additionally, despite a conservative commitment to have KERS ready for Melbourne, BMW are believed to be ahead of their rivals in hybrid development.
Sat behind the nose cone is a new front suspension. Technical director Walter Riedl explained that the car needed different suspension to suit the new slick tyres and this was largely the reasoning behind running the two interim cars in winter testing. While he emphasised the changes made to the rear suspension, the front is also different with the wishbones and steering arms now shaped to maximise their aero effect with the simpler front wing.
One change has been to raise the rear leg of the upper wishbone; this will alter the car's anti-dive properties under braking, but is most likely to be an aerodynamically-driven change.
What differentiates the F1.09 from its rivals is the treatment to the front of the sidepods. The chassis blends into the front of the sidepods with a wedge shaped structure. This also forms the inner face of the sidepod inlet, while the areas just above and below it are aimed at influencing airflow over, and particularly under, the sidepod.
The sidepods themselves are quite tall and broad, with little undercut, and almost as wide as the floor at their widest point. They then tuck in quite neatly at the rear with a moderate bulge to allow cooling air to exit. This is aided by a heavily-slotted section low down by the floor - these exits are legal because the sidepod bodywork 100mm from the ground is excluded from the tight regulations to the upper bodywork.
As already mentioned, the car sports new rear suspension geometry. This required a new gearbox casting, still made by BMW in titanium. The gear cluster is not different in concept but has had attention to reflect the different loading it will receive from the KERS system charging and discharging. The KERS system itself is a BMW-developed electric solution with the batteries mounted in both sidepods and the control unit in the right-hand sidepod.
The Indian Olympic Association had announced in 2007 that the first race in the country would take place in 2010.
Ecclestone said last year, however, that the race would instead happen in 2011 and he has confirmed that is still the case, despite work on the track having been postponed.
"Of course we will deliver... otherwise we wouldn't have entered into an agreement," Ecclestone told the BBC Asian Network.
"It's a large, large country with a big population and it's good for the sponsors, car manufacturers and everyone involved in Formula One."
Ecclestone conceded, however, that Formula One racing will never be able to emulate the popularity of cricket.
"I doubt in India anything will be a rival to cricket, but let's see," he added.
The first major 2009 test has been blighted by poor weather all week, and Trulli admitted that the reduction in aerodynamic grip under the new rules made life very difficult.
"There is a massive drop in downforce and grip," he said. "In the conditions it was very difficult to get temperature in the tyres. It was really hard for everyone out there and it was nearly impossible to drive. This is the first feeling!"
But despite his concerns over the new generation cars' wet weather handling, Trulli is optimistic about Toyota's prospects for the season.
"The car doesn't seem to have any big problems and it has run really well in the past few days with Kamui (Kobayashi) so I will say we are pretty confident about this year," he said.
"We just need to get into the normal testing with warm conditions and probably this could be the case in (the next test in) Bahrain."
Trulli is also hopeful that the 2009 rule changes will improve Formula One's spectacle, although his Toyota teammate Timo Glock is concerned that the braking distances will still be too short to allow much passing.
Although Trulli found it hard to judge the new package yesterday, he believes the changes have the potential to increase overtaking.
"I can say we expect so, yes," he said. "We will have some overtaking manoeuvres and some spectacular races.
"But practically I can't say because it's difficult at the moment to judge. This is the goal and this is the target, to have a better race for all of us."
The veteran Italian hopes the days of a driver's race being ruined by a poor start will be over.
"Before if we had a difficult start or a difficult first part of the race we couldn't recover because it was impossible for us to overtake," said Trulli. "We just want to have a better chance to enjoy it more on the track and for everyone to enjoy the race with more action."
But Glock is more sceptical, feeling that the revised wings might not make enough of a difference.
"There is a big rule change in F1 this year with the aerodynamics and everyone hopes that it will be possible to overtake more," he said.
"My feeling is it will not be a big change in terms of overtaking because it is still possible to brake quite deep into the corners with these cars and especially with these tyres."
The Maranello-based team openly admitted at the end of last year that they felt they were behind with the progress of their system compared to their rivals - especially BMW Sauber, who are believed to be most advanced with the new technology.
But following some encouraging progress with the device during testing at Mugello in Italy this week, the indications are that the team could be further down the road with it than originally thought.
Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport about the progress of the new F60, Ferrari's chief engineer Chris Dyer said that the biggest concern at the moment was their lack of running on slick tyres rather than anything on the car – especially KERS.
"At the moment it's difficult to say how it will be," said Dyer, who has moved into his new role after two years as Kimi Raikkonen's race engineer.
"As you know, the main new things are essentially three things: aerodynamics, KERS, and slick tyres.
"Regarding the first two everything is going in the best possible way, but unfortunately the latter we haven't been able to verify yet. Surely we can't wait to fit the slick tyres on, because only with them we'll know how quick we can be."
Talking more specifically about how the work on KERS was going, Dyer said: "I'm not saying every lap, as the drivers maybe want, but we make use of it fairly often to study its safety. It's an interesting thing, a challenge from a technical point of view."
When asked whether he felt the development of the F60 was progressing well, Dyer said: "Yes, without a doubt. In this third day we've just done more than 500 kilometres and everything went positively. There really has been nothing to worry about."
That is the view of McLaren's incoming team principal Martin Whitmarsh, who feels that the early success of the Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA) in helping slash budgets can now lead to positive changes to make F1 better in the future for fans.
"All Formula One teams are highly combative and there's a lot of history among them, so it's quite challenging for those teams to be together," said Whitmarsh, who takes over as McLaren team principal on March 1, about the progress of FOTA. "But we've done a fantastic job.
"Luca di Montezemolo has been a great chairman, and so far I think he's doing a really good job. A lot of the teams have made a lot of compromises and that's what's necessary.
"If you look at the F1 grid and realise that you've got the extreme of Toyota on the one hand as one of the world's largest companies and teams like Williams and Force India on the other, and you are trying to balance their ambitions and desires for the future of the sport. That's quite a tall order. Given that, it has been a great effort.
"We have been understandably very focused on cost-saving measures so far and that has been very necessary. We were not that long ago talking about engine-only deals in excess of 20 million Euros and many, many millions required to develop transmission systems.
"We now have got a system where by for 2010 a customer team can claim its full powertrain for 6.5 million Euros, and that's a big step forward.
"It shows the commitment of the automotive manufacturers, who didn't necessarily come into this sport to provide engines to anyone other than their own team.
"There has been a lot achieved so far, but we've now got to look at how we can improve the spectacle of the sport, and make sure that we are making the decisions in a considered way and make sure we are basing it on research."
FOTA is going through an evaluation process at the moment to gather a better understanding of what fans would like to see from F1.
Whitmarsh has echoed comments from other team principals who suggest that it is important decisions are made based on proper research rather than just hunches.
"There are a number of different surveys that have been interesting, but the teams themselves are funding market research looking at race format, qualifying format, what's important, and what are the cardinal points of Formula One that we need to make sure we retain," he explained.
"I think everyone's got a very open mind about the future. I don't think we should rush into a whole range of changes because it is something new to report.
"The reality is in the last two seasons we had a very exiting climax but I think fundamentally F1 is a fantastic sport and a great spectacle and we've got to make sure we make it better for the fans that watch it."
The Brazilian driver, last year's championship runner-up, was the man in charge of taking the new car to the track for the first time at Fiorano, and then worked at Mugello for two days, although the weather did not help the team much.
Despite a technical problem on the final day of work, Massa admitted he was encouraged by the car's performance, although he is aware that it's still early days.
"The car threw a tantrum practically one lap from the end, but it gets thumbs-up without a doubt," Massa told Gazzetta dello Sport.
"The choice of Mugello has demonstrated to be the right one and we've done around 1,700 kms in four days, practically without problems, while most of the times in the past after 250 kms something would come up.
"Reliability-wise, also considering the final hiccup, it deserves an eight. Performance-wise, instead, we'll have to wait for a direct confrontation with our rivals, but we're on the right path, we're already setting good laptimes.
"The slick tyres are working even though with these temperatures they couldn't be at their best."
Speaking about the problem suffered yesterday, Massa said: "It was a hydraulic problem, because the differential broke. It's certainly better that than some other important component, like for example the KERS or the engine."
Massa also admitted the car is more enjoyable to drive now thanks to the new regulations.
"Yes, in my opinion," he added. "We left a car full of aerodynamic load and we got to some kind of kart, more difficult to drive, with mistakes more likely to happen, and so with the need of better ability on the driver's part.
"Those stories about difficulties with so many buttons on the steering wheel make me laugh a bit: they've always been there, we are no idiots, there are just two more now."
The Briton took over the MP4-24 from test driver Pedro de la Rosa at Portimao today and completed 81 laps in the new car. He stopped on track briefly when the engine shut down during the morning.
"It was good to be back working with the team - it felt like I'd hardly been away because it was easy to slip back into the routine," Hamilton told reporters.
"It's amazing to think that, while I've been to Woking throughout the winter, I haven't properly driven a Formula One car since the Brazilian Grand Prix two months ago, but everything very quickly felt normal today."
He was third fastest today, but played down the significance of the times.
"This first test was all about just getting used to the new car and the new regulations and about giving my feedback to the engineers; it wasn't about setting a fast time," said Hamilton.
"I'm pleased to report that the car feels good, we've made lots of progress over the winter and I'm looking forward to developing the car ahead of the Australian Grand Prix."
The champion added that he was expecting an extremely intense testing programme over the next few weeks.
"It's going to be an extremely busy winter," he said. "I've only been in the car for one day and our usual job list for the weeks ahead is already enormous.
"With the limitations on testing during the season, and the few sessions we have over the next two months, this is going to be an intense time and absolutely critical for every team."
Hamilton will hand the car over to his teammate Heikki Kovalainen for the final day of the test tomorrow.
Following two frustrating days of rain, the teams were finally able to get some dry running and use slick tyres, as the track dried out by mid-morning today.
Toro Rosso were once again the only team running a modified 2008-spec car and Buemi's best time was nearly two seconds quicker than second-placed Nico Rosberg.
Rosberg completed several long runs during his second day in the Williams FW31, covering 143 laps during the day, and was the fastest of the 2009 cars. He was half a second quicker than Lewis Hamilton, who returned to the cockpit today for the first time since winning the world championship in Brazil.
Hamilton's only incident of the day was when he stopped the McLaren MP4-24 on the approach to the hairpin with an engine system shutdown at the end of the morning session, but he went on to complete 81 laps. He will hand the car over to Heikki Kovalainen tomorrow.
Timo Glock was in action for Toyota and caused a half hour stoppage during the morning when a disconnected oil pipe resulted in his car catching fire at the hairpin. He was not running KERS at the time.
Fernando Alonso completed the field for Renault and brought the day's running to a conclusion at the end of the afternoon when he stopped in the pit entry.
"It is very early days with the new car and so we keep discovering things and improving our understanding with every lap," said Alonso.
"There are so many things to learn in a short time and we need to maximise our time on track, so to do so many laps today was a good effort. The programme for tomorrow will be more of the same and hopefully the weather will remain dry."
Today's testing times:
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:27.987 128 2. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:29.729 143 3. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:30.242 81 4. Glock Toyota (B) 1:30.878 63 5. Alonso Renault (B) 1:31.743 84
With the medical helicopters unable to take off because of the weather, the session was red-flagged at 9:30am and the teams were unable to test all day.
The teams will now be looking forward to better weather at Jerez next month.
"A very wet day," said Renault's Fernando Alonso. "It's a shame we couldn't get anything done today because at this stage of the season you need to maximise the track time available.
"Still, I was pleased to have a full day in the dry yesterday and we learnt a lot and have some valuable data.
"I will be in the car for the next test in Jerez where hopefully we can make some good progress with the performance of the car."
Toyota's Timo Glock added: "It's a pity to end the test like this but there is nothing we can do about it; that's just the way it is and it is the same for all the teams here.
"At least at our next test in Bahrain we can expect much better weather and many more laps, which is what we need to develop the new car."
Credit Suisse spent the end of last season pondering whether or not to extend its sponsorship of BMW Sauber - having first joined the team back in 2001.
The company eventually decided against another deal, however – citing a move to more regional sponsorship commitments as key to their decision to shy away from F1.
"Credit Suisse decided not to renew its sponsorship contract with the BMW Sauber F1 Team beyond its expiry at the end of 2008," company spokesman Matthias Friedli said in a statement.
"In the future, we will be taking part in fewer global sponsorship projects, and instead will be putting greater emphasis on regional commitments. We have been cultivating this approach for several years.
"Some current examples are: the Salzburg Festival in 2006, the Bolshoi Theatre and New York Philharmonic in 2007, and the National Gallery in 2008."
He added: "Credit Suisse was a sponsor of the Sauber Petronas Formula One team from 2001 to 2005. BMW's takeover of the team in early 2006 united a long tradition in motorsports with proven efficiency and innovative ideas. In 2007, the BMW Sauber F1 Team established itself in the top three of Formula One in only its second year of existence.
"The 2008 season was the most successful season to date, highlighted by the team's victory at the Canadian Grand Prix. We believe the team is on the right path, and consequently now is an appropriate time to say goodbye. We would like to thank the team for a successful, constructive partnership, and will keep our fingers crossed for them."
After Kimi Raikkonen had driven for the first two days, Massa - who gave the car its first shakedown at the team's 2009 launch last week - took over from today.
The Brazilian completed 104 laps, setting a best time of 1:33.353, but although the weather had improved slightly on previous days, the track was never dry enough to use slick tyres.
Massa will remain in the car as the test continues tomorrow.
The car, which was unveiled today, covered 73 laps of the Valencia circuit, as the team focused on system checks and collecting base data.
Kubica said he was happy with the first test, despite the lack of grip on the Spanish track.
"It was a good shakedown without a technical problem," Kubica said. "Although the track was missing a little bit of grip because there was only one car running, we already learned a lot about how the car is responding to set-up changes."
BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen added: "We unveiled the BMW Sauber F1.09 this morning and continued with a shakedown on the Valencia circuit in the afternoon.
"Everything went according to plan and without problems. The car is now ready for the first day of proper testing tomorrow with Robert at the wheel."
That is the view of the Cologne-based team's president John Howett, who thinks that it is vital Toyota build on the progress they have made over the last 12 months.
And although falling short of saying the team must win to remain in the sport, Howett knows how much the pressure on the team would be eased if they secured their maiden triumph.
"We have a great team of people and I think we just feel we need to win and it is about time we won," Howett told reporters during a briefing at the Portimao track in Portugal on Tuesday.
"We need a strong season. If we have a weak season we have no future. Whether we really have to win to stay is difficult to stay, but we feel we have to win.
"It is our desire and our passion shared by our people in Cologne. We feel we must win, and then we can cement and secure a very bright future in F1."
Howett has had no indications from Toyota's parent company that their place in F1 is being reviewed, but thinks all teams must deliver 'value' on track.
"I think what I will say is that every team are facing increased scrutiny because of the financial situation, and we are no different from any other," he said.
"I don't uniquely believe that it is cost that has driven certain teams out of their relative sport - it is a holistic view about the value that is delivered for the investment.
"It is quite clear we need to reduce our costs and I am very confident we will do that. And we need to have an extremely strong season to demonstrate to Toyota that we are value to the corporation for the commitment they are and have made to the sport. It is our job as managers and leaders of the team to deliver.
"So yes, we are under scrutiny. It isn't wrong to say that, but I don't think you should uniquely pull Toyota out from the remainder of the teams. We all need to perform in one way or another."
Toyota team principal Tadashi Yamashina conceded, however, that they could take nothing for granted in securing the company's future commitment to F1.
"Honestly speaking, we are also struggling to stay in F1," he said. "We discussed lots with the Japanese management, but fortunately Mr. (Katsuaki) Watanabe, our CEO, convinced the bosses to stay in F1.
"As John mentioned, Toyota are doing some cost reduction to get some better performance, but we are still alive and, from that sense, this season is very important. Even if the headquarters had some operational loss, we spend their money to fight to win a race, so it is very, very important for us to win this year."
The Pole briefly led the world championship standings in the middle of last year, but the team's form slipped away in the second half of the season as they lost out in the development race against rivals McLaren and Ferrari.
Kubica hopes the team will have a similarly good beginning to 2009 and, more importantly, that they can keep up such form until the final race.
"As every year, the driver tries to give his maximum effort and make the maximum of his capacity," said Kubica at the launch of the team's new F1.09 in Valencia on Tuesday.
"Last year we saw that working together we can achieve good result. For the first half of the season, we were title contenders. We were leading the drivers' and Constructors' Championships at certain points of the season.
"Everyone remembers how it finished, and we will try to repeat the first half of the season and finish better than last year."
With a total clampdown on in-season testing, Kubica thinks it more important than ever that the pre-season build-up goes smoothly.
"With the testing restrictions, the work in the workshop of the engineers will become even more crucial as you have no time on Fridays to test every new part and development on the track," he said.
"It's very important that we get everything right straight away in the workshop, now especially to prepare for the first race."
Kubica was the first man to try out the F1.09 on track, as he completed an installation lap at Valencia, but said it was far too early to make any judgement on the car.
"It was cold," he explained. "This was my second opportunity to do the roll-out lap of a new car and of course it's a great feeling.
"It is a bit different from last year, but it is too early to say. It was too cold and it was just an installation lap to check it - to have the engine running, the car turning, and to be sure the brakes are okay."
The Brazilian was entrusted with the first test of Renault's new R29 at Portimao today, and shared his thoughts on the car with the assembled media, and talked about how he planned to take a major step forward this year.
Q. Have you tried to change the set-up yet?
Q. Does it feel weird to drive the new cars?
NP: Obviously there are a few more functionalities with the new regulations. But coming from GP2 to F1 (it felt like) I had three Playstation controls stuck together, and now it's like I have five. We'll get used to it somehow.
Q. How much more confident are you going into the second season?
NP: The first to the second season makes a huge difference, both by knowing the tracks, and also being more relaxed, having done 18 starts already, knowing the procedures. I remember the first race in Australia - I'd had a problem in qualifying and I was started at the back, but I was still quite nervous. Now I have done all these starts through the year, it's going to be much more relaxed. I will be able to think about other things and not be worried about things that shouldn't bother me with the car. It's going to be a much easier season.
Q. You only did basic work today, did the first feeling make you think; 'Oh no this has so much less downforce!'?"
NP: No. It's raining and the track is new. There is a lot of oil right now as well because the asphalt is new. It is very difficult to feel anything, and when it is raining it is never the same, one day it can less than another. If the car is two seconds quicker tomorrow it could just mean that there is less rain around. The rain is never constant, not like in the dry. It is impossible to feel anything in the rain.
Q. Could you tell the difference between the 2009-specification car and the 2008 cars?
NP: Again. It was so slippery, we would leave the garage, go around and do five laps and come back into the garage. That's all they wanted me to do. We didn't get times, we just wanted to get the miles on the car and see that it was working perfectly. Set-up wise we are going to start working later if it's dry and at the second test. The first test to see if all the new parts, the new radiator is all working altogether.Q. What is the hardest part of being in the team with Fernando Alonso now that you have done it for one year?
NP: In the first year it was only good for me. Obviously I had a teammate that was very strong and I had to push myself very much, but I could really see where I had to push myself and when I was quicker that I was in a good position. I think in the second year it will be tougher because now is the point where the team will have to give the same chance to both drivers and with all this testing system right now, where we are only allowed one car and limited days, that's going to be a bit tricky. How are you going to judge which days for which drivers?
Hopefully we will be able to equalise both drivers having the same amount of testing. And again there is strategy and all these kind of things. Last year was my first year and I was learning, and obviously once in a while we would give priority to Fernando because he had a better chance of winning the race or being more in front. Now I think the team will have to play on both sides and try to give both cars exactly the same conditions. The second year is going to be tougher.
Q. Is the seating position the same as last year?
NP: It is practically the same. From 2006 to '07 we had a big change in the front and I didn't feel it, so this year I didn't feel it. The cockpit is a tiny bit bigger this year, so there is a bit more space for me to play around with. I am much more comfortable and I have found a better seating position, and a better place in the car.
Q. How many lessons have you been given with KERS, like what to do, what not to do, what not to touch, to be on the safe side?
NP: It's not as dangerous as everybody is saying. We had one accident, but all the teams have let's say a 'blog' together and they are all helping each other, and sharing their problems to make sure everybody is safe. We have had one lesson, and 85% of that was about using KERS on the track, and the power and how to use it. Not so much the danger side. There is basic rules, and we have to be careful, but it is nothing drastic.
Q. Fernando has set the bar pretty high by saying he is aiming for the title, what are your personal ambitions for 2009?
NP: It's always to achieve what the car is capable of. Obviously if the car is able to win the championship then I am going to want to be there as well. Obviously we have to be optimistic but we don't know the car is going to be. Maybe we'll arrive in Australia with one of the quickest cars, and that would be excellent, but realistically we will arrive in the top six. If the car is winning then that will be great!
Q. How big a challenge do you expect using KERS during the race to be?
NP: The engineers will play a big role. They will have to calculate and use the simulators inside the truck and tell the driver where the best place to use it will be, obviously there is also going to be a bit of strategy. Unfortunately we don't have a simulator to play with this all the time and get used to it, but I'm sure we'll come around to it. Maybe in the first few races everybody is going to be a bit mixed up, but very quickly everybody will pick it up and move in the same direction.
Q. Do you think the new rules will make for a more open season in 2009?
NP: It is hard to say. The idea behind the regulations we to give teams who have won races before like Renault the chance to come back and win races again – teams like Toyota have big budgets but they lost by doing the wrong projects but they can come back and be able to fight for races. Again with all this crisis a lot of teams are having to make cuts in different areas, so maybe that will affect things. The big teams like Ferrari and McLaren are going to continue as strong as always. I think the idea was good. I think it is going to be the same as last year, some teams are going to get it straight away, and some teams are going to start badly. It all depends on whether the car was born a good car.
Q. Do you expect to overtake your opponents more this season?
NP: Hopefully that big wing in front and the tiny wing at the back is going to help us a little bit. I haven't driven behind anybody yet so I don't know.
Q. It doesn't look as if Rubens will get a ride this year, what do you think from a Brazilian point of view?
NP: David Coulthard planned his retirement, he knew he was going to stop, and everybody gave him a present. Unfortunately Rubens had the idea that he was going to continue and then there was the bad news with the [Honda] and he is stopping in not the best way. I feel bad for him, but he had a long career, achieved a lot of things and a lot of wins, drove for some good teams.
Q. Is the seating position the same as last year?
NP: It is practically the same. From 2006 to '07 we had a big change in the front and I didn't feel it, so this year I didn't feel it. The cockpit is a tiny bit bigger this year, so there is a bit more space for me to play around with. I am much more comfortable and I have found a better seating position, and a better place in the car.
I really think it's going to take five or six races to see what the spread of the field is. The rules were published in October 2007 and we started work straight away. We had our first wind tunnel test in December 2007.
I don' t think that's a lot different to where anyone else started. The difference was that we wrapped up a lot of our resources around April 2008 and that had an adverse effect on FW30 development.
You could see that in the latter half 0f 2008. But we took that decision because we thought our best chance of closing the gap was in 2009 and we didn't think we could achieve that in 2008. Whether that pays off or not, I don't know. It's anyone's guess.
On aero, it's way to early to see what anyone can do. On the KERS, I would say from the outside it looks like BMW and Mercedes are the most advanced, not Williams. So from that point of view that's going to be a long one to run as well.
Q. Last year the car's competitiveness varies from track to track - has that inconsistency been resolved?
SM: Our competitiveness in the second half of the season was affected by our development for 09. A lot of the other teams developed right up to the last race and you could still see new parts, particularly on the McLaren, going on in Brazil. We, in the last ten races, didn't update anything on the car because we didn't have the resource to work on both programmes to the maximum.
Every car has its different characteristics and strengths and weaknesses, but development rate is the key to everything. If you change the development on one car, you can't do that without having an effect on the other. Because the cars in Formula 1 now are so heavily refined, there are no crap teams in Formula 1 anymore. All the teams are very well structured and have a very good understanding of the car. So the differentiators you are looking for are tiny.
Q. But even early in the season you would be quick on some tracks and slow on the faster tracks. Will the rule changes fix some of that imbalance?
SM: Every team is like that. If you look at Ferrari and McLaren they have exactly the same problem. They have circuits where they are strong and circuits where they are weak so it's all relative - a couple of tenths in either direction.
The fact that they are doing that and they are eight tenths quicker than us because they had a more competitive car than us doesn't mean that they are not seeing the same differentiators. For sure, Williams have been traditionally strong on street circuits. McLaren have always been stronger than Ferrari on street circuits while Ferrari have been strong on high-speed tracks.
But you are talking about two or three tenths now – last year that took you down ten places. All that's happening is that as the rules become more and more refined, those characteristics that are a function of the team stand out much more than they normally do.
Those have always been there. Even when we were winning Grands Prix in 2003, we'd go somewhere like Silverstone which was relatively poor for us but still finish third or fourth because the package was very good. Then we'd go to a street circuit and we'd win by miles. So those changes from one track to another, they are built into the team's philosophy, how they develop their car, but they are there and they don't change very easily because they are things that are ingrained in the car over a long period of time.
Q. There are only 19 more test days left – how nervous are you about finishing a big project like KERS in time? And if you have to decide not to run KERS in the first few races do you have a chance to introduce it during the season without testing it?
SM: It's very difficult to sign off KERS in time for Melbourne with all the other things we are trying to do. We are trying to make sure that the cooling and gearbox and everything else on the car is working first and we are also concentrating on making sure our mechanical and aerodynamic package is optimised before we try and get KERS on the car.
Because if you get something wrong on the aerodynamics or you get something wrong mechanical, you can lose seconds. Whereas KERS, even when you have everything 100% reliable is worth two and a half or three tenths.
It's important, and that two and a half or three tenths will be important during the season but to start with it will be swamped by he aero and getting the setup of the car right around the slicks and making sure all the mechanicals don't break.
On the second question, reduced testing makes introducing any new component during the season difficult, but not impossible. We can use Fridays for this and obviously you have dynos and rigs in the factory to sign things off as well. Introducing KERS during the season if you don't start with it won't be easy, but it's not impossible.
Q. What are your objectives for the year?
SM: The main thing is continue improving our performance and make sure we are respectable for the budget and efficiency that we have. Williams have won Grands Prix before, we've won championships before, and everyone in the company wants to return to that level. Our target is to do the best that we can with the resources that we can and I'm sure that we can hold the team up in a good light.
The only important thing if it's quick or not and this we will find out in three or four weeks. At the moment I'm happy with the car, with the work of the team and we are all optimistic so far.
Q. Are you happier than you were at this point last year?
FA: Yeah, definitely. Much more happy this year and much more optimistic, because I think the rule changes are a big opportunity for all the teams if we do a good job to fight for the championship. Last year even with the standard electronics, with no traction control and all these things we knew already that the cars that fought for the title in 2007 were good enough to fight for the championship in 2008, because they had an advantage that they carried over the years.
This year is not like that anymore. Everybody is starting from zero and if we do a good job we can be up with them. This is what we hope at the moment and that is our aim.
Q. Are you confident that you can be among the drivers fighting for the title this year?
FA: Yes. At the moment I think Flavio and me, the whole team is really optimistic, and I think there is only one target for this 2009 championship, which is winning the drivers' championship and winning the Constructors' Championship. Both championships are the target.
Everybody is focused on this and all the results that we have from the wind tunnel, the engine dyno, everything is more optimistic that we expected. The results are better than we predicted so everybody is quite motivated. But you never know. You need a few factors to be champion at the end of the year, but hopefully I think for the first race we will be able to fight for the podium at least.
Q. Considering the new rules, is it a concern that a team finds a big advantage over the rest?
FA: It's a concern for everybody. I'm sure every launch of every car has been looked at with much more detailed that any other year. Every time we see a new car we try to look and see if they have something completely different or another philosophy or understanding of the 2009 rules.
But so far I think we haven't seen anything special and I'm sure you agree with this. None of the cars have anything that the others don't have, so maybe it can be a good championship. It's really open and there's the possibility that more than two teams will be winning races.
Q. How far did you negotiations with Honda go and how surprised were you about their exit?
FA: I was surprised. Negotiations were not too intense because I was in a really good moment with Renault when I spoke with them. And I was convinced 99.9 percent that I would stay at Renault. And I was surprised when Honda said bye bye. You can expect that from a small team, maybe Force India or Toro Rosso, but not a big manufacturer like Honda.
It was a surprise and sad news, because Honda has been in F1 for many years. But to be honest after Honda left the teams agreed many more things in one month than in the past three or four years. They are very concerned now about the costs and F1 seems more united so it's good.
Q. Following the rule changes, how much more difficult do you think it will be for Lewis Hamilton to retain his title than when you won your back-to-back championships?
FA: As I said before, maybe it's more difficult because all the cars are mixed as we start all from zero. And if you carry the same regulations for two or three years the cars that win championships... it's difficult that they lose their advantage, as they keep this advantage maybe for years. So it's easier to win back-to-back championships when the regulations stay the same.
But if a team discovers something different maybe the can win three or four races in a row and the championship becomes much easier after that. If that is the case with McLaren it can be easier for Lewis, because he can have an advantage in one part of the season. So you never know. I think we need to wait and see.
Q. Do you think he has less or more pressure as world champion?
FA: I think less. To be honest when you win the championship you will be Formula One world champion forever and you can enjoy racing more. You can make a mistake in one race and you know the championship is very long. When you are waiting for your first championship there is a little bit more stress as well, because you don't want to lose the opportunity. Once you have the championship I think there is less pressure.
Q. Renault have been allowed to make changes to their engines. Are you optimistic that has helped the team?
FA: I hope so. We have been able to unfreeze the engine a little bit. But I really don't know, because with the 18,000 rpm limit this year maybe the power of the engines change again, and we need to find where we are now. Because we knew last year we were down on power. This year at the moment we don't know. Hopefully we are at the same level of everybody and hopefully better.
Q. How concerned are you about the dangers of KERS?
FA: I know there is a possible danger there. I'm not a great fan of KERS so far because all the teams had problems with it. I know it's quite expensive and with the economical situation we have now maybe it was not the perfect season to introduce KERS. But nevertheless we need to develop a system that is safe enough for mechanics and drivers, that is good enough to finish the race with no problems.
We cannot have any retirements from KERS, otherwise it will be a drama. And we have to develop this system in the five tests we have now in the winter. Because after that it's done. There's no testing anymore during the season, so it's not an easy job.
Q. Do you think you have an advantage over your teammate because of the lack of testing?
FA: I don't think it changes too much for any driver or for any team. The only thing that will change compared to previous seasons is the winter testing. Now if you don't have everything under control in the final tests of the winter there's no time anymore to do anything.
If KERS is still not working in the last test it's better if you remove KERS and don't race with it. You can't arrive on Friday in Malaysia or Bahrain and think of a new solution for KERS. It's too late. That's the only change I see in terms of testing regulations.
Q. What are your feeling about Ron Dennis stepping down as team principal of McLaren?
FA: Well, again, I think we are not best friends, but I think there is respect from each other. We didn't have a perfect end to our relationship but we know how much he has done for Formula One. When I was young I remember McLaren and I had great respect for him.
There are not many people like Ron in Formula One anymore. Ron did it like in the old days: one guy developing and growing up with the team, making a Formula One team successful and winning championships. I hope him the best for his new life.
Q. There have been speculation about your future with Ferrari. Do you see your long-term F1 future away from Renault?
FA: I have been answering this question for four or five years. Hopefully this year I can be more relaxed about this question and if we are winning races and fighting for the championship we'll forget Ferrari.
That's my aim, because I'm really concentrated in 2009 and more motivated and more prepared than ever. With all these changes I'm really looking forward to sitting in the car. And when we talk about 2010, or 11 or 12 is really a difficult question to answer. I'm not looking that far away.
Q. So what is the target for 2009?
FA: One target: we need the championship. If we don't need the championship it will be a disappointing season. Obviously if after three or four races you are nowhere then you have to change your targets, but now in January you have to be really, really optimistic and we are now.
Q. Why didn't you drive today?
FA: The team asked which days I wanted to drive and I said day three and day four because normally the first two days the car has a lot of problems. But it was not the case today. The car was fine and maybe I'll have the problems in day three and four, but hopefully not. But I'm happy because Wednesday should be dry and hopefully I can do some laps in the dry.
