New Ferrari to be named F150 in honour of Italian unification

F150: that’s the name of the new car which will compete in this year’s Formula 1 World Championship and which Ferrari will unveil this coming Friday at Maranello, as part of an event which will be broadcast live on RAI 2 and on Ferrari.com.

The choice of name stems from Ferrari’s desire to pay tribute to this year’s one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the Unification of Italy. The placement of the “Tricolore” Italian flag as part of the car livery will therefore have even more significance in 2011.

“Ferrari is an expression of Italian excellence, talent and creativity,” declared President Luca di Montezemolo. “All the men and women who put so much effort and passion into their work at Maranello share the pride and responsibility of representing our country around the world and it is in this spirit that we chose to dedicate this car to an event that is so important for the whole of Italy.”

The news was announced in advance this afternoon, to the President of the Italian Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, who expressed his appreciation of the initiative. He also took the opportunity to wish the Scuderia the best of luck for the forthcoming season.