Improving qualifying, without upsetting the race pace, will be the immediate priority for Ferrari whose last driver's title was with Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 and who last enjoyed constructors' success a year later.
Formula One's governing body upheld a $100,000 fine for Ferrari on Wednesday but kept alive Fernando Alonso's hopes of a third title after deciding to impose no further sanctions for the use of banned 'team orders'. Race stewards had handed the $100,000 fine to the Italian glamour team after the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim in July when Ferrari were found to have ordered Felipe Massa to allow Fernando Alonso victory in a one-two finish.
One word seemed to encapsulate Fernando Alonso's Malaysian Grand Prix weekend.
Fernando Alonso is leaving Ferrari at the end of the season because he wants a fresh environment and needs to be winning again, the Formula One team's ex-chairman Luca di Montezemolo said on Wednesday.
Formula One will have a record 24 races in the season that starts in Bahrain on Saturday.
Fernando Alonso will start Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix from the pit lane after wrecking his Ferrari in final practice for the showcase race of the Formula One season.
Mexican team mate Sergio Perez qualified second fastest in a front row lockout for Red Bull, 15 years after the team took their first win at the Shanghai International Circuit with Sebastian Vettel.
'Ferrari know how to accept defeat, just as they know how to celebrate victory,' Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said.
'I am very happy that you have finally found someone with whom you really feel that you feel very comfortable and secure...I am 100% behind you dad and wish you all the best and congratulations.'
Felipe Massa delivered his eagerly-awaited verdict on Ferrari's new Formula One car after the first day of testing on Tuesday, with sighs of relief likely to be heard around Maranello.
Ferrari CEO Amadeo Felisa expressed disappointment over seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher's defection to Mercedes-Benz, but said it will not affect their vehicle sales.
Ferrari dealt Fernando Alonso a rare public rebuke on his 32nd birthday on Monday for critical comments after Sunday's Hungarian Formula One Grand Prix.
India's foreign ministry condemned Ferrari on Friday for putting the Italian navy flag on their cars at the Indian Grand Prix in what was seen as a political gesture of support for detained sailors.
Red Bull's triple world champion Max Verstappen followed up a Saturday sprint win with a statement pole position for Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix, with McLaren's Lando Norris again alongside on the front row.
Force India has agreed to release Giancarlo Fisichella, who earned the team its first podium finish in Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix, and the Italian will join Ferrari, sources said on Thursday.
Renault's Fernando Alonso will replace Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari next season, the Italian team said Wednesday. Spain's Alonso, World champion in 2005 and 2006, has signed a three-year deal and will partner Felipe Massa next year.
Red Bull make changes to car after discussions with FIA
Formula One's governing body said on Friday it would sue champions Ferrari and other teams for planning a breakaway series. 'The FIA's lawyers have now examined the FOTA (Formula One Teams Association) threat to begin a breakaway series,' the International Automobile Federation (FIA) said in a statement at the British Grand Prix.
Formula One's more cynical participants have long joked that the letters FIA really stand for Ferrari International Assistance rather than International Automobile Federation.
Twice Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso made his first public appearance with his new Ferrari team at an event in Valencia, Spain on Sunday.
Italian Giancarlo Fisichella did his utmost to impress Ferrari with a jaw-dropping pole position for Force India at the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday. With compatriot Luca Badoer spinning out and qualifying last for the second race in a row as stand-in for Ferrari's injured Brazilian Felipe Massa, Fisichella saw his chance and grabbed it with both hands in a qualifying session that almost defied belief.
Designed by Ferrari Styling Centre, the 488 GTB can race from zero to 100 km/hr in 3 seconds.
The Brazilian said he would never forget the team's support for him after his near-fatal head injury at the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix.
Ferrari has ruled out a competitive return this year for Felipe Massa.
Ferrari's new Formula One car is clearly quicker than last year's, Brazilian Rubens Barrichello said after driving the F2005 for the first time on Tuesday.
The Brazilian lapped 0.151s quicker than team mate Michael Schumacher in free testing at the Italian Grand Prix.
World champions Ferrari will supply Formula One newcomers Red Bull Racing with engines for 2006 and 2007.
Vettel came out on top, giving Ferrari their first pole position since 2012 with a masterful lap around the floodlit Singaporean track.
"It's a fantastic team, they almost never make a mistake," said Frank Williams.
Formula One champions Ferrari scored their first points of the year in Bahrain on Sunday despite Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa flirting with disaster on the opening lap. After three races had left the team in danger of their worst ever start to a season and prompted Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo to fly in for a show of support, the champions needed to move up a gear.
Carlos Sainz lapped Monza's "Temple of Speed" with a fastest time of one minute 20.294 seconds, 0.013 quicker than Max Verstappen's final flying lap.
The announcement has come days after Aldar Properties opened world's largest Ferrari merchandise store in Dubai this week.
Ferrari have parted company with chief designer Nikolas Tombazis and engineering director Pat Fry, two of the men responsible for designing this year's car as the team endured their first season without a win since 1993.
