Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn has revealed that the 2006 Ferrari, which will feature an all-new 2.4 litre V8 engine, in line with the new regulations, will probably make its track debut in mid-January.

Speaking to reporters at Suzuka, the Englishman revealed: "The engine has been running in a hybrid car and will continue to run for the next four or five months.

"We plan to bring the new car out during January, so it will be earlier than previous cars," he continued. "The engine probably has the longest lead time of all the parts we need for next year and that's getting updates and revisions as we go along."

Traditionally, Michael Schumacher has enjoyed a long winter break, not usually joining the team's test programme until mid-January, despite the new formula, Ross Brawn doesn't expect things to be nay different this year.

"It's possible but it is not necessary to use Michael for reliability running," he said. "I think the engine is still at a fairly early stage where mapping and fine tuning is not a priority and Michael needs some time away from the car like everyone.

"Traditionally Michael's had a month or six weeks away from Formula One to recharge his batteries and we won't use him unless it is absolutely essential."