Ferrari is to follow the example of McLaren, Honda and Williams, by introducing a seamless shift gearbox.

Talking to Frankfurter Allgemeinen Zeitung, Ferrari technical director, Ross Brawn, revealed that the Italian outfit's system is already being tested but isn't expected to be used for racing until later in the season.

"We are currently testing our system," said Brawn, "however, it will not be used in the first half of the season.

"Initially we had a very complex system which would have given us high reliability," he continued. "But it was complicated, not maintenance-friendly, very heavy and expensive. Consequently, we the built a simpler one, though this involves certain risks, so we still need some more tests to minimize these risks.

"It doesn't really concern us," he said, referring to when the new system might be introduced, "because we could shorten the shifting times with our current gearbox transmission.

"However, Michael is rather enthusiastic about it," he added.