Ferrari said on Wednesday it was ready to start a new page in its troubled relationship with arch-rival McLaren, putting aside the bitterness generated by last year's spy scandal.
Ferrari team chief Stefano Domenicali admitted that it was difficult to forget how McLaren had secretly acquired classified information about the Italian team's car and engaged in a long legal battle over the evidence.
But he said that in the interests of Formula 1 Ferrari was determined to look forward, not back, and hoped for a rancour-free battle on the track against the British team in 2008.
''Wounds like these don't heal easily. What happened was bad for sport. I haven't forgotten what happened,'' Domenicali said during a Ferrari-Ducati media event in the snow of this northern Italian ski resort.
Domenicali, who this season takes over as Ferrari team chief from Jean Todt, said the eventual decision by Formula 1 authorities to fine McLaren and annul all its points in the constructors' championship was ''good for sport''.
''But you have to look forward. The past is the past,'' he continued. ''I don't know who I'll be dealing with at McLaren. We'll have to see how they approach the relationship with us.''
Last year, as the two teams fought a high-stakes battle before Formula 1 authorities and top executives exchanged barbs in the media, the tension between Ferrari and McLaren in the pit-lane was unmistakable.
In the end, Ferrari won both titles, with Kimi Raikkonen snatching the driver's championship from McLaren's wonderboy Louis Hamilton in the last race, and its fans rejoiced over what they saw as poetic justice.
Despite Raikkonen's status as world champ, Domenicali insisted that like last year the Finn and his Brazilian team-mate Felipe Massa would start the season on equal terms, with the team showing no preferences.
''The rules are the same as last year. The priority is doing what's good for the team, and the positions of the drivers will depend on the situations. In this sense Kimi and Felipe are starting level''.
Early last season, Massa appeared to have more chance of challenging for the title as he won two races and collected podium finishes. But then Raikkonen settled in to his new team and overtook his team-mate.
The Brazilian was leading the final race of the season but allowed Raikkonen to pass him near the end, ensuring the older driver notched up just enough points to snatch the championship title.
Ferrari has just presented its new car for the 2008 season. Raikkonen said he was happy with it on Monday after giving the F2008 its track debut at a damp Fiorano.
''The first impressions were very positive,'' he told the press afterwards. ''I don't think we have to make any improvements at the moment''.
Ferrari will be back on track at Jerez in Spain next week, with both Raikkonen and Massa at the wheel of an F2008. The 2008 season starts with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 16.
