Scuderia Ferrari will be the first Formula One team to show off its new wheels before the 2008 season, confirming the launch date of its F2008 for January 6.

News of the launch was leaked by the notoriously loquacious Ferrari pilot Kimi Raikkonen, and has subsequently been confirmed by Luca di Montezemolo and Jean Todt. There's a lot riding on the fortunes of the F2008, not the least of which is Ferrari’s ability to maintain its position as the constructor champion of F1.

(Click through the jump to learn when the rest of the F1 field will be launching.)

The new car will be an evolution of last season's F2007 (pictured), which should be a good thing for the race team. With the vast rule changes set to take effect at the beginning of the upcoming season, having a car that capitalizes early could make all the difference.

After the Ferrari launch, Toyota will be the second team to unveil its new race car, with a launch date of January 10. BMW Sauber is next on January 14, followed by Honda on January 29, and Renault on January 31. The rest of the F1 field will give the public a first glimpse of the new hardware later in the new year. Only McLaren, which suffered through the spy scandal last season, has chosen to abstain from a public launch this time around.

+ Autoblog: Ferrari F2008 to kick off F1 launches