Motor racing-Ferrari show off new SF1000 car with a touch of theatre

REGGIO EMILIA, Italy, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Ferrari showed off their 2020 Formula One car with a theatrical show of pride and passion on Tuesday, assuring success-starved fans that it was also very different under the skin to last year's model.

The SF1000 car, marking the Italian team's 1,000th race this year, is the car Ferrari hope will end six years of Mercedes domination and dash Lewis Hamilton's bid to equal Michael Schumacher's record seven titles.

If the red car looks superficially similar to the 2019 challenger, team principal Mattia Binotto said appearances were deceptive.

"We have been as extreme in all the concepts as we could," he told a global audience watching as the car made its appearance on stage at Reggio Emilia's opulent Romolo Valli theatre.

"The entire car, power unit, has been packaged to have a very narrow and slim body shape.

"It may look very similar to last year but, believe me, its completely different and a lot of the concepts are very extreme," he added.

Four-times champion Sebastian Vettel, on stage with Monegasque team mate Charles Leclerc, gave it his immediate seal of approval.

"I like it a lot," said the German. "And it's a little bit more red than last year." (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Pritha Sarkar)