Ferrari unveiled its 2002 contender in Maranello on Wednesday. Although it looks like an evolution of the F-2001, all aspects of the F-2002 have been completely redesigned. Will the new car be in action as early as the Australian Grand Prix?
Ferrari unveiled its 2002 contender in Maranello on Wednesday. Although it looks like an evolution of the F-2001, all aspects of the F-2002 have been completely redesigned. Will the new car be in action as early as the Australian Grand Prix?
The chassis of the F-2002 is new, both in terms of its design and construction. The sidepods, radiators, exhausts and the rear of the car have also been revised to give the car a lower centre of gravity, better cooling and improved aerodynamics, reported.
In addition, both front and rear suspension groups have been revised “to optimise the performance and consistency of the Bridgestone tyres”, the report said.
The 051 engine, like its predecessor, is load bearing and mounted longitudinally. The transmission is completely new, especially in the use of materials and the method of gear selection. The gearbox, cast in titanium, has seven sequential gears, hydraulically operated.
The materials used in transmission, and engine have been specially developed to reduce weight and bulk.
Engine director Paolo Martinelli said the 051, which has a 90-degree V10 configuration, was largely based on the 050 model. However, development work has been done on areas such as the cylinder heads, crankshaft and associated components, he said.
South African-born Rory Byrne, the chief designer at the Scuderia, said that aerodynamics, transmission, chassis, suspension and steering electronics had been the main focus of development, but added that work had been done on other areas of the car.
“The areas that have not changed fundamentally have been further refined and optimised to maximise functionality and performance, so virtually every part on this car is newly designed,” said the South African. Particularly evident was what was referred to euphemistically as the “tight little rear end” of the car, he said.
Four-time world champion Michael Schumacher told reporters at the launch that the team’s motivation was “unchanged, our target and goals are still the same,” he said. “We want to win both world championships again and there is nothing nicer than winning with Ferrari. We obtained beautiful results in the past and that is what we want for the future.”
“The engine is definitely more powerful and the gearbox is lighter, which means faster gear changes,” Schumacher said of the F-2002 package. “I don’t think Ferrari is running late at all with respect to previous years. We are ready to begin.”
However, there have been reports that the Scuderia will be using a modified version of last year’s championship-winning car, the F-2001, for the first three fly-away events of the season.
Was Schumacher really positive about starting the season with the F-2002?
“We need to wait for the first tests,” Schumacher said. “Reliability of the F-2002 is obviously important, but our objective is to run with the new car and we will do our utmost to make this happen, even though theoretically I have no problem with using the F-2001.”
Team manager Jean Todt did not rule out the possibility of beginning the season with last year’s monocoque instead of running with the newly launched F-2002. In fact, he did not exclude the possibility of running in Australia with an F-2001 and an F-2002.
“We have a new chassis that will be tested and checked to ensure it is ready for the new F1 season. The new car has of course significant developments in many areas,” Todt said. “What I can say is that we are working hard to be able to use it right from the first GP, but the F-2001 was and still is a very good car, and this allows us some peace of mind as we have the possibility to choose between the two chassis.
“The old cars are available to us and the engine and gearbox can be adapted. We will wait for the tests that we are carrying out until February 20 to see how the car behaves,” Todt added. “Only then we will make the decision.”