Three teams launched their cars this weekend as the start of the Formula One season nears. There are details on Williams, Sauber and Renault’s new cars and aims for 2002.
Three teams launched their cars this weekend as the start of the Formula One season nears. Williams, Sauber and Renault have slightly different aims for 2002.
Renault, who launched its car in Paris on Sunday, has set a target of fourth place, while Williams has high hopes for its campaign. For Renault, it is an official return to Formula One, having bought out Benetton in 2000.
“To start with, we have fairly modest aims. We need to be ambitious, sure, but it is no good looking arrogant. We know how difficult it is to get to the top in this sport,” said Patrick Faure, CEO of Renault Sport.
“If we could finish as close as possible to the top three this year, that would be good – although it would certainly concern me a lot if we not in fourth position.”
“Formula One represents the heart of Renault: passion, daring and innovation,” said Louis Schwietzer, chairman and CEO of Renault. “Being in formula1 implies excellence and mastery of cutting-edge automotive technology. This is a big challenge for the company. We have a big ambition to compete in this field.”
Renault’s new car is an evolution of the B201, but with major developments in all key areas. The engine meanwhile maintains the radical 111degree vee-angle layout, but technicians and engineers have been working tirelessly on reliability and strength testing to ensure the reliability and performance record is improved significantly after the problems of last year.
The team’s radical new engine under performed last season and Jenson Button did not live up to expectations
Jenson Button failed spectacularly to come to terms with the car and the Briton is expected to come under intense scrutiny as this season opens.
“If you look at the car it certainly looks as if it should be competitive, but we’ll see when we drive it. Only after that will we have any idea of what to expect this year.”
His new team-mate Jarno Trulli was also keen to test the car. “We’ll soon find out how it is. It looks very conservative at the moment, but we know it has lots of technology inside, and it is a brand new chassis and engine,” he said.
Renault will test the car at Barcelona on Monday. Williams will be putting their new car through its paces in Barcelona this week.
BMW-Williams unveiled the new the new FW24-BMW at the Silverstone circuit on Friday. The FW24 was designed by Gavin Fisher. He and his team have been working specifically on refining concepts, but also on reliability, which was a problem particularly early on last year, and aerodynamics.
“The 2002 season sees few regulation changes; that brings with it the increased challenge to improve on a car which is already in a relatively high state of evolution,” Fisher said. “In many respects, it is more stimulating for a designer if the canvass is blank when it comes to starting on the development of the next car. As you progress, the opportunities for improvement are marginalised, and increasing amounts of effort must be expended for diminishing returns.”
Fisher and his team had to make changes to the rear end to accommodate BMW’s new P82 engine. This involved designing and developing a new gearbox and making specific overall modifications to the drivetrain.
“The design work we have done in conjunction with BMW has further optimised the engine installation,” Fisher said. “As always, we are striving to minimise weight and package volume, providing consequential gains in car dynamics and aero systems efficiency.”
“After four commanding victories, four pole positions and eight lap records in our second year together, our expectations for the third season are high,” said team chief Frank Williams. “We have great hopes for our new chassis, the FW24, and for the new BMW P82 engine.
“Beyond that, we’ve got the strongest team of drivers. Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya are different personalities with different driving styles, but their goals are identical.”
Sauber-Petronas, who finished fourth last year, unveiled their new car in Switzerland on Friday.
The aluminium C21 car, designed by Japan’s Osamu Goto who also worked for Honda and McLaren, is lighter than the previous model at just 600kg with the driver included and consumes less fuel. “This is a completely new car in comparison to the C20,” said technical director Willy Rampf.
One feature that is clearly different this year is the car’s lower cockpit sides. “That’s because Nick (Heidfeld) had a problem seeing cars around him on the grid so we decided to make his life a little easier,” said Rampf.
There is the new gearbox and the Sauber will use the 2001-spec Ferrari motor, which will sit lower in the car than the 2000 unit did.
“We know that we are aiming high,” said team boss Peter Sauber. “Our fourth place in 2001 was an optimum result from our point of view. Nevertheless, we accept the challenge to do even better in our 10th year in the exclusive circle of Formula One.”
The team welcomes Felipe Massa, the reigning Euro 3000 Series Champion who arrives to replace Kimi Raikkonen, who shined with Sauber last year and is now with McLaren. “Felipe immediately convinced us during his test drives in September and October, 2001 in Mugello,” said Sauber. “It is a big step up from the Euro 3000 series to Formula One, but not to the extent that a talented driver could not manage it successfully.”