Ferrari F2002

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Ferrari F2002
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Category Formula One
Constructor Ferrari
Designer Rory Byrne
Chassis carbon-fibre monocoque
Suspension (front) independent, pushrod-activated, torsion spring
Suspension (rear) independent, pushrod-activated, torsion spring
Engine Ferrari 051/B/C V10 (90°) naturally aspirated
Transmission Ferrari 7-speed longitudinal automatic sequential
Fuel Shell
Tyres Bridgestone
Notable entrants Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
Notable drivers 1. Michael Schumacher
2. Rubens Barrichello
Debut 2002 Brazilian Grand Prix
Races competed 20
Race victories 16
Constructors' Championships 2 (2002 & 2003)
Drivers' Championships 2 (2002 & 2003)
Pole positions 12
Fastest laps 11

The Ferrari F2002 was one of the most successful Formula One car designs of all time. Designed by Ross Brawn, Rory Byrne and Paolo Martinelli, it won sixteen Grands Prix, from a total of twenty races in 2002 and 2003.

The car was much lighter than its predecessor, the F2001. Powered by a 3.0 litre V10 engine which had a very low centre of gravity, the F2002 had excellent handling. Bridgestone developed special tyres, suited specifically for the car. Aerodynamically, the Ferrari was well ahead of the contemporary Williams BMW but perhaps a little down on power, and on a par with the 2002 season's McLaren car.

Using the Pomeroy Index system, Motor Sport magazine recently determined that the F2002 is the fastest Formula One car of all time.

Contents

[edit] Team Personnel behind the F2002

The majority of the conceptual design work for the Ferrari F2002 was by Ferrari's legendary South African chassis designer Rory Byrne and the engine design by Ferrari's Paolo Martinelli. The project was overseen by the team's technical director Ross Brawn. A vast army of other team personnel oversaw the running of the team and the project.

[edit] Concept and Design

Previous to the introduction of the F2002, Ferrari had used their championship winning Ferrari F2001. However the F2002 was not only a development of this car but a completely revolutionary model involving many technologies not seen previously. Since the late 1990s Ferrari had been using the same basic concept and design of gearbox and although this had been used to win drivers and constructors titles from 1999 onwards the technical team pushed ahead with a new version instead. The new replacement gearbox casing was made of ultra lightweight and higher strength titanium, thus reducing its weight by as much as 15% and lowering the cars centre of gravity. The new compact design allowed for great advancement in the bodywork and increasing the car's aerodynamic efficiency at the rear. However such was the extent of the gearbox casing redesign that the aerodynamic work was left behind schedule and initially did not represent the same performance gains as the mechanical engineering. Thus Ferrari continued its design for another two months and only first used the F2002 at the third round of the 2002 season having been using the previous year's F2001 chassis, albeit with many alterations and the inclusion of the Ferrari 051 2002 engine. Other advancements on the car include the clutchless direct shift technology within the gearbox, a new fluid traction control system to replace the previous 2001 traction control system, and upright aerodynamically shaped periscopic exhaust outlets at the rear. The latter technology was incorporated both to use the hot exhaust gases for aerodynamic effct but to raise these gases higher and out the way of the rear suspension. On previous occasion Ferrari's non chimneyed top exiting exhaust outlets had caused the rear suspension and other elements at the rear of the car to overheat or even melt when minor cracks occurred.

[edit] Race History

At its first race the F2002 was victorious, being driven by Michael Schumacher and continuing Ferrari's trend since 1999 for its cars to win on their debut. Michael Schumacher clinched second on the grid and after a first lap altercation with Juan Pablo Montoya, took a somewhat easy win from his brother Ralf's Williams. There was some controversy surrounding tyre allocation because the team only had one F2002 chassis at the race. Therefore Schumacher's spare car was a F2001 chassis and because the two chassis used different wheel rim designs each required separate wheels and tyres. It was thus argued that Schumacher had in-effect twice the allocation of tyres as any other driver. The controversy was managed by Ferrari agreeing to aggregate their tyre usuage between the two cars, ensuring that Schumacher used the same total number of tyres as all the other drivers.

The car was first used in the Brazilian Grand Prix driven by Michael Schumacher. What followed was a season of domination which hadn't been seen since McLaren's 1988 season. Schumacher scored 10 more victories, a record in a season and was world champion in record time, winning the championship at the 11th race of the season in France, while Rubens Barrichello scored four. The two drivers were comfortably first and second in the drivers' championship, and Ferrari scored as many points (221) as the rest of the teams put together.

The F2002 was still competitive at the beginning of 2003, and Schumacher took the car's last win in the San Marino Grand Prix before it was replaced by the F2003-GA for the next race.

[edit] Complete Formula One Results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position)

Year Team/
Chassis
Engine Tyres Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Points WCC
2002 Ferrari
F2002
Ferrari 051 V10 B AUS MAL BRA SMR ESP AUT MON CAN EUR GBR FRA GER HUN BEL ITA USA JPN 221 1st
Michael Schumacher 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 2 2 1
Rubens Barrichello 2 Ret 2 7 3 1 2 Ret 4 1 2 1 1 2
2003 Ferrari
F2002B
Ferrari 051B V10 B AUS MAL BRA SMR ESP AUT MON CAN EUR FRA GBR GER HUN ITA USA JPN 158 1st
Michael Schumacher 4 6 Ret 1
Rubens Barrichello Ret 2 Ret 3

[edit] See also

[edit] References

    [edit] External links

    Ferrari Formula One cars
    v  d  e
    40s 1950s 1960s 1970s
    8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
    125 275
    340
    375
    500 553
    625
    555
    D50
    801 412
    246
    256 156 158
    1512
    312 312 B 312 T
    1980s 1990s 2000s
    0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
    312 T 126 C 156/85 F1/86 F1/87 640 641 642/643 F92A F93A 412T F310/B F300 F399 F1-2000 F2001 F2001
    F2002
    F2002B
    F2003-GA
    F2004 F2004M
    F2005
    248 F2007