Ferrari F2002

Car: Ferrari F2002 / Engine: Ferrari type 051 90° V10, Naturally Aspirated / Maker: Ferrari / Bore X Stroke: 96 mm x 41.4 mm / Year: 2002 / Capacity: 2,997 cc / 90.8 cu in / Class: Formula 1 / Power: 614 kW (835 hp) at 17,800 rpm / Wheelbase: 2,012 mm / Track: Front: 1,470 mm; Rear: 1,405 mm / Weight: 600 kilo / 1322.8 lbs

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 fifteen Grands Prix, from a total of nineteen races in 2002 and 2003.

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. Paolo Martinelli:

“There were three main technical principles applied to the design of the 051 engine. Firstly, we ensured we maintained all the strong points of its 2001 predecessor, the 050. Secondly, in order to ensure the necessary step forward for this year, we did however revise all the main engine components. The architecture of the 050 proved successful and was thus retained. The block was made using the latest refined micro-casting technology. The cylinder heads were optimized to increase the fluid-dynamic efficiency of the porting. The crankshaft and its associated components were redesigned, especially with a view to reducing the rotating masses and friction.”

The chassis was redesigned, and was lighter and had a greater structural integrity than the F2001. To this end they introduced new front and rear uprights cast in metal matrix (carbon fibre and Aluminum). and a titanium gearbox. The advantages of the new gearbox are lighter weight and increased stiffness allowing for a smaller unit to be built. Both front and rear suspension have been revised to maximize the performance of the Bridgestone tyres. This led to grumbling that Bridgestone’s relationship with Ferrari was a lot closer than they were with it’s other customers. In fact a team of Ferrari engineers were permanently based in Japan during their partnership with each company freely sharing their data.

Pre season testing had revealed the enormous potential of the new F2002, breaking the Maranello track record by more than a second at its first attempt. The car was introduced at the third race of the season, the Brazilian GP driven by Michael Schumacher. As there was only one available, team mate Rubens Barrichello had to wait until the GP of San Marino to get to race the F2002. The car would win it’s debut race and three more after that. By mid-July Michael Schumacher’s championship lead stood at 54 points. Schumacher would cruse to another World Driving Championship and Ferrari the constructor’s title.