02 Ferrari Details

[Inigo Montoya]

Looks like they are pulling out all the stops for next years car! From www.schumacher-fanclub.com:

Maranello, 3rd December 2001
Yesterday we already revealed some details about Scuderia Ferrari-Marlboro's project 653. So far, information about the revolutionary unitary engine/gearbox and the new nosecone have been made public. However, today sources revealed some more information about project 653 which might be another radical step forward for the Ferrari team next season.

Due to the fact that Scuderia Ferrari-Marlboro's Research&Developement department have designed a compact and lightweight unitary engine/gearbox, the F2002 will be much lighter than it's predecessor the F2001 due to fewer parts. It will also shift faster as the distances are shorter when engine and gearbox are combined in one. However, this will only have effect when changing up. Seeing the new car is much lighter than the minimum weight of 600kg (including driver and lubricants), Ferrari is in the luxury position to experiment with new technology to make the car quicker or perfectly balanced by adding weight. According to the Italian press the new titanium unitary engine/gearbox will be 20% lighter than their former engine and gearbox together and 12% more accurate.

Adding weight is the easiest way to achieve the minimum weight of the car, so Ferrari has been searching for new technology to add on the F2002 to make it the most advanced F1 car of the field. Due to the compact layout of the unitary engine/gearbox (5 centimetres smaller) there's plenty of room under the hood for a revolutionary differential. How the system exactely works is still top secret of course but sources say that the F2002 will probably have two differentials for optimum traction, which will give them a clear advantage on circuits such as Monaco, Hungaroring and other circuits with many slow corners such as the infield of Indianapolis etc.

When Michael Schumacher was asked about this secret weapon, the four-times World Champion said: "In the situation we are right now, it's obvious that we don't want to reveal much about our new car as our competitors are keeping their eyes open too!"

On 15th December, Michael Schumacher will attend the traditional Ferrari Christmas dinner in Maranello. While the rest of the world will have to wait until the 1st of February 2002, Michael Schumacher will also have the opportunity to view a mock-up of the F2002 before the annual Christmas dinner at the Cavalino restaurant. Newly appointed test driver Luciano Burti will be present too and have a seat fitting.

[Glen]

Apparently its got a rather radical front too - with a sort of tunnel of air flowing under the nose (and posibly right under the car, rather than split either side as per current normal practice). The arrangement of the front lower wishbones is similar to the 2001 Sauber. Also, we keep hearing about the so-called leaf-shaped front wing. Whatever that means.

If it works and is reliable it could be an even more dominant year for Ferrari. With Schumi on board the other teams need cars about .5sec faster than Ferrari just to stay level!

I can't stand the waiting! Show us the cars!

[Number Juan]

im not even gonna pretend that i know what all this technical language means, i only know that its gonna really blow the rest of the field away.

please...show me...please!

[Nicholas]

About the leaf-shape...didn't they do that last year? I didn't see it this year, but I think they mean it's pointy like the head of an arrow: ^

[Bononi]

My God.

Does it mean... the 5th WC for TGF ?

No, don't say that it's boring red.

[Maxmil]

Can some of our technically gifted members elaborate on the merits of equiping a car with two differentials? Even my Kubota tractor - which had everything known to man - managed to get along with one, although I could lock it up when I wanted to by stomping on a pedal.

:dog:

[Bononi]

Uhn... I'm not seeing Dino around for some time now. He's the one who could give us tech info on that...

[Glen]

Two diffs - I think that's a bit of a misleading name that has been given to the system. As I understand it they're not so much differentials (as in the geared devices that most people are familiar with) as electro-hydrallic clutches - one for each half of the final drive. Instead of the clutch disengaging the engine from driven wheels between engine and gearbox these two clutches do it simultaneously.

The trick is that they also perform the job of the differential, since they can be electronically operated independently. This means that power can be progessively removed or applied to each rear wheel according to the immediate need at that wheel. So, potentially the Ferrari traction control could work by means of gently easing power away from one wheel or another as required, rather than crudely cutting the engine.

The whole design not only makes for a stiffer engine/gearbox unit (and thus better handling, since the rear suspension hangs off of the gearbox bit) but also has big benefits for aerodynamics, because the area over the rear of the engine and across where the "diff" should be can be much slimmer and more clean air can be put over/under the rear wing.

[Maxmil]

Originally posted by Glen
The trick is that they also perform the job of the differential, since they can be electronically operated independently. This means that power can be progessively removed or applied to each rear wheel according to the immediate need at that wheel. So, potentially the Ferrari traction control could work by means of gently easing power away from one wheel or another as required, rather than crudely cutting the engine.

Good explanation. Thanks