51 replies to this topic

[Wuzak]

Wow!

The front end seems to be similar to last year's model, with maybe a hint more droop on the nose.



The side pods have a lot more contouring on their sides, and the taper starts earlier, and is more sudden!







A nice picture of the engine thoughfully supplied by Ferrari:




All the images are from: F1-Live.com

[Wuzak]

The F2003-GA is more compact than its predecessor, and features a much slimmer rear-end, along with new oval sidepods that taper in to form a triangle that houses a minimalist drivetrain and compact rear suspension. The seven-speed titanium gearbox is completely redesigned, and is smaller and lighter.

From AutoSport.com, "Ferrari launch: Design 'a step forward' " , 7/2/03

[daFt]

Well this is certainly different....

[FordFan]

Sidepods look incredibly low narrow to me. Looks so different from the other cars.

[wiseowl]

Good pic Daft. I think it maybe a place where Ferrari will place the ballast since the car is reputedly 80KG under weight. Where else to put your ballast but the lowest point dead on the centre? If under the driver has run out of space then lets go sideways!

[desmo]

What strikes me the most from the launch photos are the pronounced tumblehome in the forward portion of the sidepod bodywork clearly visible in the photo daFt posted a link to, and the continued shrink wrapping of the bodywork around the suspension and transmission/diff cases.

In this photo: http://www.atlasf1.c...mage/BA1A2620-4 one can clearly see the bodywork slotted for the cogged wheel attached to the GSJ for its optical sensor!

And here: http://www.atlasf1.c...mage/BA1A2568-4 one can- see just forward of the GSJ and a little out of focus- more scarlet bodywork on the diff case. As far as I can remember there were only a couple of bits of bodywork mounted atop the trans/diff case, essentially the blister for the rear suspension rockers last year.

Also the splitter seems a more refined looking shape this year. Very reminiscent of the bows of clipper ships with complex and subtly shaped compound curves. Those clipper shapes were worked out in countless hours of pulling hull models through tanks of water, very much analogous to the modern wind tunnel!

[alexbiker]

Desmo,

forgive my ignorance. GSJ?

Alex

[Tec Freak]

The side pods are fascinating and create 3 thoughts:

1. Ferrari is trying to channel some of the air so as to create a high pressure area immediately adjacent to the radiator openning, creating, in effect, a mini-wing and grabbing some downforce that wouldn't be there with the typical, slab-sided pod.

2. Or, there actually isn't much pressure in that area so there is little contribution to downforce, but the molding just represents a further attempt to "shrinkwrap" (good term Desmo!) the body around the components (here, coolers) and reduce drag--the flat section on the bottom is there to help maintain low pressure under the body work by preventing "spillover" from underneath.

3. Or, same as (2) but the flat section at the bottom required for regulatory reasons to make sure some section of the body work between the tires meets width requirements (yes, i could check the regs myself but i'm busy . . .).

[Jhope]

F1 cars are beginning to look more and more like powerboats.

[desmo]

Originally posted by alexbiker
Desmo,

forgive my ignorance. GSJ?

Alex

Sorry to be obscure. Those are the constant velocity joints residing in the diff case just inboard of the halfshafts.

[cheesy poofs]

The rounded end of the side-pods remind me of the 1991 Lambo / Modena...

[MRC]

Are my eyes deceiving me, or are there two steps in the header pipe now? It looks that way to me.

Also, is there one less point or serration on the barge board this year?

Is that small protrusion immediately in front of the driver new?

[Hellenic tifosi]

Originally posted by desmo


Sorry to be obscure. Those are the constant velocity joints residing in the diff case just inboard of the halfshafts.

Desmo, excuse me for digressing, but I thought that the CV joints are residing near the wheels and not near the differential. Also, what is the purpose of this cogged wheel?

[MPJay]

The undercut sidepod fronts are a lot like the 2001 Jordan. In the latter half of the 2000 season Jordan undercut the sidepod sides for some benefit, so this isnt' a new thing. Probably done before too, the whole package seems asthetically pleasing, the performance will likely be less than pleasing to other team bosses though unless they really stuffed it.

[golfball]

It looks like a natural evolution of what they were doing last year - the shrink wrapped very compact rear end, vertical exhausts and otherwise very simple, very clean design.

The outboard corner of the sidepods need the shelf there to hide the side impact structures - there are two at the top and two at the bottom of the sidepod - the regs are worded such that they need to be almost the full width of the car. Other than that they must have done a really clever job of packaging everything away in that area - airspring, engine control and chassis control boxes, etc - wrapping the bodywork in to be very close to the radiator cooling ducts doesn't leave a whole lot of space.

It's quite amusing that Ferrari have evolved a bit towards last year's Williams flickup ahead of the rear wheels whilst Williams have gone the other way. I wonder who's got it right?

[Ben]

Originally posted by Hellenic tifosi


Desmo, excuse me for digressing, but I thought that the CV joints are residing near the wheels and not near the differential. Also, what is the purpose of this cogged wheel?

How the hell does an articulated driveshaft work without a CV joint at both ends? i.e. one in the upright and one in the gearbox.

Having not seen the atlas pic, I can only assume that the cogged wheel desmo refers to is to measure driveshaft rotational speed as an input to the TC/LC/Diff control systems.

Ben

[golfball]

You're right Ben - it's a wheelspeed sensor for the traction control and active diff. Until Silverstone 2003 that is......;)

[Hellenic tifosi]

Originally posted by Ben


How the hell does an articulated driveshaft work without a CV joint at both ends? i.e. one in the upright and one in the gearbox.

Having not seen the atlas pic, I can only assume that the cogged wheel desmo refers to is to measure driveshaft rotational speed as an input to the TC/LC/Diff control systems.

Ben

Ben, please let me clarify a thing. As far I know, there are two main types of joints: The Kardan-type joints and the other type, which uses small balls. I also think that FWD cars use a combination of these types, with the Kardan type being located near the differential.

However, I am not aware of what happens at the rear wheels. Can you please tell me, mentioning the right terminology, as I probably only know the Greek words!

Concerning the wheel speed sensor: That's what I thought first, but don't you thank that it is exposed to the airflow? I mean, couldn't it smaller, or located behind a fairing or something?

Regards!

[Scoots]

This is not the final version ... I have a feeling the flip-ups will be part of making the rear wing more efficient. I realy wonder what the new nose will look like.

[Ben]

Originally posted by Hellenic tifosi


Ben, please let me clarify a thing. As far I know, there are two main types of joints: The Kardan-type joints and the other type, which uses small balls. I also think that FWD cars use a combination of these types, with the Kardan type being located near the differential.

However, I am not aware of what happens at the rear wheels. Can you please tell me, mentioning the right terminology, as I probably only know the Greek words!

Concerning the wheel speed sensor: That's what I thought first, but don't you thank that it is exposed to the airflow? I mean, couldn't it smaller, or located behind a fairing or something?

Regards!

I really don't understand your confusion. If you have a rotating shaft that needs to move up and down (as the driveshaft does) you need a constant velocity joint at either end to allow the articulation whilst maintaining the rotational degree of freedom.

The joints used are invariably of the tripod variety (also referred to as GSJs) , examples of this joint can be found here.

http://www.gkndrivet.../Motorsport.pdf

As I said I haven't seen the pic - so I can't really comment on the speed sensor.

Ben

[12.9:1]

Originally posted by MRC
Are my eyes deceiving me, or are there two steps in the header pipe now? It looks that way to me.

TWO ! ? !

I see three

And a far smoother system it is! - SO why not fully tapered ?

If looks were speed

.

[Jacaré]

Originally posted by golfball
It's quite amusing that Ferrari have evolved a bit towards last year's Williams flickup ahead of the rear wheels whilst Williams have gone the other way. I wonder who's got it right?

within the technical regulations, how much of a fairing can you make around an "open wheel" F1 car? Obviously you can't completely enclose the wheel but I think these "flickups" are going too far ...

[CdnF1Fan]

I'm aching to see what's under the sidepods i.e. orientation of the radiators. Comments from the launch this morning seem to suggest there are big changes under there.

I've always wondered why Ferrari's F2002 had the Rad's tilted way forward - instead of the reverse? You'd think they'd try to obtain some downforce if they were going to tilt the rad's one way (as opposed to the other, which would generate lift, if anything). Why weren't the rad's tilted back last year? Perhaps someone far cleverer than I can answer.

CFF

[desmo]

Those cogged wheels on the inner CV joints with associated optical or proximity sensors never went away to my knowledge even when TC was banned. Uses they might have beyond their use for TC/LC include as an input value for the differential, clutch control and perhaps gear changing as well. Might that data also be useful for determining all the torsional oscillations occuring the gears and shafts etc in the drivetrain for development purposes as well? And how would one calculate the final drive speed in a corner if one didn't have a means for finding the mean of the two speeds of the rear wheels?

[nicholasc]

Originally posted by CdnF1Fan
I've always wondered why Ferrari's F2002 had the Rad's tilted way forward - instead of the reverse? You'd think they'd try to obtain some downforce if they were going to tilt the rad's one way (as opposed to the other, which would generate lift, if anything). Why weren't the rad's tilted back last year? Perhaps someone far cleverer than I can answer.

CFF

I can only speculate that they are trying to have the heat dissipate upward and rearward - even if the car is stationary.
If all the radiator vanes are placed vertically above each other then the heat dissipated from below will actually heat the one above, and if "facing backward' then more heat is released "forward" of the radiator, only to be sucked back through the radiator to heat it again before being evacuated from the sidepod.

just a guess
nick

[CdnF1Fan]

Originally posted by nicholasc
I can only speculate that they are trying to have the heat dissipate upward and rearward - even if the car is stationary.
If all the radiator vanes are placed vertically above each other then the heat dissipated from below will actually heat the one above, and if "facing backward' then more heat is released "forward" of the radiator, only to be sucked back through the radiator to heat it again before being evacuated from the sidepod.

just a guess
nick

Nick: I could be wrong, but I don't think the designer(s) were really too worried about the heat leakage forward of the radiators - waiting for the lights to go green and one or two short pit stops wouldn't build a significant amount of heat forward of the face of the radiators. It's easy to see the benefit of having a radiator tilted one way or the other .... they can increase the surface area of the heat exchangers by probably 20%. But why tilt them forward ... ?? Maybe they've changed their thinking and have reversed them this year (there was mention of a major change to the radiator setup ....)?

CFF

[desmo]

I've been printing up and comparing F2002 and F2003 photos some more. Here's some other things I've noted working more or less from front to back:

The upper surface of the monocoque forward of the cockpit appears more curved when viewed in profile with the peak of the curve right at the suspension rockers. The floor in this area looks considerably raised v the F2002, it looks like the monocoque's cross sectional areas here have been reduced.

The cockpit area is similar to last year. I don't have a good angle but it appears there may be more open area now between the cockpit and the crash protection raised areas on either side for airflow to the rear wing. Not too sure though.

Sidepods. Big news here. In addition to the obvious tumblehome I previously mentioned, the sides in plan view have gone from conspicuously convex to concave. Viewed head-on, the tops slope down away from the car's centerline a lot compared to the F2002 and the radius of the transition between the side and top is much larger, further appearing to reduce the sidepod's cross sectional areas. The sidepods have really shrunk although the large flip-ups mask this to from some angles. Inboard of the conspicuous new flip-ups has appeared a very Williamesque pair of fences between the rear wheels, Ferrari having adopted this whilst the Williams team has abandoned it. I used to think these were there only to isolate the airflow feeding the rear wing from the turbulence generated by the rotating rear wheels but in plan view one can see Ferrari's versions flare out at the fronts appearing to encourage some of the flow allowed by the smaller sidepods in towards the rear wing. The shrouds atop the sidepods around the exhaust outlets are MUCH larger appearing than the analogous parts of the F2002. To what extent this might be due to the lowering of the tops of the sidepods I am not sure.

Moving back between the rear wheels, it appears that the rear brake duct inlets have been moved conspicuously towards the car centerline and now draw moreso from the flow over the bodywork and less from the 'coke bottle' area. The rear suspension wishbones and even the angle of the halfshafts looks quite different too but the released plan view photo is poorly lit in this area. Hard to say but I am guessing the wheelbase may have shrunk perhaps another 50mm or so v the F2002 as well.

Awaiting better photos.

[Timstr11]

Desmo:

Hard to say but I am guessing the wheelbase may have shrunk perhaps another 50mm or so v the F2002 as well.

Quite the contrary. Ross Brawn says the wheelbase increased slightly.

Is it me, or is the new car smaller that the F2002?
Rory Byrne: As far as the size of the car is concerned, really it hasn't changed much in size. The wheelbase is very slightly longer, not significantly, it is really big sizepods that has made the difference and the development pieces that are coming in the next month or so will also be quite difficult to what you see on the car now, so the car looks small but it is not actually much smaller, it is lower in some areas that are critical but it is a similar size.

Interview at: http://www.pitpass.c...cfm?newsid=4746

Timstr

[Wuzak]

Originally posted by CdnF1Fan
I've always wondered why Ferrari's F2002 had the Rad's tilted way forward - instead of the reverse? You'd think they'd try to obtain some downforce if they were going to tilt the rad's one way (as opposed to the other, which would generate lift, if anything). Why weren't the rad's tilted back last year? Perhaps someone far cleverer than I can answer.

With the radiators tilted forward, the exhaust air leaves rearwards and upwards. The mass flow of air in that direction would contribute (in a minor way) to downforce, if it left the vehicle in that way. The McLarens of '83-'87 certainly had the radiator outlets arranged in that way, and several road and GT cars have arranged their radiators in that way (Ford GT40 comes to mind).

However, with the Ferrari F2002 the radiator outlets are above the exhaust and pointing backwards, rather than upwards.

If the radiators were tilted backwards, the air would have to travel through the radiators towards the floor, then take a change of direction and head upwards towards the outlets. This, I would imagine, would cause extra drag on the car.

In other words, the main reason for the radiators tilting forwards could be internal aerodynamics!


Does anybody have any clue as to how much heat is rejected by the radiators? I would think it is quite a useful amount of hp!

[P1 Senna]

Picture comparison of F2003-GA to F2002. If this car proves to be as reliable as the F2002, it's all over. If not, they can just continue running the F2002 and still kick butt.

[DOHC]

Excellent analysis, desmo, and very good comparison pix, P1 Senna.

But to me, those huge flipups look very draggy. The aero looks less convincing to me than that of the F2002. But then the eye might be deceiving.

[CdnF1Fan]

Originally posted by P1 Senna
Picture comparison of F2003-GA to F2002. If this car proves to be as reliable as the F2002, it's all over. If not, they can just continue running the F2002 and still kick butt.

Good point P1 - and I don't think that anyone has any reason to doubt that the new car won't be every bit as dominant as the old. On the bright side (as far as the competition goes), there is one thing they can hope for: The new engine *the 052* will NOT fit into any car except the new one, so if for some reason the new chassis sucks, or the new engine is unreliable, they would have to go back to the F2002 (as new engine won't fit into F2002 chassis, and old engine won't fit into new F2003 chassis).

CFF

[nicholasc]

f1-live
f1-live 2

what is the thin vertical "thing" under the rear light?

also - this diffuser's not for real is it - just a mock-up?

[Enkei]

Originally posted by nicholasc
f1-live
f1-live 2

what is the thin vertical "thing" under the rear light?

also - this diffuser's not for real is it - just a mock-up?

All cars have that, it's for the jackman to raise the car during a pitstop.

[nicholasc]

Originally posted by Enkei


All cars have that, it's for the jackman to raise the car during a pitstop.

thanks - just never noticed it before - most diffusers don't have a spotlight on them like that one

[P1 Senna]

Anyone know what this device is on the wheels? Between the spokes at 9 o'clock - is that a tire pressure sensor? Or what .....?

[Enkei]

McLaren first used that last year in Monaco if I remember well. It is some kind of pressure releaser, so they can adjust the tyre pressure without having to enter the pits.

[theo_dragonas]

Also what about the new type of "bolt" (sorry if i didn't use the right word) in the same picture? Isn;t it quite strange? Any ideas about how it works?

[desmo]

That style of wheel fastening nut was first used in F1 by Stewart in '97 although they'd been used in CART earlier. The newer style seen in the photo were I believe first seen in F1 on Williams. I think Ferrari were among the last teams to change over from the traditional hexagonal wheel nuts.

[perfectelise]

Whats the advantage? ... less weight or easier to engage in pitstops? :

[desmo]

Perfectelise: Whats the advantage? ... less weight or easier to engage in pitstops?



Both.

[perfectelise]

Originally posted by Enkei
McLaren first used that last year in Monaco if I remember well. It is some kind of pressure releaser, so they can adjust the tyre pressure without having to enter the pits.

Presumably the only option is to let air out of the tyre, a non-reversable adjustment. Are pressures gradualy reduced as tyres do more laps??

[SeanValen]

Originally posted by perfectelise


Presumably the only option is to let air out of the tyre, a non-reversable adjustment. Are pressures gradualy reduced as tyres do more laps??

That would seem the logical assumption, but sometimes, like change of weather, temperature, pressures maybe needed to be reduced more quickly, as in wet weather, and you have not changed to wet tyres yet, less pressure more grip in those conditions.

Perfectelise the pressure.

[scarbs]

I recall tyre pressure releif valves were banned in the early nineties, the teams ran low pressure for grip off the starting grid and then as heat built up the valve released excess pressure, this was before the time of long baked tyres.

[desmo]

Scasrbs, a quick scan of the regs revealed no regulation I could find prohibiting such a thing unless one was to stretch 10.1 past its likely limits.

Doesn't that device look mighty big to be simply a sprung relief valve? Might it simply be a sensor/sender for monitoring tire pressure?

[perfectelise]

And why is it so much outside the wheel?

[scarbs]

Its not a presure sensor, as these ar eplaced on the outside face of the wheel barrel (i.e. inside the tyre). I dont if the regulation has fallen into dis-use. Piola suggested these devices could "ADD" pressure of a few PSI to a tyre, which to me seems unlikely and likely to be banned.

[daFt]

Here's a great shot clearly showing just how profiled the sidepods are.

[Ali_G]

Does anyone know here if Ferrari are planning on running a new front wing - nose cone on the new car. As it is, it looks as if they are still using lasts years front wing.

Tifosi-club.com stated that this will be the case, but as they're testing at Fiorano with the old wing, do ye guys think they'll stick with it ?

Niall

[Scoots]

I think a new wing is coming in a few weeks.