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My Ferrari F1 Up Close Pictures!

Started by mrman_3k , Sep 07 2004 02:46

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#1 mrman_3k

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Posted 07 September 2004 - 02:46

I took these at the Monterey Historics and I figured all you tech heads would love it and be able to analyze the details. I can't believe I was able to get so close, touch, and even sit in one of the F1 cars. I was especially suprised they had the F2003-GA there for all to see and for those in the garages like myself I was able to take tons of pictures.

Here is my journal and pictures, if you have any questions or want more pictures I got 'em!

- Neil

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I will post my days experiences especially concering Ferrari after each day. Here is Friday's:

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Friday 08/13/04

Today was beyond amazing, it was like a best dream come true. To start the day I headed down to Laguna Seca to watch some of the Monterey Historic races. When I got there they were running some old race cars but that’s not what I was interested in. I found the Ferrari booth and saw the 612 Scaglietti in real life. It was definitely more beautiful in real life than photos. Sat in that, a 360, 575, and the Maserati cars. I asked the man at the booth where and if they will be running any modern F1 cars and he wasn’t sure.

Just after that I heard that wail that I’d heard many times before in videos but have never heard before in real life – an F1 car starting up. I quickly found my way to the source of the noise seeing my first Formula 1 car in real life, the F2002. I was beyond excited; I had to control myself since I felt like a little child inside. Next to the F2002 was the F2003-GA. Then to boot I see Andrea Gallietti who takes care of customer F1 cars and it was neat to have seen him in the video with Frank Mountain and then in real life. They were just turning on the different F1 cars for I guess checkups before they would run in a practice later in the day.

I was dressed nicely and looked like a Ferrari employee which got me past the fence and into the paddock area which was fantastic. I talked a few of the F1 car owners and buddied with the son of one of the owners and now I basically have access to the area for the weekend. I got to touch and look all over the cars, the rear panels were off so I got to see the engine up close. I don’t have any pictures of that since I left the camera in the car. I could only spend a few minutes there and then I had to leave for Pebble Beach since I was invited to test drive a Maserati.

When I got to Pebble Beach they had two nice tents, one enclosed and one open. The closed one was for a private Ferrari event and the other was open and for Maserati with all their cars on display. I checked in for my 12:00pm appointment to test drive a Coupé. There was a briefing but I was late to it since I was admiring the Quattroporte but basically they talked about how to operate the F1 style gearbox. I arrived when they talked about how we would be driving caravan style around parts of the 17-mile drive. They then let us loose on a fleet of Maserati’s and they said find whatever hop in and wait for the signal to go.

They had radios in the car so they could communicate to everyone. They keys were in and we all started up. I didn’t have the briefing how to operate the flappy paddle gearbox but common sense worked just fine. Made sure it wasn’t in auto mode and turned on sport mode. Then we got the go and slowly made our way out onto the street. My first impressions of the gearbox were not great; it was like a new driver learning to drive stick – very jerky at low speeds unless you operate it with finess. We drove around a while and I got the hang of it, lift on upshifts and downshifts are great. My only complaint with shifts besides the low speed problems is that they take too long for my likings at least in sport mode. I was told the Ferrari gearboxes are quicker and generally excluding the 360 smoother.

The driving dynamics were quite nice, steering felt good but still not as good as I was expecting. Driving the car basically felt like driving my G35 which is good, but I was expecting more out of it, probably more on the lines of what a 360 would give you. The interior was lacking a bit, but luckily the Italian style saves it from me going off on it. Mind you the car did have 7,000 most probably hard miles on it, but still it looked a bit beat up. The engine had good power, it revved incredibly quickly, too quickly for the gearbox. You almost have to upshift a bit before you are actually ready for the upshift since it bounced off the rev limit the first few times I did wide open throttle.

Overall a great experience and I am very grateful to Maserati for this opportunity. After we got out of the cars and had a debrief, they gave us a limited 5,000 quantity poster of the MC12 which was very nice and like the one of the Quattroporte I got last year. I can post pictures of them sometime soon.

I decided to check out the Ferrari tent but was turned away because they were closing for a lunch break until 2pm so I took the opportunity and got lunch for myself. Came back a bit earlier around 1:30pm so I hung around the Maserati booth and got a demo of the Quattroporte sound system from a Bose representative. The system was pretty good, good reproduction, but it seemed to have a slight stutter when the volume was cranked up, but normally it would be great.

At 2pm managed to get myself into the private Ferrari event and guess what, it was a private preview to the 575 Berlinetta Convertible. The car has a glass electrochromic roof that folds onto the back to become a convertible. Very neat, but I was hoping for the new 430.

They very nice food with waiters walking around. They had these awesome proscutto balls. After that I headed back to Laguna Seca to watch the F1 cars do a few practice laps.

When I arrived they were just getting ready to start the cars and the F1 team was running around getting all the starters ready. The F2002 was not going to be run. I was told that the F1 team is going to try and break the Laguna Seca lap record this Sunday with the F2003-GA. I was able to stand about six feet away from the F2003 as it was started and rolled out of the garage which was just an amazing sound. I am not sure who the test driver is who is driving, but he definitely looked like he knew what he was doing.

After the cars started racing around the circuit I ran over to a better viewing area and the sound and visual experience was not only a treat but a dream. Now I know what you are all talking about saying you have to hear an F1 car run on the track, it is just stunning. The customer F1 cars weren’t going at their limit probably because they aren’t being driven by racing drivers but the F2003 was screaming. The traction control made the sound weird, kind of like a rasping almost broken sound. The amazing part was the braking and the outright cornering speeds. I was awed. Unfortunately they ran for probably 15 minutes but I was so glad I got to see that.

I walked around some shops, bought myself a 360 Challenge Stradale model and headed home. Again it was amazing and I can’t wait for tomorrow. I will probably head up to the corkscrew turn and look at more of the racing rather than only hanging out at the F1 garage.

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This is Andrea Bertollini:

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Saturday 08/14/04

Well today wasn’t nearly as good as yesterday but still a healthy bunch of fun. It started a little rough with over one hour of bumper to bumper traffic over 8 miles from the main street to parking with several Ferrari’s overheated alongside the way. I got a nice leg workout since my car is manual (G35 6MT). The F1 Ferrari’s were supposed to go out at noon and I was stuck in traffic at noon so I was pretty upset. Luckily since they were operating on Italian time they didn’t go out until 12:30pm so I managed to park and sprint to the main grand stands across from the pits to watch them start the cars and send them out.

The cars zoomed out and things were looking good. After one or two laps the F2003 came in the pits and turned the engine off and on again and was back out. They got about probably five laps in before an older F1 customer car overshot turn 11 and almost crashed but the driver saved it. Immediately after that the red flags were out.

Over the loud speaker saying that an F1 car crashed in turn 6 and they would have to do extensive clean up but the driver was okay and walked out of the car. All the F1 cars came in except the crashed one of course and the session was done. There was definitely an air of disappointment from the crowd.

Decided to use the time to get lunch and walk around the paddock. After that I met up with Rosso and his pops so that was fun meeting a fellow forum member!

After that I headed down to the Ferrari garages to see my buddy Hans who’s father owns one of the F1 cars. Unfortunately the Ferrari guys were not in a good mood and closed all the doors on all spectators and the only way in was through this guard lady who wouldn’t let me in since I didn’t have the proper pass. I told her I knew Hans inside and he could clear me and I’d stick with him but she said even if he wanted me in there I couldn’t since I didn’t have the pass. So I was demoted to a normal race fan instead of an insider. Guess I’ll have to get even better Ferrari connections to get a full pass next time.

Decided to explore more of the track and made the hike up the hill to see the famous Corkscrew turn for the first time. That is a very neat turn and must be extremely scary to drive since any aerodynamics would be gone during that portion. I also found a good view so hopefully tomorrow when they run the F2003 I will have a good view and hopefully get a few good pics for you guys. I really want a pic of the F2003 flying down the Corkscrew.

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Sunday 04/15/04

Oh my goodness I thought Friday was great but nothing could have prepared me for today. It started off much better than yesterday since I took a back route to get to Laguna Seca instead of the main entrance and I had no traffic. I got a close up parking spot and I was ready to enjoy the Ferrari F1 cars and hopefully see the garage if it was opened today.

I decided to head down to the garage to check out what was happening. Unfortunately the F2003 was gone today; they took it to Pebble Beach so Bertollini would have to drive the F2002 which although good was noticeably slower than the F2003. The security was a bit lax so I got in and met a friend of one of the drivers. I hung out with him and he told me a lot of information about the Corsa Clienti program which is the customer bought F1 cars. The Clienti mechanics were busy getting the cars ready to go out for practice laps so I stayed out of their way but got some good pictures. I did get to hold the F2002 steering wheel and all those buttons and knobs are amazing, it is like a laptop. The other amazing part was when I picked up one of the tire assemblies. I could not believe how light it was. A tire that size on a road car would weigh probably around 30 pounds, but the F1 tire weighed no more than probably 5-7 pounds. With one hand I could hold the whole thing without using any muscles.

They started the cars which are always great and they sent them off. I watched the cars do several laps from the pit lane but it wasn’t that great since there is the pit lane separating the pit lane from the track and the sound wasn’t as good.

The cars finished their thing and came back to the garage. I got to watch them push all the cars back into their stalls and got a few more good pictures. I took the opportunity to congratulate the Clienti mechanics and especially test driver Andrea Bertollini for Ferrari’s record sixth straight WCC. I talked with Adalberto Cattabriga who is the head of Clienti about buying from the Clienti program and about Ferrari in general. He was very polite answered all my questions and even gave me his card.

I went to lunch and decided to go check out some of the tents when what would you know, the Chrysler ME412 is sitting right there with the engine idling. The test/development driver was there and was answering questions about it. He was warming it up before taking it on a few demonstration laps. On the side of the car there were several bird and duck stickers. We asked him what those were and he said those were casualties during testing and he was keeping track. That was pretty funny and we all had a good laugh. Then the Ferrari Club did two parade laps and I got a few pictures.

After that I headed back to the garages but security was better this time so I couldn’t get in and Andy the guy I met was away having lunch. Then I started talking with Kevin one of the Clienti drivers. He invited me into the garage and basically gave me permanent access to them for the rest of the day. He was incredibly generous and very nice to answer my questions and show me things on his F1 car.

After a while he left to go change and get ready for the 2pm show with all the Clienti and Bertollini who would try and break the lap record. I hung out with Andy and we left the garages after they warmed up the cars for a better vantage point to watch them. The cars were great, the noise, the sight, the speed, everything was amazing. Bertollini tried to break the lap record but several things prevented this, first he was using the F2002 and he had practiced in the F2003 for the past several days, plus they brought the hard compound tires which made the car twitchy, if they brought the soft compound tires it would have no problems breaking the lap record. His fastest lap of the day was 1:09:185 and the lap record is 1:07:xxx so he was off by about 2 seconds but not bad for only 10 or so laps and on the wrong tires.

For everyone else they would just get to clap watch the cars return to the garage but we headed back to the garage to talk personally with Bertollini and the crew.

When we got in they were cooling the cars down and the Clienti drivers went and changed. I talked with Bertollini and in his broken English he said that the car was very difficult to drive since they had the hard tires. Then Kevin came back and I talked with him, he had a lot of fun and I told him about thescuderia.net so he might register and become a member here.

We talked some more about the car, took some more pictures and then he let me sit in it. This was a dream come true, me sitting in Schumacher’s old Formula One car. I had to take my shoes off since street shoes won’t fit in the narrow tub. The seat was tight but if I had a custom seat molding there would be no problems. The throttle pedal had really long travel, much longer than any road car I’ve ever sat in. The brakes felt good, like a nice solid sports car. The steering even without the power assist on the ground was incredibly light. The view was spectacular and I could only imagine myself driving it. Once you are in the cockpit you hardly have to move your hands, the steering wheel and everything fits perfectly. The paddles all move as I imagined and the clutch paddles were really cool. Again if you are reading this Kevin – thank you so much, the experience today was unbelievable!

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#2 Bono

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Posted 07 September 2004 - 03:50

amazing pics. :eek:

Thanks

#3 windsok

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Posted 07 September 2004 - 10:16

wow man.

Thanks so much for sharing.

#4 roadie

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Posted 07 September 2004 - 11:18

wow, what an amazing post! i have to say my computer almost died (luckily i am building an athlon 64 rig

)

it sounds like a brilliant experience - i want that f50!

do you have any videos that you could share?

#5 mrman_3k

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Joined: February 04

Posted 07 September 2004 - 17:36

I have a few short video clips and a better video that I need to download to my computer. I have to borrow a cable from a friend so hopefully by next week I can have a video posted. I'll tell you having an F1 car revving right next to you is an experience that is difficult to describe. I didn't have earplugs in and my ears hurt for two days afterwards.

#6 Breadmaster

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Posted 07 September 2004 - 17:49

you lucky bastard!

#7 Nazzz

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Posted 07 September 2004 - 17:58

you got to sit in the cars aswell!!!!!!!! :stoned:

Awesome and v rare picture of the pedal layout! :up:

#8 Ben

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Posted 07 September 2004 - 19:44

Thread needs a warning flag for 56K users. I love my Broadband :-)

Excellent pics. This whole event looks fantastic. I saw some pics in Octane of a load of cars assembled on the straight at Laguna, very nice.

Ben

#9 Rene

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Posted 07 September 2004 - 21:28

Wow, thanks for sharing :up:

#10 CdnF1Fan

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Posted 08 September 2004 - 02:58

Here's what's left of Kroyman's car (ex-Schumacher F399) after he cut the nose off that Saturday. Maranello was so intrigued as to how the car distructed that they shipped the car back for inspection prior to destroying it.

Posted Image

*BTW - Kroymans walked away from this incident uninjured

CFF

#11 mrman_3k

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Posted 08 September 2004 - 05:02

Kroymans even raced his other vintage Ferrari later that day! In my 2nd day journal you can see the car being taken back to the garage.

#12 Breadmaster

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Posted 08 September 2004 - 08:17

Originally posted by CdnF1Fan
Here's what's left of Kroyman's car (ex-Schumacher F399) after he cut the nose off that Saturday. Maranello was so intrigued as to how the car distructed that they shipped the car back for inspection prior to destroying it.

*BTW - Kroymans walked away from this incident uninjured

CFF

more info for the conspiracy theorists! have you read the other thread about this?
This is of course the car that broke MS's legs at silverstone in 1999....which was broken at that exact same place...and raced later that year my Mika Salo.

hmmm.....

#13 Breadmaster

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Posted 08 September 2004 - 15:32

This is the other thread with new info today....(post 57)

Ferrari crash at SPA (sic)

#14 ViMaMo

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Posted 08 September 2004 - 16:25

mrman_3k

Thanks a million.

The pedals of F2002... is it even there on the web? Loved that pic.

I have to agree hands down about the F1 sound. It blows your mind the first time you hear it. Been to US GP 2003, never wore the ear plugs. Screw my ears, i want to hear that scream.

Abs. fab. Nothing like it at all.

Q: How did you like the V12 of the Ferrari 412 ?

#15 PPatrik :: LKF

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Posted 08 September 2004 - 17:24

The 412 is darker red then the newer cars. When did change Ferrari the painting? After ALesi and Berger left?

#16 ViMaMo

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Posted 08 September 2004 - 18:41

Originally posted by PPatrik :: LKF
The 412 is darker red then the newer cars. When did change Ferrari the painting? After ALesi and Berger left?

After Marboro became a major sponsor for Ferrari in 1996 ?

#17 Teflon Mike

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Posted 08 September 2004 - 18:42

After they got Marlboro's full sponsorship, and Mclaren switched to the silver arrow paintjob. From then on their F1 cars have actually been Marlboro red. Amusingly, you can order a Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale in Marlboro red too.

{tm}
At least they're not early-nineties Mclaren orange.

Edit: ah, beaten to the punch.

#18 PPatrik :: LKF

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Posted 08 September 2004 - 20:01

Thank you for your fast reply.

Another question: this brake disc look like it made of steel and not carbon:
Posted Image

The private cars run with steel discs? As some others mentioned in topic "How about banning carbon fibre" the brake dust is highly toxic. Is this just about that? Or just too difficult to put heat in a carbon disc to a non-professional driver?

#19 mrman_3k

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Posted 08 September 2004 - 22:26

That is a pic of the 1997 F310B's rear brakes. I'm pretty sure they are carbon but I can check with my friend who owns the car.

#20 mrman_3k

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Posted 08 September 2004 - 22:41

Guys bad news, there have been a lot more views to this thread than I ever imagined and the bandwidth on the site I host these pics has reached 84% (yesterday it was at 14%) of 7.5GB/month usage.

All right, so I took down the majority of the pics and hopefully the remaining ones can stay up for the rest of the month. Next month I will put them all back online. Enjoy :up:

#21 CevertInBlue1973

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Posted 29 September 2004 - 02:30

Loved the pictures..Very cool !! :love:

#22 CevertInBlue1973

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Posted 29 September 2004 - 02:32

Originally posted by CdnF1Fan
Here's what's left of Kroyman's car (ex-Schumacher F399) after he cut the nose off that Saturday. Maranello was so intrigued as to how the car distructed that they shipped the car back for inspection prior to destroying it.

*BTW - Kroymans walked away from this incident uninjured

CFF

OUCH!! Lucky he got out in one piece !! Just goes to show you how safe racing cars are these days..Bloody hell He's lucky!! :smoking:

#23 Pat Clarke

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Posted 30 September 2004 - 03:22

All I can see of your Ferrari pix is a column of the dreaded red Xs. Darn.
Is there a website where they are still visible?
Regards
Pat

#24 mrman_3k

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Posted 30 September 2004 - 03:32

Like I said in an earlier post - the bandwidth has been exceeded for the month. Once we hit October I can put them back up.

#25 Pat Clarke

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Posted 30 September 2004 - 06:15

Sorry, I missed that. Okay, I look forward to seeing them in a few days. Thanks for the prompt response.
Regards
Pat

#26 Admiral Thrawn

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Joined: October 04

Posted 01 October 2004 - 08:54

Originally posted by Breadmaster

more info for the conspiracy theorists! have you read the other thread about this?
This is of course the car that broke MS's legs at silverstone in 1999....which was broken at that exact same place...and raced later that year my Mika Salo.

hmmm.....

This is the third time I've seen this inaccurate information posted in these forums.

The chassis Schumacher crashed at Silverstone in 1999 was #192. That car was retired and put in a display.

Kroymans' chassis is #193, which was the T-car for the Silverstone 1999 race. It was original and unmodified when Frederico had his accident at Leguna Seca.

Btw, it's the 1st of October. Looking forward to seeing the photos! :cool:

#27 Jeff

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Posted 04 October 2004 - 05:08

Originally posted by Pat Clarke
All I can see of your Ferrari pix is a column of the dreaded red Xs. Darn.
Is there a website where they are still visible?
Regards
Pat

Me too!

#28 Admiral Thrawn

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Posted 04 October 2004 - 13:58

Any idea when the photos will be back up?

#29 mrman_3k

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Posted 05 October 2004 - 02:33

All righty, I put a fair number of the pics back up. Hopefully the bandwidth won't all get used up since I think everyone would like to see them! If bandwidth doesn't climb exponentially in the next few days I will put up the remaining pics.

Enjoy!

#30 ivanalesi

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Posted 05 October 2004 - 08:07

better remove them again and just post a url with the directory, coz everytime i open this thread i'm opening all of them and your bandwidth goes sky hi:)