quarta-feira, novembro 13, 2002

 

E já que a temporada 2003 já começou, pelo menos pra mim e pra Gil... especial do Daily F1:

2003 season starts now
by Nick Raman

Just as team personnel reflect on the season and start to enjoy “real life” away from the frenetic Formula One circus, many of them will be called back at the end of this month to step up the preparations for the 2003 season with track testing all over Europe. This will continue what many workers have been doing at the factories for most of the year, creating new cars for the new campaign.

We look at what all the teams will be doing over the initial stage of the winter and check on their progress for 2003.

Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro

Current state: Working in the wind tunnel developing the new F2003 as well as putting the new 052 V10 through its paces on the test bench at Maranello. The new car will be launched most likely in February but the F2002, like last season, will be used in the first few races of the season. Technical Director Ross Brawn is back at work having recovered from a painful back injury.

Testing: Despite having its own test track Fiorano, Ferrari is still not able to turn a wheel until late November due to the post-season testing ban. The team will kick off an involved programme on November 26 with work at Barcelona with Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello who will focus on tyre testing for Bridgestone. Principal tester Luca Badoer will work on electronic and mechanical evaluation testing at Fiorano and Mugello. Further runs are planned at Spanish circuits Jerez and Barcelona later in the off-season but Ferrari is remaining tight lipped about rumours it has signed Felipe Massa to replace Luciano Burti as secondary for next year. Sources claim the deal has already been done and that an announcement will be made shortly.

BMW-Williams F1 Team

Current state: Williams is continuing the design work on the FW25 challenger, said to be a radical and innovative step forward over the FW24. BMW is well ahead of schedule with the 2003-spec P83 V10. The engine has already covered 1290 kilometres in a FW24 test car, and engineers have been running it hard on the bench recently at the technical centre in Munich.

Testing: With the departure of Antonio Pizzonia to Jaguar as a works race driver, Williams will evaluate candidates for the position on track. Giorgio Pantano, who finished second in the F3000 Championship, and F3 driver Vitantonio Liuzzi, will run 2002-spec FW24s at the Valencia circuit as part of a five-day programme. Juan-Pablo Montoya, who finished third in the Championship last season, and primary team tester Marc Gene will also be working at the test. In early December at Barcelona Nico Rosberg, son of former World Champion Keke will be given his chance to test a Williams having impressed BMW in junior formulae.

West McLaren Mercedes

Current state: Engineers at Woking are continuing with the design work of the 2003 MP4/18, which will be a significant step forward. The team is taking its time with the car having already announced that it will start next year with a version of the MP4/17 featuring a 2003 rear end. This is similar to what Ferrari did at the start of 2002 before racing the new car at the start of the European leg of the Championship. Mercedes’ new engine, again built by Ilmor, will be more powerful and more compact than last season’s offering. The 2002-spec FO110M was criticised mainly for its excessive weight and length.

Testing: McLaren will recommence testing at Valencia on November 26 with an intensive programme planned. An interim version of the MP4/17 featuring the new suspension parts and driveline will be tested and developed. Ultimately, this car with further development will be turned into a D-spec and raced in Melbourne next March. McLaren will also have a flat 2002-spec MP4/17 similar to the car used in Japan last month for testing in Spain. The team’s three drivers will be on hand to test, Kimi Raikkonen, David Coulthard, and tester Alexander Wurz. Further tests are planned at Barcelona and Jerez in the lead-up to Christmas.

Mild Seven Renault F1 Team

Current state: The new R203 car is in the final stages of design and is likely to be unveiled in early January. Renault’s RS24 is being tested on the dyno in Viry-Chatillon and will be tested well before the press unveiling. The engine will again feature a 111-degree vee-angle but after considerable refinement and development, should have more power than the 2002 engine. Renault fielded one of the best electronics systems on the grid last season and based on that there will be only minor changes made to the “foundation” control software for 2003.

Testing: An interim car featuring 2003 parts as well as a standard-specification R202 will be run at the Valencia layout in Spain with race drivers Jarno Trulli and Fernando Alonso behind the wheel. There is a vacancy in the testing line-up but it has been rumoured that F3000 Champion Sebastien Bourdais will shortly be tested and could be named at the time of the launch next year. Others tests for Renault this year will be at Barcelona and Jerez in early December.

Sauber Petronas

Current state: It is all about evolution as Sauber refines its already successful technical formula. The C21 was a strong all-rounder and the design team will focus on improving small details as the Hinwil squad aims to score its first victory next year. Even better is that the team will also use the groundbreaking 2002 Ferrari rear end next year, featuring the compact super lightweight gearbox that was such a big part of Maranello’s success last season. However the package will only be available to Sauber mid January, which the team will need in any case as it prepares its new chassis.

Testing: Nick Heidfeld will kick off the testing season for Sauber at Valencia on November 26 while Heinz-Harald Frentzen, who drove at the US Grand Prix for Sauber last season, will have his first test as a full-time pilot for the team at Jerez from December 5. Other tests will be carried out closer to Christmas and the focus of the initial winter running will be the testing of aerodynamic components and tyres.

DHL Jordan

Current state: Jordan designers are working hard on the 2003 EJ13 at the factory in Silverstone. The car will be significantly different to the 2002 with the squad changing engine suppliers from Honda to Ford. The engine will be the 72-degree Cosworth CR3 V10, which Jaguar used last season and will be supplied to Jordan under the RS banner, tying in with Ford’s racing and sports arm.

Testing: Jordan decided on cost grounds it would not build an interim chassis to test with over the winter and so will resume testing in the New Year once the EJ13 has been delivered. The talk is that the team will launch the car in the second week of January.

Jaguar Racing

Current State: Work is progressing well on the R4 machine ahead of the January 13 launch date, which the team announced last week. The car, new driver Mark Webber said last week, would be designed with a conservative approach. Cosworth’s CR4 will be brand new however, featuring a 90-degree vee-angle and said to be even lighter and more compact than the 105 kilogram CR3.

Testing: The CR4 will be run in an interim R3 chassis at Barcelona on November 26, steered by the new pilots Australian Mark Webber and Brazil’s Antonio Pizzonia. Testing of the new CR4 V10 early will give technicians a chance to evaluate the most suitable tyre compounds, suspension settings and electronic maps for the engine.

Lucky Strike British American Racing Honda

Current state: Design of the new 005 contender is almost complete. The car could run before the end of the year but it is not likely to be launched as early as BAR did with the 004 last year. Geoff Willis, the team’s Technical Director who formerly worked as Williams aerodynamicist, has said there will be some innovative touches on the new car. Last year the team had specific problems with the aero side of the car and it hopes Willis will set things right for 2003 when Jacques Villeneuve will be joined by Jenson Button from Renault.

Testing: Alongside design work on the new car, the team will be on the track testing parts for it. Tester Anthony Davidson will be working at Barcelona on November 26 evaluating black box software maps and sensors. More tests are planned for December.

KL Minardi

Current State: Minardi has been working on the 2003-spec PS03 and intends to introduce it next season but will race an updated version of the PS02 in the early events next year. The team’s engine supplier for next year is still unknown following the departure of Asiatech which has since closed down its operation, but it will likely be Cosworth provided Boss Paul Stoddart can reach an equitable deal with Ford’s PPD (Premier Performance Division). The team recently took delivery of a CR3 V10, the same unit used by Jaguar in 2002, and has been looking at ways of accommodating it in the current car. The Asiatech AT02 shares the same 72-degree vee-angle, which has made the process easier.

Testing: Minardi has not secured any race drivers for next year as yet following the departure of Mark Webber to Jaguar and the dropping of Alex Yoong which means the team will bring in some youngsters for winter testing including Russia’s Sergei Zlobin who comes with a significant personal sponsorship budget courtesy of the world’s biggest gas company Gazprom, and 2001 Nissan Championship winner Franck Montagny. The car for the testing duties will be the 2001-spec PS01D fitted with a Cosworth-based European V10.

Panasonic Toyota Racing

Current State: Gustav Brunner is continuing work on the new TF103, the Austrian having a more extensive development window with the car having joined the team too late in 2001 to have a major influence on the TF102’s design foundations. The new engine will be a revised version of the 2002 RVX-02, which proved an excellent unit with strong power output and effective driveability in the team’s maiden season.

Testing: Toyota’s new signing Cristiano Da Matta will get his first test as a full-time racer on November 26 at Barcelona, joining ’03 team-mate and other new arrival Olivier Panis. Both men will run the interim TF102 contender featuring the RVX-03 V10 and north-south seven-speed gearbox. Further tests have been scheduled in early December at Toyota’s home facility Paul Ricard HTTT (High Tech Test Track) and Barcelona.

Arrows

Current State: Work at the Leafield factory is at a standstill and factory and race team employees are all at home while the team tries to secure its future. Bosses are facing major legal and financial battles over the coming weeks and it is unclear whether the team will make the grid next year.

Testing: Nothing planned. The team’s cars have not turned a wheel since the German Grand Prix in late July.

posted by Viviane at 12:27:00 PM