|
|
The F2002 will probably be remembered as
Rory Byrne’s greatest ever chassis. That is until we get to witness the F2003! So how
does Byrne feel about the way his designed chassis has dominated the 2002 F1 season?
Rory Byrne is one of the main ingredients in the recent success of the Ferrari team, since
joining the Scuderia in 1997 the South African has worked closely with his team and has
improved the chassis year upon year. The F2001 was great but the F2002 is even better, so
how does he go about his role within the team?
Many say the F2002 is the most beautiful F1 racing car they have ever seen, this may well
be true. But beauty is something that is not important to Byrne who goes all out to make a
winning car, if it looks good then so be it, if it looks horrible and wins then
that’s just as good. Beauty is they say only skin deep and Byrne applies this saying
to the F2002, many only see the outside beauty but the insides are just as perfect as the
exterior!
“I don't consider beauty first because only efficiency matters. A winning car is
always beautiful! Moreover, the concept of beauty is very subjective: what I think is nice
probably doesn't suit everyone. The whole shape of the car comes from research and wind
tunnel studies. When I look at this car, I don't only see its external shape. I see how
well integrated it is, I consider the amount of work and resources allocated to its
design. Every single element of the F2002 has been carefully studied. This, also, is
beautiful.
The F2002 did not race until the third race of the season in Brazil. The late arrival of
the chassis was down to reliability issues and the team took the chance to use the F2001
for the season’s opening races in order to make sure the new chassis was fully
prepared to go racing. It was a plan that worked. Even though the F2002 has been the
dominant force this season Byrne has already pinpointed a weak are in the chassis, but is
looking forward to fixing this area in the 2003 chassis.
“There is a particular area that we could have done better, “ says Rory. “I
can't tell you a lot about it, but it will be fixed for the 2003 car.” How big a
weakness this is likely to stay within the team, but when the team comes to that area this
time round we can expect to see a significant improvement in the speed of the new car
according to Rory.
The F2002 has dominated in racing trim, but this is not true when it comes to qualifying.
However this does not signal a weakness in the chassis according to Byrne. The F2002 is
doing exactly what he thought it would do in qualifying, as well as in races.
“Maybe it is because our competitors have a very strong package in qualifying, which
is not so competitive in the race. I don't see any problem with the competitiveness of our
car in qualifying. It responds exactly as it should. We were a bit concerned (about
reliability) this winter, and this is the reason why we used the F2001 at the start of the
season. That said, as soon as we used the F2002, the new car has been incredibly
reliable”
One of the biggest problems for Ferrari in recent seasons has been tyre wear, especially
the rears. 2000 was a suitable example of this problem for Ferrari and especially when
track temperatures were high the tyres were being eaten by the F1-2000. This has been one
of the main areas that the team have worked hard on to improve, and with input from
Bridgestone it is now paying dividends this season as the F2002 is very easy on the tyres.
“That's been a major step forward this year. In 2000, our car was good, but we were
struggling with the rear tyres sometimes when the temperature was high. We improved it in
2001, and we went even further this year. It is a major element when it comes to think
about strategies and tyre choice for the race.”
Any of the current F1 designers would be proud to have created a race winning car as good
as the F2002 and for Byrne this is no different. Although he is proud of the complete car
he was most personally pleased with the new transmission and cooling system, as well as
those exhausts!
“I'm proud of the whole thing, really. If I had to point out a few elements, I'd say
that the new transmission and the cooling system are really competent. The new exhausts
were born from the fact that the sidepods are much lower. But that the engine has to keep
its exhaust quite high. It would have been difficult to adapt the system we've been using
since 1998 on the 2002 car.”
It was 1981 when Byrne took his first footsteps in the designing stages of Formula One and
its quite safe to say that things have dramatically changed from that day to the present
period. With such a large team working underneath Byrne he feels more like a manager than
a sole chief-designer and advanced technology such as wind tunnels have aided the design
process immensely.
“There's absolutely no comparison possible. In 1981, a technical director was
designing the car himself, working with very few people. You could feel that the car was
entirely yours. Now, the job is more about managing a team well. I don't draw anymore! The
most important thing is to effectively affect the resources. Wind tunnels and CFD have
made incredible steps forward. Today, you can start the process of making a part only when
you know that it is going to be efficient. Twenty years ago, you knew the efficiency of a
new development only after its first test on the track.”
But the ongoing process in F1 does not stop when you are winning or losing, and far from
basking in the glory of the F2002 Byrne and his team are already evolving the current
chassis into its 2003 form and with the weak area’s set to be modified then the 2003
chassis may well eclipse the success of the F2002! |
|
|
