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 Paolo Martinelli is a home town hero for the Ferrari team, born on the 29th of
September 1952 he was raised in amongst Ferrari culture in the town of Modena. Growing up
in the shadow of the legendary Ferrari name made him make his dream to become a member of
the team. Martinelli wanted to become an engineer and he took his place at the world
famous Bologna University to study mechanical engineering.
After graduating from the University with honours he instantly realised his dream and
began working for the Scuderia. Starting young and inexperienced Paolo soon began to work
his way up the ladder in the design and development departments with Ferrari and he has
worked his way to the top and is not the head engineer of engines for the Ferrari company.
It was in 1994 that Martinelli was placed in the role of the Formula 1 engine design and
his first deed was to launch an investigation into the pro's and con's of a V8, V10 and
V12 engine. It was after this extensive investigation that saw the team return to using
V10 engines instead of V12 at the start of the 1996 season. From this date the engines
have grown more reliable and more powerful with each passing season highlighted by the
rise in fortunes for the team over this period. By 1999 the Ferrari engine was strong
enough to power the team to it's first constructors title in 18 years and 2000 heralded
the drivers title to go along with the retained constructors title for the first time in
21 years.
2001 saw Martinelli lead the engine department once again and Ferrari once again benefited
from the most reliable engine on the grid, it may not be the most powerful but Martinelli
and his team design the engine with key element in mind, including - Reliability,
Driveability, Response, Weight and fuel consumption. All these key elements make up a
title winning engine and with Martinelli at the helm the Ferrari engines look sufficient
for many more titles to come.
The key elements of the engine remained in 2002 as Ferrari once again powered their own
chassis to world championships. But in the light of BMW's power shown in 2001 it was time
for Martinelli and his staff to raise the level of the engine, and raise it he did as he
cut down the power advantage BMW held. So much so that many debates still rage as to which
engine was the more powerful. But regardless the Ferrari engine was still reliable and
that was the biggest achievement as they had raised the power with no side effects.
Ferrari's engines in 2003 were once again
masterminded by Martinelli and once again it was the BMW competition
that challenged Ferrari the most, but once again it was Ferrari who came
out on top. Ferrari set a new record for the fastest ever Grand Prix by
taking a magnificent win at Monza and that is a big feather in the cap
for Martinelli and his dedicated engine team that surrounds him. |
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