|
|
The research and development department at Ferrari is a
place where the secrets of the trade never escape. The man in charge of this department is
Giorgio Ascanelli who started his work for Ferrari four months ago.
Ascanelli comes from a strong background having worked for Benetton and McLaren as well as
working in rally with the Fiat team that was world champions in 1987. Giorgio is proud to
claim that he is a mechanic, but in reality his job goes much further than that of the
average driver. He made a surprise appearance at the Spanish Grand Prix.
"We are looking at something that is specific for the next race, in a very limited
way, I stopped going to races two and a half years ago and in fact this is my first
appearance since then. I enjoy it, I like it like that."
How far ahead does the R&D team work?
"Most of the time you only know exactly what rules will apply for the next season
around three or four months before you start building the car, and for most projects,
three or four months is not enough development time. In reality, we are trying to look at
anything that will give us a benefit and of course, concentrating is on what is legal now
and then taking a gamble. However, you don't dismiss out of hand what is now illegal,
because it might become legal again.
One of the main points is that when you try to do something, you cannot dedicate your
project to a specific car. It can't be specific to the car, because if it is eventually
ready a year later, the car may have changed and it won't fit. So we are trying to look at
the methodology, trying to find ways to measures things without requiring a car. Cars are
very difficult animals. We do a lot of parts, but very few are the same. It's very
interesting, it requires a little bit of thinking, some sort of practicality and a little
bit of folly"
Just how big is the department at Ferrari and what do they concentrate on?
"We do a few things for the engine, but it's only incidental. If we happen to have
something better than our engine guys, then they come to us and use it, but it's
incidental. Otherwise it's all chassis: materials, suspensions, gearbox, hydraulics,
electronics. Electronics is a huge area. We have specialists from the electronics
departments whose main task is following these kind of projects. Everything is changing so
fast that it's probably counter productive to have somebody who is off-line on
electronics; they have to be on-line. We don't have contacts in aerodynamics, it's a
separate department as it should be. It's a science of its own. I would say it's not only
a science but also wizardry!"
Where do the ideas come from, does Ross Brawn have any input in these matters?
"Of course, Ross has channeled a few things. Ross comes to us and tasks us with a few
activities, because Ross' knowledge says this is the area where he thinks there is the
most future. He is in the best position and has the ability to give us a line. But I don't
think we neglect anything. I think everything we think of gets evaluated and if there's a
possibility, we try. You have a chance to look at many things. I started this work because
I am mechanically curious, and that curiosity has kept me going through all these years,
not many, because I'm still young, but I've enjoyed it and trying to do something
different, something new, to learn more, is a nice challenge. You have to be exposed. We
still work really hard, but you cannot have one idea a minute.
It's not that the more ideas you get and the longer you think about something the better
it gets. Ideas come due to one's frame of mind, but you need some kind of catalyst to look
at things. It's true of everyone in the department. It's never a one man show. You have to
give everybody the space to do what they want. If they like it, they are productive,
providing they are channeled. It's important to be a good team of people. We have a think
tank. It's extremely frustrating sometimes, because of all the things that you work on,
very few see the light of day in a half decent way. It's hard to work on a project for
five, ten, 15 months and then nothing is used. And then, all of a sudden, something
happens. That happens, it did happen" |
|
|
