F1 2000

On 7th February 2000, Scuderia Ferrari-Marlboro unveiled the new F1-2000, the car with which it will compete in this year's Formula One World Championship. Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo welcomed the most senior personnel from Fiat, Honorary President Gianni Agnelli and the Administrative Delegate Paolo Cantarello, as well as representatives of the companies which supply and sponsor the Scuderia.
Sporting Director Jean Todt kicked off the proceedings by inviting the drivers, Luca Badoer, Rubens Barrichello and Michael Schumacher to pull the sheet off the car. Todt then went on to give an overview of the F1-2000. "We have worked a great deal on the aerodynamics, improving the weight distribution, on the suspension and on lowering the centre of gravity of the engine. The car was developed entirely in our new wind tunnel." Todt then spoke about the drivers: "Luca Badoer will be with us once again this year as test driver, having shown a great level of professionalism over the past few years. The 'young veteran' Rubens Barrichello, who has a contract to the end of 2001, has only just joined us, but is already well integrated with the team. Michael Schumacher, who for his part, has a contract to the end of 2002, represents continuity and a point of reference. We are a compact team, working day and night to reach our targets. This year's is to do better than in 1999."

After a few words from the technical side; Technical Director Ross Brawn, Chief Designer Rory Byrne and Head of Engine department Paolo Martinelli, it was the drivers' turn to speak. Luca Badoer reaffirmed his enthusiasm for Ferrari. "This is my third season as test driver, but every time I get into the cockpit of the car, I feel the same emotion I did on my very first drive. I will do all I can to contribute to obtaining the results we all dream of."

For Rubens Barrichello, this was his first launch at Maranello: I am very happy to be here and I believe in what the designers of this car have told me. I am sure I will pick up my first Formula 1 victory and many more besides."

Michael Schumacher spoke in Italian: "This is my fifth year with Ferrari, which is like a family to me. I am very enthusiastic and I really hope to win as a driver. Everyone knows what happened last year. Now, I would like to have better luck. First impressions of the car is that it is beautiful. I am optimistic and cannot wait to drive it. I will do everything I can to bring the Number One to Ferrari. The whole team and all the fans deserve it."

The final address came from President Montezemolo. "Words mean little," said Montezemolo. "The track will give the answer as to the abilities of this car. We lived through a very difficult season with dramatic changes of fortune last year. We won the Constructors' title, but we lost the Drivers' one for the third consecutive time in the very last race. It confirmed that Ferrari is both stable and capable of competing at the highest level. We are up against very strong opponents, with car companies from all over the globe involved in the fight. I wish to thank the sponsors and suppliers for their support and the shareholders for the patience they have shown to date. The engineers say the car is better, but we will not be alone on the track." Montezemolo concluded with a remark about "Luna Rossa." (Red Moon is the literal translation of the name of the Italian entry in the Louis Vuitton Cup.) "Here we are in an area where the colour red has always been of great importance and I am glad it appears to be back in fashion today, as when it comes to red in sport, we have a certain claim to this colour."

F1-2000 - Ross Brawn's speech

1999 was a season of some lows but very many highs. We had Michael’s accident, and our failure to achieve the drivers’ championship at the last race. However, we had some great races, Monaco, Hockenheim, Malaysia, Paris, and of course, we won the World Constructors Championship. The 1999 car was very good. It was reliable, we only had two car related retirements, and it became a very quick car. Our only weakness was a lack of performance at the first few races. There was a huge amount of development and by the middle of the season, it was extremely competitive. Therefore, we have had an extremely good platform upon which to build this new car.

As always, we have tried to achieve the logical objectives – more aerodynamic efficiency, lower centre of gravity, improved vehicle dynamics, better integration of the engine. I my opinion, we have made more progress with this car than ever before with a new Ferrari during my period here. Rory will tell you a little more. Taking into consideration our performance at the beginning of last season, we also made the decision to extend the development of this car to ensure that we are more competitive at the first race. This gives less available time for testing, but we have chosen to move the balance in this direction.

The Ferrari F1 2000 will be the first car developed totally in our new wind tunnel facility which is now working extremely well and is one of the reasons why we have been able to make so much progress. It has, of course, been necessary to build the car to the 2000 FIA F1 regulations. The objectives for 2000 were to increase the safety of the cars and changes include a compulsory 2mm-kevlar skin in the chassis sides, increases in the severity of the impact tests and the load tests, and an increase in the minimum strength of the roll hoop structure. These will not make a difference to the appearance or performance of the 2000 cars, but are a improvement in safety for which we commend the FIA.

We have also made some important changes to our management structure for 2000. Giorgio Ascanelli has become responsible for R&D and Innovation, a key position for the future of Ferrari. Ignazio Lunetta has become overall responsible for the Race Team and Luigi Mazzola for the Test Team. Luca Baldisserri will be the race engineer for Michael and Carlo Cantoni for Rubens. Between them they combine many years of experience and I know they are going to do a very good job for Ferrari.

Technical partnerships are crucial to the success of Ferrari, and we are pleased to have established such an excellent group of partners. 1999 was the first year of our partnership with Bridgestone. We learnt many things, including a little Japanese, and I was extremely pleased with the co-operation and work between the two companies. We have now had a better opportunity to understand the tyres and philosophies of Bridgestone, and I believe that we will be stronger still in 2000. Centre Research Fiat has also developed into an important partner for Ferrari. There was a long relationship with our engine group, but this has now been strengthened for the chassis team also. There are now several well-established research programmes that are having a direct benefit on our performance. Shell have continued to give maximum support to our programmes, new fuels, new oils, and the development of many special applications. Magneti Marelli are a key partner, responding to the increasingly special demands of Formula One. We are also very pleased to continue our partnerships with Brembo, General Electric, BBS, Sachs, Champion and SKF.

Last year, I mentioned that the most important partnership for Ferrari is the partnership between engine and chassis. This continues to be the case. Paolo will describe the engine shortly, but I believe that the groups have again excelled with a truly integrated package. Because of the people involved with the projects, this is the strength of Ferrari, not a weakness, and we must continue to build upon it. We will commence our testing programme at Fiorano this week. We will then move the Mugello for the rest of February. Reliability will be an important objective, and we plan to undertake several race runs before Australia. February will also be an opportunity to develop our relationship with Rubens. All of the team have been extremely impressed with his approach, engineering feed back and speed and we are all looking forward to working with Rubens in 2000. We have a fantastic team at Ferrari from the human and technical viewpoint. They deserve nothing less than the two Championships in 2000.

F1-2000 - Rory Byrne's speech

The 2000 Formula One car is the first to be conceived entirely in our new wind tunnel. It incorporates a fundamental revision of the placement of the main masses, including a new V ten engine, to optimise the weight distribution. We have also achieved a significant reduction in the height of the centre of gravity. Thus, with improved aerodynamics and revised front and rear suspension, the drivers should be able to extract the maximum performance level out of the Bridgestone tyres. We have also incorporated a number of characteristics which will be obligatory for the coming years, to improve driver comfort and safety.

I think the main improvement in performance comes from the aerodynamics. In this area, we have made the biggest step forward since I joined Ferrari. The transmission is all new and incorporates new materials and processes. Its lubrication system has been revised to save weight and improve efficiency. On the suspension side, we have a new system for the springs and the height adjustment and for the first time, all the main components are made from carbon composite. The power steering system has also been revised. The fuel system has been completely redesigned to improve performance in both qualifying and the race, when it will be possible to reduce the time taken to refuel. There is a new Step Nine Marelli electronic system, which improves the management and data acquisition system on the engine and car.

I wish to thank the staff of all the departments here at Ferrari: aerodynamics, vehicle dynamics, structures, research and development, design, production, inspection and assembly, who have worked so hard to produce the car you see here. This is the start of my fourth year at Ferrari and I am proud to be part of such a great team.

F1-2000 - Paolo Martinelli's speech

The new 10 cylinder F1 engine, which it is hoped will be an excellent contender for the 2000 championship, is a product of Ferrari's technology and engine experience. It is called the 049. It is our engine for 2000. It is already shining brightly. We hope it will perform perfectly.

The 049 Engine Project had to meet two specific technical objectives:
1) It had to have improved performance with more power and better driveability, while retaining the necessary reliability of its predecessor, the 048.
2) it had to mate perfectly with the car itself. This led to a development programme aimed specifically at lowering the centre of gravity and a new layout of the ancillary components.

The engine was developed at the same time as the car to ensure a strong integration of both parts. As for its structure, the engine block is completely new, produced using microfusion technology, while the heads are an evolution of those from the 048. As usual, we will not divulge horsepower figures, but I can assure you that all Ferrari engine engineers work methodically and with determination so that t