Although
the fundamental design philosophy of the F2005 is the same as previous
cars, the changes in bodywork regulations have meant that we have
also had to maximise downforce in order to recover as much as possible
of the 25% we lost initially.
Changes to regulations which now require only one set of tyres to
be used for two qualifying session and the race have meant we have
had to consider tyre life as well as performance so, as usual, many
areas of the car have had to be fundamentally revised in order to
make a step in performance.
I will explain in more details:
1)
Aerodynamics
The areas directly affected by the new regulations, eg
wings and diffuser, are obviously all new but even radiator, exhaust
and gearbox layouts have been fundamentally revised to optimise
the aerodynamics. In addition, there are several development items
planned to be introduced during testing in the next month so when
it first races it will look differently in some areas to the car
you see here.
2)
Transmission
While the transmission internals have been further optimised,
the casing is completely new, both in terms of its shape to optimise
the aerodynamics and its method of construction and use of materials.
A prototype has been successfully tested in the F2004.
3)
Chassis
The chassis is completely new, both in terms of shape,
which is a result of the aerodynamic development programme, and
in terms of materials used and design of the structure, in order
to achieve a weight saving in spite of the increased side penetration
requirements for 2005.
4)
Suspensions, steering and brakes
Both front and rear suspensions have been further optimised
to maximise performance and minimise wear of the Bridgestone tyres.
A fundamentally revised power steering system to enhance driver
control in transient conditions will be tested shortly. More effort
than ever before has been spent on optimising the braking system
in order to improve the driver use and modulation of the brakes
during qualifying and the various stages of the race.
5)
Electronics
For the first time, a Ferrari designed and developed data
acquisition system has been installed in the F2005 in order to greatly
enhance the data acquisition and processing. A prototype of the
system has been successfully tested on the F2004.
Aldo Costa has been responsible for the entire F2005
project and I would like to congratulate him and his team who have
carried out the research, structural calculation and design of the
car and met all the objectives we defined at the start of the project.
Finally, I would like to thank everyone at the Gestione
Sportiva for their contribution in producing the best ever Ferrari
Formula 1 car.
Forza Ferrari! |