Ferrari 248 F1

The Ferrari 248 F1 is a Formula One car, designed by Aldo Costa and Rory Byrne for the 2006 season.

Name and livery

The car is named after its V8 engine - 24 is the capacity in decilitres, and 8 the number of cylinders. The name breaks the F200x system used from 2001 to 2005, and returns to a system previously used in the 1950s and 1960s ("cf." Ferrari 312). The 248 model was driven by race drivers Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa. The 248 F1 is the first Ferrari since the F1-2001 "not" to wear the number one, denoting that the driver is world champion. The car also featured new sponsor decals such as Martini.

Chassis

The car was an update of the previous year's F2005 "2006 F1 Review: Teams and Tech", Autosport magazine, 14th/21st December 2006] . Although the V8 engine is shorter than the V10 used in the F2005, the wheelbase is actually the same, reported to be 3,050 mm. The wheelbase was retained via a new longer gearbox casing.

Aerodynamics

Some notable features of the new model are the rear view mirrors, which are now mounted on the edge of the sidepods of the car rather than conventional position beside the cockpit.

At the start of the season the car featured a triple plane front wing. After the first three races, it was replaced by a twin plane wing, in order to generate more airflow to the underside and diffuser.

Revised rear bodywork was introduced for the French Grand Prix, with a more waisted lower body around the exhausts.

Engine

The engine has been reported to have had a power output of 730bhp at the start of the 2006 season, but modifications throughout the year boosted the power to around 785bhp by the season's end.

2006 season

The 248 F1 was used by Ferrari in every race of the 2006 season, unlike in other recent seasons (2002, 2003 and 2005), in which the team had used the previous year's car at the start of the season, while developing a new car.

The car performed well in qualifying at the season opener, the Bahrain Grand Prix, with an all Ferrari front row. However the performance of the car was generally not as fast as the Renault R26 in the first half of the season.At the Malaysian Grand Prix, the car suffered significant technical problems - a piston problem meant that both drivers had to change their engines during the weekend, incurring qualifying penalties, and for the race the engine speed was limited to prevent a failure. This problem continued to affect the car for the Australian Grand Prix

An aerodynamic upgrade introduced for the San Marino Grand Prix brought the pace of the car to approximately level with the Renault. At the United States Grand Prix, in Indianapolis, Ferrari were dominant all weekend, resulting in the first Ferrari one-two finish since the same race 12 months beforehand. This seemed to represent a genuine turning point for the car's competitiveness. Modifications throughout the season continued to improved the car's performance, to the point where it was considered the fastest package of all for the remainder of the season - the car won 7 of the last 9 races of the season.

Overall, the car gave Ferrari 9 race wins and 4 pole positions, and second place finished in both the Drivers' and Constructors' World Championships. In addition, it was the last car that seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher raced in a Formula One season.

2006/2007 winter testing

The F248 was used in testing prior to the 2007 season, and was the first Ferrari Formula One car which new Ferrari driver Kimi Räikkönen drove, in a test on 23rd January 2007 at the Vallelunga circuit. "Kimi makes Ferrari test debut ", [http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?PO_ID=38307 itv.com article ] , retrieved 24th January 2007]

Race results

() (results in bold indicate pole position; results in "italics" indicate fastest lap)

References

External links

* [http://www.manipef1.com/teams/2006/ferrari.php 248 F1 Technical Specifications (Scroll down)]
* [http://www.manipef1.com/testing/2006/cars.php?id=20 248 F1 Testing Statistics]