Ferrari 126C2

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Ferrari 126C2

Constructor: ItalyItaly Scuderia Ferrari
Designer: Harvey Postlethwaite
Predecessor: Ferrari 126CK
Successor: Ferrari 126C3
Technical specifications
Chassis: Composite monocoque
Engine: Ferrari tipo 021, 120 ° V6 turbo (1.5 liters)
Length: 4333 mm
Width: 2110 mmm
Height: 1025 mm
Wheelbase: 2657 mm
Weight: 587.5 kg
Tires: Goodyear
Petrol: Agip
statistics
Driver: FranceFrance Didier Pironi Gilles Villeneuve Patrick Tambay Mario Andretti René Arnoux
CanadaCanada 
FranceFrance 
United StatesUnited States 
FranceFrance 
First start: 1982 South African Grand Prix
Last start: 1983 Canadian Grand Prix
Starts Victories Poles SR
24 - - -
World Cup points: -
Podiums: -
Leadership laps: k. A. / tba
Template: Infobox racing car / maintenance / old parameters

The Ferrari 126C2 was a Formula 1 racing car that Scuderia Ferrari used in the Formula 1 World Championship in 1982 and 1983 .

Development history

The Ferrari 126C2 was the first Ferrari built by British designer Harvey Postlethwaite for Scuderia. The monocoque was built from sandwich panels with a honeycomb core . The suspensions with rocker arms and internal spring struts were almost identical in construction from the previous model, the Ferrari 126CK . In the winter months, a lot of time was invested in the new development of the turbocharger for the V6 turbo engine. Above all, the previously hesitant response of the engine has been improved.

Racing history

In the course of the season the suspensions were revised and from the middle of the season a further improved engine was used. It soon became apparent that Ferrari had built one of the fastest racing cars of the season. However, the season was overshadowed by disputes and accidents. After the Grand Prix of San Marino , an ultimately fatal stable war broke out between the two factory drivers Gilles Villeneuve and Didier Pironi . The race was contested by only 13 vehicles after political conflicts within the FOCA . At Ferrari they agreed to give the spectators a show, but the winner should be whoever is in the lead with two laps to go. Pironi didn't stick to it and overtook the leading Villeneuve just before the goal. The angry Villeneuve, who missed a stable order for Pironi, threatened to resign.

Didier Pironi in the 126C at the 1982 Dutch Grand Prix

It was in this charged atmosphere that Villeneuve went to the Belgian Grand Prix . During the second qualifying session, Villeneuve tried to undercut the time of his team-mate Pironi in order to be in front of him on the grid. He ran with his qualifying round by a misunderstanding on the March 821 of Jochen Mass on; his Ferrari was catapulted into the air and flew into the lane. Villeneuve was thrown out of the car and died a little later in the hospital from his injuries. The Ferrari team then left.

After winning the Dutch Grand Prix , Pironi was already clearly in the lead in the World Championship, but he also had a serious accident during training at the German Grand Prix . In the pouring rain he drove into Alain Prost's vehicle and the Ferrari overturned several times. Pironi got away with his life, but serious leg injuries brought an end to his Formula 1 career. As so often in the history of Scuderia, success followed a disaster and Villeneuve substitute Patrick Tambay won the race the next day.

At the Italian Grand Prix at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza , Mario Andretti made a comeback in Formula 1. The American put his 126C2 on pole position during practice and was behind Renault driver René Arnoux and his teammate Tambay in the race Third. The points secured the Scuderia winning the constructors' cup, the driver's title went to Keke Rosberg after Pironi's retirement .

A new racing car, the 126C3, was developed for the 1983 season . Since the new cars were only finished in the middle of the season, Patrick Tambay and the new works driver René Arnoux contested the first races in 1983 with an improved version of the 126C2, the 126C2B. The C2B had a flat bottom and improved suspensions. Tambay won the Grand Prix of San Marino and Arnoux the Grand Prix of Canada .

literature

  • David Hodges: Racing cars from A to Z after 1945. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-613-01477-7 .
  • Pino Casamassima: Storia della Scuderia Ferrari. Nada Editore, Vimodrome 1998, ISBN 88-7911-179-5 .
  • Leonardo Acerbi: 60 years of Ferrari. Heel, Königswinter 2007, ISBN 978-3-89880-815-6 .

Web links

Commons : Ferrari 126C2  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Fight at the limit. The Formula 1 Chronicle 1950–2000 , ed. v. Willy Knupp, RTL book edition: Zeitgeist Verlag: Düsseldorf / Gütersloh 2000, ISBN 3-89748-277-0 , p. 231