Ferrari 248 F1

**Ferrari 248 F1**
	Michael Schumacher at the 2006 Canadian Grand Prix
Constructor:	Scuderia Ferrari
Designer:	Ross Brawn (Technical Director) ; Aldo Costa (Chief Designer) ; John Iley (Aerodynamics Chief)
Predecessor:	F2005
Successor:	F2007
Technical specifications
Chassis:	Carbon fiber and honeycomb composite structure
Engine:	Ferrari type 056
Front suspension:	independent torsion springs activated by compression springs
Rear suspension:	independent torsion springs activated by compression springs
Length:	4545 mm
Width:	1796 mm
Height:	959 mm
Wheelbase:	3050 mm
Weight:	600 kg (including driver)
Tires:	Bridgestone tires on 13 "BBS rims
Petrol:	Shell V-Power ULG 59
statistics
Driver:	5. Michael Schumacher 6. Felipe Massa ;
Team:	Scuderia Ferrari
First start:	2006 Bahrain Grand Prix
Last start:	2006 Brazilian Grand Prix
World Cup points:	201
Podiums:	19th
Leadership laps:	520 over 2,521,592 km

The Ferrari 248 F1 was the 39th Formula 1 racing cars the Scuderia Ferrari . The team contested all 18 rounds of the 2006 Formula 1 World Championship with this vehicle .

presentation

Michael Schumacher during test drives before the 2006 season

The presentation of the Ferrari 248 F1 took place on January 24, 2006 in Mugello in front of 30 journalists and around 200 guests. Unlike in previous years, Ferrari deliberately avoided an elaborate presentation. After talking about the “best Ferrari of all time” at the presentation of the F2005 and the 2005 season was very disappointing, Ferrari wanted to be more modest and convince through results rather than show.

Despite the low temperatures, both Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa did a few test laps with the 248 F1. The official maiden voyage took place before the official presentation on the in-house race track in Fiorano . There, however, only Schumacher drove the car.

Name and livery

With the Ferrari 248 F1, the Scuderia deviated from the naming scheme used until 2008. If the racing cars were named with an F followed by the respective year from 2001 to 2008, the name of the Ferrari 248 F1 was based on its engine. 24 stands for the displacement in deciliters, 8 for the number of cylinders.

Ferrari already used this naming scheme in the 1950s and 1960s, for example with the Ferrari 312F1 and its successors.

The 248 F1 was mostly painted in red. The front wing, barchboards, and parts of the engine cover and the rear wing were painted white. The main sponsor was Philipp Morris International with its Marlboro cigarette brand . The Marlboro logos have been used in Bahrain, Malaysia, Australia, Monaco, China and Japan . During the other races, the lettering was dispensed with due to the ban on tobacco advertising and the brand name was indicated by bars. The telecommunications company Vodafone last advertised Ferrari in the 2006 season. Martini and Acer were added as new sponsors .

Technology and development

Despite many new parts, the 248 F1 is a further development of the predecessor F2005 . Development of the chassis for the 248 F1 began in the middle of the 2005 season when Ferrari noticed that it no longer had a chance of winning the world championship. At this early stage in development, the focus was on the aerodynamics and properties of the new V8 engine.

engine

For the first time since the Ferrari 158 from 1964 , the 248 F1 was again powered by a V8 engine. The development of the engine began in mid-2004. The first test drives in August of the same year followed the completion in autumn 2005. The engine with the designation Type 056 90 ° V8 had a displacement of 2.4 liters with a weight of 95 kg and performed at the beginning of the season 740 hp. Through the use of several expansion stages, the engine achieved an output of 796 hp at the end of the season.

The longitudinally installed transmission has also been newly developed for the 248 F1. It was partly made of carbon and had seven forward and one reverse gears.

chassis

The chassis has been completely redesigned. This enabled the weight distribution to be optimized and the car to be built lighter than its predecessor. The 248 F1, including the driver and all operating materials, weighed 600 kg. This made it around five kg lighter than its predecessor, which was due, among other things, to the omission of two cylinders. Due to the new, shorter engine, the cooling system has also been significantly revised. The air inlets of the side pods were now significantly smaller than on the predecessor, but did not taper as much towards the rear axle as in the competition.

Due to the modified engine, the rear suspension was completely redesigned. The aim was to improve the aerodynamic efficiency of the rear and to use the rear tires more efficiently.

The most noticeable innovation was the positioning of the mirrors. These were no longer attached directly to the cockpit, but were located on the outer corners of the side pods.

From Malaysia, Ferrari relied on a new brake ventilation system. For this, the rear rims were covered in order to achieve better cooling of the brakes and a reduction in air turbulence. In response to protests from other teams, the system was found to be legal. In contrast to the mass damper used by Renault in the 2005 season, according to the FIA, the brake ventilation was not a moving aerodynamic part.

The front wing, which has been used since the beginning of the season, was revised for the race in Australia. The upper wing element of the "double decker wing" was now firmly attached to the vehicle nose and no longer movable. The reason for this revision was this wing element, which lowered itself on straights in order to reduce air resistance and enable higher speeds on the straights. In curves, the element straightened itself up again and thus ensured higher cornering speeds due to the increased contact pressure (so-called flexible wing ).

Ferrari brought a major update for the fourth race of the season in San Marino. Due to the high tire wear in the race, Ferrari built in a newly developed rear suspension. The new suspension also made it necessary to adjust the gearbox. Aerodynamically there were some changes to the barge boards and the front of the vehicle. The front wing has been enlarged a little and placed lower.

driver

The monoposto was piloted by Felipe Massa and Michael Schumacher. Massa, who moved from Sauber to Ferrari, replaced Rubens Barrichello , who moved to Honda at the end of the 2005 season . For Massa it was the debut season at Ferrari, for Schumacher the eleventh year at Ferrari.

Schumacher drove with the starting number 5, Massa with the starting number 6. This was the first time since the F1-2000 that a Ferrari was not wearing the starting number 1.

Season course

The season started well for Ferrari at first. In the first race in Bahrain, the team managed to qualify both cars in the front row. Schumacher immediately achieved second place. Massa fell behind and finished the race outside of the points.

However, the result did not hide the fact that Ferrari still had some problems with the new car. On the second race weekend, the engine in both Ferraris had to be replaced due to a problem, which meant a starting place penalty of ten places. In order to protect the engine, it was not possible to call up all the power in the race and only drive with reduced power. The pilots nevertheless reached positions 5 and 6.

After a double failure in the third race in Australia, Schumacher achieved two victories in a row (Grand Prix of San Marino, Grand Prix of Europe). At the San Marino Grand Prix, Schumacher also took pole position . In Europe, Massa stood on the podium for Ferrari for the first time. The two Grand Prix wins and two pole positions should remain the only ones in the first half of the season.

In the races in Spain, Great Britain and Canada, Schumacher was able to achieve second places. Massa also scored points in these races.

At the Monaco Grand Prix, Schumacher was in first place in the third qualifying section. A few seconds before the time was up, Schumacher was close to the barrier in Rascasse. The then waved yellow flags forbade the following drivers, including Schumacher's world championship competitor Fernando Alonso , from completing their laps. Schumacher was transferred to the last starting place (see Rascasse affair ). In the race he was able to take fifth place, Massa remained without points.

Thanks to constant further development and thanks to the good cooperation with tire manufacturer Bridgestone , Ferrari was able to close the gap to the previously dominant Renault F1 team.

From the US Grand Prix onwards, the 248 F1 was very competitive. Ferrari dominated the entire weekend, finishing first and second in both qualifying and the race. Schumacher also turned the fastest race lap. This was the first double victory for Ferrari since the scandalous US Grand Prix in 2005 , in which only six vehicles started and Ferrari also took the double victory.

Schumacher made further victories in France and Germany. The pole position in France was Schumacher's last. Massa always went on the podium. Ferrari celebrated its second double victory of the season in Germany.

In the rain race in Hungary , Schumacher and Massa only finished 7th and 8th.

At the Turkish Grand Prix, Massa achieved his first pole position and his first ever victory. Schumacher was third just behind Fernando Alonso.

Schumacher was victorious again at the next race in Italy. Due to Alonso's failure, Schumacher caught up to two points in the drivers' standings and had real world championship chances. At the subsequent press conference, Schumacher announced that he would end his career at the end of the 2006 season.

Schumacher was also able to win in China. After the race, Schumacher and Alonso were tied, but Schumacher led the world championship due to his higher number of wins. For the first time in almost two years, Schumacher led a World Cup again. The victory in China was Schumacher's 91st and final victory. Massa didn't get past a ninth place.

However, Schumacher had to relinquish the championship lead after the race in Japan. While Massa reached second place in the rain at Suzuka, Schumacher fell out with an engine failure while in the lead.

In the last race, Schumacher only had one theoretical chance for the drivers' title. Schumacher could only have become world champion with a victory on his part and a simultaneous failure of Alonso. Schumacher started from 10th place after problems in qualifying, Massa from pole position. After the start, Schumacher fought his way forward. In fifth place, Schumacher and Giancarlo Fisichella touched each other during an overtaking maneuver, as a result of which Schumacher suffered a tire damage and fell back to last place. Massa was able to win the race, Schumacher finished fourth after a strong race.

At the end of the season, the 248 F1 had 9 wins, 7 pole positions and 5 fastest race laps. Ferrari scored a total of 201 points and finished second in the constructors' championship, just 5 points behind world champion Renault. In his last season for Ferrari, Schumacher was runner-up in the world championship with 121 points behind Alonso (134 points). Massa was third in the World Cup.

Results

driver	No.	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10	11	12	13	14th	15th	16	17th	18th	Points	rank
Formula 1 World Championship 2006																				201	2.
Germany M. Schumacher	05	2	6th	DNF	1	1	2	5	2	2	1	1	1	8th*	3	1	1	DNF	4th
Brazil F. Massa	06th	9	5	DNF	4th	3	4th	9	5	5	2	3	2	7th	1	9	DNF	2	1

Legend
colour	abbreviation	meaning
gold	-	victory
silver	-	2nd place
bronze	-	3rd place
green	-	Placement in the points
blue	-	Classified outside the point ranks
violet	DNF	Race not finished (did not finish)
violet	NC	not classified
red	DNQ	did not qualify
red	DNPQ	failed in pre-qualification (did not pre-qualify)
black	DSQ	disqualified
White	DNS	not at the start (did not start)
White	WD	withdrawn
Light Blue	PO	only participated in the training (practiced only)
Light Blue	TD	Friday test driver
without	DNP	did not participate in the training (did not practice)
	INJ	injured or sick
	EX	excluded
	DNA	did not arrive
	C.	Race canceled
		no participation in the World Cup
other	^P / bold	Pole position
	_SR / italic	Fastest race lap
	*	not at the finish, but counted due to the distance covered
	()	Streak results
	underlined	Leader in the overall standings