Fund metal GR02

The Fondmetal GR02 was a Formula 1 racing car from the Italian racing team Fondmetal Corse , which was used in some races of the 1992 Formula 1 World Championship . It was completely redesigned and replaced the Fondmetal GR01 in spring 1992 .

background

The racing team belonging to the Italian bike manufacturer Fondmetal started its second Formula 1 season in 1992. The team had mostly contested the debut season with the GR01, which had been designed by Fomet in Great Britain. At the end of 1992 the partnership between Fondmetal and Fomet broke up, although development work for a 1992 Fondmetal car had already started in Great Britain. After the separation in December 1991, Fondmetal commissioned the rival company Astauto with the construction of a new racing car. Astauto was founded by the engineer Sergio Rinland , who worked for the Brabham racing team until 1991 . The car that Astauto designed for Fondmetal was essentially a further development of the Brabham BT60Y designed by Rinland .

In the following years Rinland developed the concept of the GR02 step by step. In 1995 the Forti Corse team used the Forti FG01 developed by Rinland . The FG01 was a direct successor to the Fondmetal GR02. Both cars had numerous technical and stylistic similarities, including the striking front section, which was state-of-the-art in 1992, but was already out of date in 1995.

technology

The Fondmetal GR02 is described in the literature as a conventionally constructed car, the chassis of which did not show any unusual features. Like the previous model, the GR02 had a wheel suspension with double wishbones and internal spring-damper units on all four wheels . The aerodynamics had been completely redeveloped. The front wing was divided and Fondmetal copied the so-called high nose concept of the successful Tyrrell 019 . As in the GR01, a Cosworth HB eight-cylinder engine of the 5th generation ("HB V"), which was at the level of development from 1991, served as the drive .

Fondmetal manufactured two GR02s in 1992, which were ready for use in spring 1992.

run

The first fund metal GR02 appeared at the Canadian Grand Prix . It was given to Gabriele Tarquini . The second car destined for Andrea Chiesa was completed for the French Grand Prix . Chiesa only had a brief assignment with him here. During training, he damaged the new car so badly that it had to be extensively repaired. It was not ready for use again until the German Grand Prix ; until then, Chiesa had to continue using the GR01.

The car was repeatedly described by observers as very promising and perceived as a major development step. However, the car was not fully developed. Fondmetal hardly undertook any test drives, so that neither data for the coordination work nor for the load capacity of the car was available. The coordination was mostly worked out during the training runs. As a result of financial difficulties, the team had fewer and fewer spare parts and repairs were often improvised. The reliability of the cars suffered considerably as a result. There was hardly any development work; Observers had the impression that the drivers had been instructed to protect the cars.

Tarquini contested nine Grand Prix with the GR02. He was canceled eight times, mostly due to technical defects, and he only crossed the finish line once. Chiesa drove three races with the GR02 and dropped out each time. At the Hungarian Grand Prix he was replaced by Eric van de Poele . The Belgian competed in three races and reached the finish line. After the team's home race, Fondmetal stopped racing.

Race results

driver	No.	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10	11	12	13	14th	15th	16	Points	rank
1992 Formula 1 season																		0	-
A. Chiesa	14th							DNQ		DNQ	DNQ
E. van de Poele												DNF	10	DNF
G. Tarquini	15th					DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	14th	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF

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)
	NC	not classified
red	DNQ	did not qualify
	DNPQ	failed in pre-qualification (did not pre-qualify)
black	DSQ	disqualified
White	DNS	not at the start (did not start)
	WD	withdrawn
Light Blue	PO	only participated in the training (practiced only)
	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

literature

• Alan Henry: Autocourse 1992/93 , London 1992 (Hazleton Securities Ltd.), ISBN 0-905138-96-1 .
• Patrice Buchkalter and Jean Francois Galeron: Formula 1 - a complete guide to 1992 , Surrèsnes (Taillandrier) 1992, ISBN 2-87636-107-8 .
• Adriano Cimarosti: The Century of Racing , Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-613-01848-9
• David Hodges: A – Z of Grand Prix Cars 1906–2001 , 2001 (Crowood Press), ISBN 1-86126-339-2 (English)
• David Hodges: Racing Cars from A – Z after 1945 , Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-613-01477-7
• Pierre Ménard: La Grande Encyclopédie de la Formule 1 , 2nd edition, St. Sulpice, 2000, ISBN 2-940125-45-7 (French)

Web links

Commons : Fondmetal  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Auto Course 1992/93, p. 63.
2. ↑ ^{a b} Hodges: AZ of Grand Prix Cars 1906-2001, p. 103.
3. ^ Hodges: Racing Cars from A – Z after 1945, p. 104.
4. ↑ Hodges: Rennwagen from AZ after 1945, p. 104: "Compared to the Osella constructions, significantly more competitive".
5. ^ History of the team on the website www.f1rejects.com ( Memento from December 27, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (accessed on January 10, 2012).