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Volume VIII, Number 11 |
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A HISTORY OF
FERRARI IN FORMULA ONE THE 2000'S |
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Here we will conclude our series about the Kyosho set of Ferrari F1 models. The present decade finally saw Ferrari achieve what the team had struggled for so long. Kyosho has done a masterful job of re-creating these aerodynamically complicated cars in small-scale. The first model pictured is the F1-2000. With this car Michael Schumacher finally broke through to win his initial championship for Ferrari. For the record that season he took nine wins out of seventeen races, including the last four in a row! The talented German also had nine pole positions and two fastest laps. The year 2001 was even better for Ferrari and Schumacher: another nine wins out of seventeen races but he finished the season with almost twice as many points as his nearest rival. An additional nine pole positions and three fastest laps were added to his record as well. For 2002, the team made progressive improvements to previous models with the F2002 pictured here. The season was almost a total walkover for Ferrari with Schumacher taking eleven wins out of seventeen races. His nearest rival, teammate Rubens Barrichello took four wins for a Ferrari steamroller job over the other constructors. Schumacher had accomplished what no one thought possible: equaling the immortal JM Fangio's record of five world championships (three for Ferrari to go with the two he won with Benneton in 1994 & 1995). For the next season Ferrari produced the F2003GA (GA = Gianni Agnelli, patriarch and long-time boss of Fiat who died in January of that year). Ferrari's rivals managed to make it a close chase for the title that year: Schumacher's six wins were barely enough to keep the championship by two points. His teammate Barrichello had an additional two wins in a supporting role. The year 2004 on the other hand, was another dream season for Ferrari. The team scored an amazing thirteen wins for Schumacher out of eighteen races including one run of five wins in a row, and another of seven! Once again Barrichello finished second to his teammate with two wins and nine second places for an astounding eight one-two finishes for the team. It should be noted that of course Ferrari was by this time one of the best-financed teams in F1 with major sponsorship from Marlboro, Vodafone and Shell, among others. Along with some of the best drivers and other personnel the team was blessed by being the total focus of their tire supplier. Bridgestone designed their racing tires almost exclusively with the Ferrari chassis in mind. However, all good things must come to an end and so this season Ferrari and Schumacher find themselves fighting with Toyota for third place in the championship behind Renault and McLaren-Mercedes. With his Ferrari contract up after 2006 will Schumacher retire or move to another team? He certainly won't need the money and there are very few records left for him to break. Has the post-Schumacher era already begun, as his rivals hope, or does the acknowledged master of present-day F1 still have the drive and focus to add to his championship total? Another question is do Fiat/Ferrari still have the money to sustain the effort they have put forth other the past nine years since they signed Schumacher? Since Fiat's failed merger with General Motors, the giant Italian manufacturer now has to face the realities of the world auto market alone. |
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