Craig Scarborough - Ross Brawn
Ferrari Logistics Centre, Fiorano. Feb 2003

This interview was captured at the F2003-Gas launch at fiorano, getting a last minute invite to the launch (only the afternoon before), I was unable to attend the group interviews, My patience was rewarded when Ross walked past the logistics centre to a waiting car taking him to Cavalinos for lunch. I asked him if he could answer soem technical questions and he agreed for as long as it took for the driver to get the car ready. A few minutes was all I snatched with the Ferrari technical director


CS “how has cooling been achieved with new smaller sidepod package, still with compound angle radiators?”
RB ”The area of the radiators is similar but the way they have been packaged, you’ll see when see some photographs of the car with the body off, they’re still of a compound angle, radiators tend to be fairly two dimensional plus the thickness of the cores, these are as three dimensional as I’ve ever seen a radiator that’s how we managed to achieve the sidepod shape, they’re very complex and a tribute the radiator manufacturers, its been one of the major tasks to design and manufacture a radiator to fit.

CS “Sidepod shape to stop flow coming under floor?”
RB ”Yes, the sidepod profile is for aero benefit, that’s were it started. Then we had to get radiators to fit into that concept, it didn’t work the other way around. So once we came up with that bodywork shape, we had to work how on earth we cool the thing”

CS “The cars very similar length?
RB “The cars a very similar length

CS “Fuel cell longer?”
Yes and the drivers position is a little different, so its just a repackaging exercise, moving some of the centre of masses more towards where we felt we wanted”

CS “Gearbox engine mount?
RB “Because the gearbox was shorter, there some changes there to package the suspension“

CS “Stiffer due mating surface all the way around?”
RB “Yes, theres a better junction between the gearbox and the engine, both there and between the engine chassis”

CS “Cast TI?”
RB “yes”