Ferrari 640
.jpg) |
|||||||||
| Category | Formula One | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | Ferrari | ||||||||
| Designer(s) | John Barnard | ||||||||
| Predecessor | F1/87/88C | ||||||||
| Successor | 641 | ||||||||
| Technical specifications | |||||||||
| Chassis | Kevlar and Carbon fibre monocoque | ||||||||
| Suspension (front) | Double wishbones, push-rod actuated torsion bar springs and telescopic shock absorbers, anti-roll bar | ||||||||
| Suspension (rear) | Double wishbones, push rod actuated coil springs over telescopic shock absorbers, anti-roll bar | ||||||||
| Axle track | Front: 1,800 mm (71 in) Rear: 1,675 mm (65.9 in) |
||||||||
| Wheelbase | 2,830 mm (111 in) | ||||||||
| Engine | Ferrari Tipo 035/5, 3,498 cc (213.5 cu in), 65° V12, NA, mid-engine, longitudinally mounted | ||||||||
| Transmission | Ferrari 7-speed semi-automatic | ||||||||
| Weight | 510 kg (1,120 lb) | ||||||||
| Fuel | Agip | ||||||||
| Tyres | Goodyear | ||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||
| Notable entrants | Scuderia Ferrari SpA | ||||||||
| Notable drivers | 27.  Nigel Mansell28.  Gerhard Berger
|
||||||||
| Debut | 1989 Brazilian Grand Prix | ||||||||
|
|||||||||
| Constructors' Championships | 0 | ||||||||
| Drivers' Championships | 0 | ||||||||
The Ferrari 640 (also known as the Ferrari F1-89) was the Formula One racing car with which the Ferrari team competed in the 1989 season. It was driven by Britain's Nigel Mansell, in his first season with the team, and Austria's Gerhard Berger.
The car was designed by John Barnard, and it was the first Ferrari he was responsible for designing. It sported a sharp nose, with a narrow monocoque and bulging side-pods designed to house the radiators with maximum aerodynamic efficiency. It originally had two small air intakes either side of the driver, but from the fourth race of the season in Mexico a more conventional large air intake above and behind the driver was specified.
Barnard, who had joined Ferrari from McLaren at the end of the 1986 season, had begun designing the car in 1987 with the intent on it being used during the 1988 season. However, continual problems with the car's revolutionary semi-automatic gearbox saw the team forced to use the turbocharged F1/87/88C in 1988, with the car's debut pushed back to 1989, the first year of FISA's 3.5 Litre atmospheric formula where turbos were banned.
The 640 was powered by Ferrari's Tipo 035/5, a 3.5 litre V12 engine which produced up to 660 bhp (492 kW; 669 PS) by the season end, roughly the same amount of power as the engine it replaced, the Tipo 033A V6 turbo, though without the turbo's fuel consumption worries. This was still down compared to the V10 Honda used by the dominant McLarens which were rated at 675 bhp (503 kW; 684 PS). The transmission to which it was mated, however, attracted more attention, as it contained the very first semi-automatic gearbox seen in Formula One. In the first half of the season, it proved to be very unreliable, and hampered Ferrari's efforts. However, such gearboxes would become the norm by the mid-1990s. Much of the development work was conducted at Ferrari's private test track Fiorano by test driver Roberto Moreno during the winter season (Moreno also doubled as the lead driver of the rival Coloni team). By the time the Grand Prix circus returned to Europe at the end of June, the problem with the semi-automatic gearbox was found to be not enough power from the battery. With the help of electrical experts from team sponsor Magneti Marelli, the power supply to the gearbox was fixed and the 640's reliability rose accordingly.
...
Wikipedia