Both Ferrari – and BMW, which was running a similar
device on its F1.07 – had to remove their sprung-floor
mechanisms, but it’s difficultto pe rsuade a genie back into
its bottle. Ahead ofthe Spanish GP, scrutineering procedures
were revised again,this time todefea t the u se of “buckling
stays” – an alternative to the sprung system in which thefl oor’s
front support was fabricatedto provide a high initial resistance
to loads, then to soften. This wrinkle came to light at the end of
the year during the ‘Spygate’ hearings, when Ferrari silk Nigel
Tozzi cut McLaren technical director Paddy Lowe to ribbons
during cross examination about McLaren’s similar system.
The story of how Ferrari’s longtime chief mechanic and
race technical manager, Nigel Stepney, cameto pa ss design
intelligence to McLaren chief designer Mike Coughlan began
to bubbleto the surface early in the season. What started as
rumours of sabotage inthe Ferrari garage at Monaco blewup
into a storm of rancour between F1’s top two teams and an
eye-watering $100millionfi ne imposedon McLaren. Stepney
was reportedto have felt sidelined during the restructure while
Coughlan, similarly, felt he would never achievethe seniority
he coveted at McLaren. Together they planned to secure
employment with another team and take a tranche of Ferrari
secrets with which to impress.
In court it was revealed that Stepney tipped off Coughlan
about the F2007’sfl exible fl oor ahead of the Australian Grand
Prix. Other revelations included knowledgethat Ferrari
had been using a hydrofl uorocarbon gas in its tyres which
gave better heat management, and that the F2007 featured
a system which adjusted the bias of the rear brakes under load
to prevent locking.
The legal battle after the end of the season was every bitasvicious as the one ontrack. Ferrari and McLaren fought tooth
and claw from the veryfi rst race, and the rate of development
was staggering. Both teams brought new components to every
race and, at the Spanish GP, Ferrari introduced anentirely
new monocoque with shorter sidepods, requiring it to be
re-homologated. For Silverstone, it added fairingsto the
outside faces of the front wheels to gain an aero benefit from
air passing throughthe brake ducts – and regardless of how
small or how great that benefi t, the fairings demanded new
fastenings and a newpitstop methodology.
Another development, one with no performance benefit, was
imposed onFerrar i early in the season. Disquiet had grown
over its use of prominent Marlboro branding in territories“FERRARI AND McLAREN
FOUGHT TOOTH AND CLAW
FROM THE VERY FIRST RACE,
AND THE RATE OF DEVELOPMENT
WAS STAGGERING”
NOW
THAT
WAS
A
CAR
No.8878 GP RACING JULY 2020
THE FERRARI
F2007
Both Ferrari – and BMW, which was running a similar
device on its F1.07 – had to remove their sprung-floor
mechanisms, but it’s difficultto pe rsuade a genie back into
its bottle. Ahead ofthe Spanish GP, scrutineering procedures
were revised again,this time todefea t the u se of “buckling
stays” – an alternative to the sprung system in which thefl oor’s
front support was fabricatedto provide a high initial resistance
to loads, then to soften. This wrinkle came to light at the end of
the year during the ‘Spygate’ hearings, when Ferrari silk Nigel
Tozzi cut McLaren technical director Paddy Lowe to ribbons
during cross examination about McLaren’s similar system.
The story of how Ferrari’s longtime chief mechanic and
race technical manager, Nigel Stepney, cameto pa ss design
intelligence to McLaren chief designer Mike Coughlan began
to bubbleto the surface early in the season. What started a
rumours of sabotage inthe Ferrari garage at Monaco blew
into a storm of rancour between F1’s top two teams and an
eye-watering $100millionfi ne imposedon McLaren. Stepn
was reportedto have felt sidelined during the restructure w
Coughlan, similarly, felt he would never achievethe senior
he coveted at McLaren. Together they planned to secure
employment with another team and take a tranche of Ferr
secrets with which to impress.
In court it was revealed that Stepney tipped off Coughlan
about the F2007’sfl exible fl oor ahead of the Australian Gr
Prix. Other revelations included knowledgethat Ferrari
had been using a hydrofl uorocarbon gas in its tyres which
gave better heat management, and that the F2007 featured
a system which adjusted the bias of the rear brakes under l
to prevent locking.
The legal battle after the end of the season was every bit
vicious as the one ontrack. Ferrari and McLaren fought tooth
and claw from the veryfi rst race, and the rate of development
was staggering Both teams brought new components to every“FERRARI AND MCLAREN
FOUGHT TOOTH AND CLAW
FROM THE VERY FIRST RACE,
AND THE RATE OF DEVELOPMENT
WAS STAGGERING”