Ferrari to use 'old' car in Australia
World champions Ferrari have confirmed that it will start the season using last year's car. The decision has been made because the radical new F2002, which has performed well in testing so far this year, is still not reliable enough
"The new F2002 car has proved to be very quick right from the start, but we do not have sufficient time at our disposal to be entirely sure about its reliability for the first round of the season," said sporting director Jean Todt. "Therefore, we have decided to go to Melbourne with the F2001, which even in this winter's tests, has proved to be very competitive and reliable. We think it will be able to bring home valuable points for the championship."
Last week Michael Schumacher said he was 99 per cent certain that the team would use the new car at Melbourne. He broke the Fiorano lap record in the car's first test and at a wet Mugello yesterday (Saturday) he lapped over two seconds quicker than Sauber's Nick Heidfeld. The world champion will continue to test the new car at Imola next week, where the team will run the F2001 and F2002 side-by-side.
Share Or Save This Story
How F1 2026 has been a season of two halves for Ferrari so far
Ferrari and Peugeot start testing updated hypercars for WEC 2027
Why Hungarian GP pole position was an ‘overachievement" for Norris – and Ferrari still has a better car
MotoGP British GP: Bezzecchi leads Aprilia domination in Friday practice
FIA wants F1 cars to lose another 80kg under next rules overhaul
KTM allowed to fix faulty MotoGP engine after U-turn from rivals
How a Le Mans winner is changing the game for female racing in Japan
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments