Grapevine: Gazzetta: Ferrari to Start Season with Old Car

The Ferrari team will start the 2002 season using a revised version of their Championship-winning F2001 car, according to a report published by Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport.

The Italian team clinched their third Constructors' Championship in a row this season, with Michael Schumacher grabbing his second consecutive crown after winning nine races and breaking the all-time record for most points scored in one season. The German quadruple World Champion finished 58 points ahead of McLaren rival David Coulthard.

According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Ferrari plan to start the new season with an hybrid version of the successful F2001 chassis but with the new 051 engine, which the Maranello-based outfit have been testing since last October.

According to the report, the new car would be ready at the end of February, but would not make its racing debut until the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, the fourth race of the season and the first European event.

The last time that the Italian team started a season with the previous year's car was in 1990, when Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell were forced to use the 1989 chassis at the start of the campaign.