The Ferrari F2002 has been one of the most successful F1 cars of its time, and one of the many winning cars of Michael Schumacher himself when it debuted in 2002. There have been successful Ferrari F1 cars before it and after it, but it ranks as one of the best F1s ever with a great number of victories under its belt.

Like with all Ferrari F1 cars, you cannot talk about the looks of the F2002 because they all mostly come cut from the same mold and look like each other. They are all designed to keep aerodynamics, downforce, and streamlining at the top of the mind, and a lot of the body parts have to follow strict rules and regulations by the governing F1 body.

And yet, some of these cars are the best they can be, letting their drivers to an effortless finish, while others end up with lackluster performance. So what was so special about the Ferrari F2002 that it counted for many wins, and has been declared the best F1 ever by the media, based on the Pomeroy Index?

For all of us who need to know, here are the whys and the wherefores that make the F2002 one of the coolest and most legendary F1 cars, to have come from Ferrari, ever…

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All The Brains Behind The F2002’s Brawn

The Ferrari F2002 came powered by the 3.0-liter V10 engine
Via Carscoops

The Ferrari F2002 wasn’t the brainchild of any one person. It was a collaboration of great minds at work with the F2002's chassis design coming from Rory Byrne, Aldo Costa, and Nikolas Tombazis. Ross Brawn handled all the aspects of production and for the engine, it was Paolo Martinelli. And obviously, the cars were driven to win 15 Grand Prix titles by the equally legendary Michael Schumacher.

The F2002 came powered by the 3.0-liter V10 engine, which wasn’t the most powerful in the house of Scuderia but was the most driveable, compact, and fuel-efficient of all the light engines. It made 835 horses and like with all F1 cars, had a very low center of gravity that gave it great handling.

Another win for it was the clutchless gearbox that allowed for super-quick gear changes, with tight rear-end aerodynamics. Since the car was a different beast, Bridgestone gave it special tires. The F2002 also boasted a new fluid traction system that replaced the one in the 2001 version.

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Ahead Of Competitions & Controversies

The Ferrari F2002 Chassis Design Came From Rory Byrne, Aldo Costa, And Nikolas Tombazis
Via MotorLegend

When it came to aerodynamics, the F2002 was way ahead of the Williams-BMW for that year and more or less at par with the McLaren. Mercedes fell behind because it struggled with a beryllium-less engine for the year. The Williams-BMW did have a more powerful engine but because of not-so-good aerodynamics, the car failed to make as big a mark as the F2002 did.

There was a bit of controversy in its first race itself in Brazil because the team, Scuderia Ferrari, had only one F2002 chassis at the race, the spare car being an F2001. Since both the cars used different wheels and tires, the competitors said that this gave Schumacher twice the allocation of tires as the other drivers. So Ferrari agreed to aggregate tire usage between the F2002 and the F2001, ensuring fairness.

Fair and square, Schumacher won, taking a victory from his own brother, Ralf Schumacher.

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The Utter Domination Of The F2002

In 2002, Out Of A Total Of 15 Races, The F2002 Took 14 Wins, Getting Beaten Only By David Coulthard In Monaco
Via USAToday

Ferrari’s success is deeply intertwined with Schumacher’s record, so it's fair to say that the F2002’s wins came partly from the excellent driving skills of the man behind the wheel.

In its debut race, where the F2002 entered in round three, Schumacher won a narrow victory but thereafter, the F2002 was nigh well unstoppable, and kind of unbeatable. Surprisingly, it did get beat in the qualifying rounds, taking only eight poles in 2002 although, for the same year, out of a total of 15 races, the F2002 took 14 wins, getting beaten only by David Coulthard in Monaco.

The F2002 Continued To Race In 2003 As Well, Taking A Total Of 15 Titles Out Of The 19 Races It Participated In, Making It Quite The Legend In The World Of F1
Via Pinterest

The F2002 continued to race in 2003 as well, taking a total of 15 titles out of the 19 races it participated in, making it quite the legend in the world of F1. Even in the races, it did not win in, Schumacher managed to get to the podium in all, never finishing anything lower than second.

According to the Pomeroy Index, which compares the lap-time potential of GP cars from different eras, MotorSport magazine declared the F2002 to have been the fastest qualifying Grand Prix car of all time, with a lap time of 1min 43.726sec.

It’s been years since this piece of the ultimate in human machinery retired, and even so, it wasn’t quite put out to pasture. The Ferrari F2002, the Grand Prix chassis that helped Schumacher get his fifth World Championship at the 2002 French Grand Prix, was sold by Sotheby’s at an astounding $6,643,750 in 2019 at Abu Dhabi. The price was not inclusive of an engine and transmission rebuild to make it street legal but clearly, the legend of its wins, under the very able hand of Schumacher, has catapulted this F1 into the hall of fame. From every aerodynamic angle…

Sources: Motor1, MotorSportMagazine, RMSotheby's

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