The 2002 System 1 season was massively vital not just for ace driver Michael Schumacher, but in addition for Scuderia Ferrari. Completely dominant from begin to end, Schumacher and his Ferrari crew clinched the Drivers’ World Championship after simply 11 races—virtually three months earlier than the conclusion of the season. Schumacher’s historic fifth Championship victory drew him degree with the good Juan Manuel Fangio—a report that had stood since 1957—along with delivering Ferrari its fourth consecutive and twelfth general Constructors’ World Championship. Michael Schumacher was already a System 1 legend, however this unimaginable season catapulted his star to even additional heights, making certain his standing as a worldwide family title and securing his place as considered one of motorsports’ all-time greats.
This tour de power couldn’t have been achieved with out Schumacher’s prodigious expertise—or the engineering brilliance of Ferrari F2001b chassis 215. Considered one of roughly 30 System 1 chassis ever pushed to victory by Schumacher, this pivotal automobile offered the springboard for one of the unimaginable shows of supremacy within the Scuderia’s wealthy historical past.
Regardless of a radical program of testing, the F2002 that was being ready for the 2002 System 1 season initially offered plenty of mechanical hurdles for Ferrari. Suffering from gearbox reliability points, the crew took the bizarre resolution to delay the introduction of that yr’s new mannequin and as an alternative developed the outgoing F2001 mannequin from the earlier season. Not solely had the F2001 confirmed to be extremely dependable, it was additionally one of the profitable single-seaters to put on a Prancing Horse badge, having completely outclassed the competitors with Schumacher successful 9 out of 17 races on his technique to a complete of 123 factors.
The brand new automobile—dubbed the F2001b—mixed the perfect of the F2001 mannequin, with its confirmed Gilles Simon-designed Tipo 050 V-10 engine and sequential electro-hydraulic seven-speed gearbox, with a number of improvements from the upcoming F2002. A brand new aerodynamic bundle elevated downforce significantly, whereas the drivetrain featured a number of upgrades borrowed from the still-in-development Tipo 051 engine.
Whereas Schumacher remained the favourite to seize a historic fifth title, the crew’s expectations for the F2001b had been extra subdued, with Schumacher focusing on a conservative factors end on the season opener in Melbourne. Hopes had been raised throughout free observe, the place the German ace posted the quickest lap in three successive classes. He appeared odds-on to repeat the trick in qualifying, had been it not for a heavy rainstorm that successfully prevented any enchancment on the midway level of the session; in the long run, Schumacher was pipped to pole place by his teammate Rubens Barrichello by simply five-hundredths of a second.
The 2002 Australian Grand Prix befell on 3 March, proving a dramatic and considerably chaotic begin to the season. Throughout an early problem for the race lead, Schumacher’s brother, Ralf, collided beneath braking with the race chief, Barrichello, earlier than going airborne, destroying the Ferrari’s rear wing and grazing the Brazilian’s helmet. Michael Schumacher managed to keep away from hassle by taking to the grass, although eight vehicles had been caught within the melee and the security automobile stayed out till the top of the fifth lap. Schumacher managed to steal Third from nice rival Juan Pablo Montoya shortly after, with the German taking the outright lead following a crash by Jarno Trulli on lap 9 and a fumbled gearchange by David Coulthard two laps later. Spilled oil continued to trigger issues for the sector, and after dicing with Schumacher for a number of laps, Montoya started to drop off the tempo. Schumacher maintained the lead for the ultimate 39 laps, ending greater than 18 seconds forward of his Colombian rival to seal a spectacular 54th profession victory. Chassis 215 had not solely proved its competitiveness, it catapulted Schumacher to the highest of the Drivers’ World Championship standings with a haul of 10 factors, delivering an early lead for Ferrari within the Constructors’ World Championship forward of Williams-BMW.
Two weeks later, the System 1 circus decamped to the Sepang Worldwide Circuit for the 2002 Malaysian Grand Prix. For the second race weekend in a row, Ferrari opted to area F2001bs, with Schumacher as soon as once more piloting chassis 215. The pairing carried their successful tempo into observe and qualifying, the place Schumacher scored a spectacular pole place—his first of the 2002 marketing campaign and the one hundred and fiftieth in Ferrari’s System 1 historical past. Such was his superiority that solely three drivers managed to get inside a second of his quickest lap.
The race, which befell on 17 March, proved simply as tumultuous because the season opener in Australia. Once more, drama unfolded going into the primary flip, the place the three-way battle for supremacy between Schumacher, Montoya, and Barrichello resulted in Schumacher’s Ferrari coming into contact with the Williams, the German dropping his entrance wing and edging Montoya off observe. Because of the accident, Schumacher was pressured to pit, whereas Montoya was controversially issued a drive-through penalty—the primary in System 1 historical past. On the sharp finish of the race, each McLarens suffered engine issues and had been pressured to retire, whereas Barrichello ceded the result in Ralf Schumacher on lap 35 following his second pit cease. The Brazilian appeared sure to regain the lead when his Ferrari additionally suffered a mechanical failure, selling Jenson Button to 2nd, chased by Montoya, Nick Heidfeld, and Michael Schumacher. Montoya finally overcame Button to maneuver into 2nd, sealing the primary Williams 1-2 end for the reason that 1996 Portuguese Grand Prix, whereas the Briton was denied Third place within the dying moments of the race by none apart from Michael Schumacher. Schumacher had battled from twenty first place to place chassis 215 on the rostrum for the second consecutive race, within the course of sustaining his lead within the Drivers’ Championship.
By late March, progress on the brand new F2002 was adequate for the mannequin to make its race debut, with Michael Schumacher being assigned chassis 220. Although chassis 215 made the journey to South America, its Third-place end in Malaysia marked the top of its competitors profession; after coming back from Brazil, it was used predominantly for tire testing. By the hands of Luciano Burti, chassis 215 accomplished 5 days of testing all through April and Might 2002, protecting a cumulative whole of 384 laps earlier than being retired.
The automobile entered non-public fingers the next yr, having been acquired by a Swiss collector, who entered the automobile frequently in observe occasions. The F2001b was acquired from him by the consigning proprietor in 2011. Previous to being taken on observe, the automobile might want to return to Maranello for an engine, gearbox, and clutch refresh; an evaluation of the automobile’s mechanical elements is on the market to view on file.
CHASSIS 215: A MEMBER OF A VERY EXCLUSIVE CLUB
Ever for the reason that daybreak of vehicles changing into collectible objects, competitors vehicles have comprised essentially the most fascinating tier attributable to their rarity and particular aura achieved via victory on the observe. For the previous a number of a long time System 1 has been the undisputed chief in high degree motorsport and has developed into a worldwide family sport—the place legendary names comparable to Senna, Schumacher, and Hamilton will undoubtedly be remembered and recited for generations to return.
The groundbreaking expertise developed from these high-performance marvels has fueled tons of if not hundreds of supercars, which have additionally reached top-level collectable standing. It’s the F1 vehicles, nonetheless, produced in extraordinarily restricted numbers of not more than six to 12 chassis every year, which have the potential to turn into the true kings of the collector automobile market sooner or later.
With solely roughly 30 Michael Schumacher race-winning Ferraris in existence—a provide quantity similar to the 250 GTO and 250 Testa Rossa manufacturing numbers of the Nineteen Fifties and Nineteen Sixties—these examples are among the many most elite of all fashionable collector vehicles, with the inhabitants slimming down to simply over a dozen examples if you’re set on discovering the perfect from a World Championship-winning yr. Additional contemplate that almost all of those rarified Ferraris are locked away in long-term collections; every instance to return to market represents a possibility that no astute, forward-looking collector can afford to disregard.
With a victory on the 2002 Australian Grand Prix and an extra Third place podium at Malaysia in 2002, this very automobile—chassis 215—helped propel Michael Schumacher to a then record-tying fifth World Championship, cementing the automobile’s legacy among the many highest of all competitors Ferraris to go away Maranello.
This car might be supplied at RM Sotheby’s 27th annual Monterey sale, happening 15-17 August throughout Monterey Automotive Week. Study extra, view all heaps on provide, and register to bid on-line at RMSothebys.com.
