Paul Stoddart’s second year at the helm of the small Italian team Minardi was expected to mark the true beginning of the new course envisioned by the Australian manager, who was also president and CEO of the airline European Aviation. In 2001, in fact, his entry into Minardi had taken place only six weeks before the start of the Championship, far too little time to plan a season and design an entirely new car, forcing Stoddart to settle for the existing chassis/engine “package.” In 2002, however, the situation changed significantly and, despite the usual budget shortages that had plagued the Italian team from Faenza, a small town in the province of Ravenna, plans for the new season could be laid out well in advance. The technical staff responsible for designing the new Minardi PS02 was also reshuffled.
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| MINARDI PS02, Mark Webber Suzuka, Japanese GP 2002 |
With Gustav Brunner leaving for Toyota, the role of Technical Director was handed to Gabriele Tredozi, an Italian engineer with Minardi since 1988, while the position of Chief Designer remained with George Ryton, an English engineer with a long Formula 1 résumé, having worked with top designers such as Reynard, Barnard, and Postlethwaite, as well as with several teams including Tyrrell, Benetton, Ferrari, and Ligier. A major innovation came in the aerodynamics department, where from 2002 the role of Chief Aerodynamicist was taken up by French engineer Loïc Bigois, who had spent over a decade designing Ligier’s cars and had just arrived from the now-defunct Prost Grand Prix. The new PS02 benefitted from the vast experience of the French aerodynamicist and his technical staff, as well as from considerable time spent in wind tunnels in Casumaro, Italy, and Southampton, England. Compared to the 2001 car, which had seen practically no wind-tunnel development, the Minardi PS02 featured a higher front section, even though the nose retained a rather boxy shape. The front wing consisted of three almost flat sections, supported in the center by two slightly curved pylons. The engine cover was redesigned and extended, with a round air intake instead of the triangular one used previously. The sidepods were taller, with more rectangular air intakes, while the entire rear bodywork had softer lines. The car’s floor was also completely new, optimized to work with the increased airflow from the higher nose and the new rear diffuser.
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| MINARDI PS02, Alex Yoong Monza, Italian GP 2002 |
The mechanics were also brand new, for the first time exclusively designed by Tredozi. The carbon-fiber monocoque chassis, besides the raised nose, featured completely new front suspension, returning to the more traditional push-rod system instead of the pull-rod used on the PS01. The wheelbase was lengthened by a full 74 mm to accommodate the new titanium-cast gearbox, but also to allow for a larger fuel tank, increased by over 20 liters. The longer wheelbase was also necessary to move the front axle forward, distancing the turbulence generated by the front wheels from the sidepods. Weight distribution was therefore revised and shifted forward, with over 45% on the front axle and the ability to manage a 50 kg ballast. The radiator layout inside the sidepods was also substantially different: Brunner’s “lying down” arrangement was abandoned in favor of a more traditional setup, with the cooling elements positioned at a steeper angle and symmetrically, i.e. one water radiator and one oil radiator in each sidepod.
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| MINARDI PS02, Anthony Davidson Hungaroring, Hungarian GP 2002 |
With more time at his disposal, Stoddart secured a deal with Asiatech for the supply of the AT02 V10 engine. Asiatech, a company founded in 2000 with Japanese private capital and managed by John Gano and Enrique Scalabroni, had purchased Peugeot’s Formula One program at the end of the 2000 season to further develop the French V10. The new engine represented a clear step forward compared to the old 735 hp Ford Zetec-R 3.0 used in 2001. The new Franco-Asian V10 was capable of producing 800 hp at 17,500 rpm, although weight and reliability were not exactly its strong suits. Despite being heavy, though lighter than the old Ford, the ex-Peugeot unit was noticeably more compact, making it easier for the team’s designers to arrange all the necessary components around it, while also being more efficient in terms of cooling requirements, allowing smaller radiators. As for the drivers, alongside Malaysian Alex Yoong, confirmed after his three-race stint with Minardi in late 2001 and strongly supported by Malaysian sponsors Go-KL and Magnum, the team signed another talented rookie: Australian Mark Webber. After the first shakedown in January at Imola, Minardi’s “home” circuit, the car was officially presented to the public and press a month later in Malaysia, in the presence of management, race drivers, and test drivers Tarso Marques and Matteo Bobbi.
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| MINARDI PS02, Mark Webber Catalunya-Barcelona, Spanish GP 2002 |
The hopes invested in the new PS02 were immediately rewarded at the season opener in Australia, where home hero Webber achieved a sensational fifth place, Minardi’s first points since Marc Gené’s result at the 1999 European Grand Prix. Despite the PS02 showing good potential, the rest of the season saw Webber consistently fighting in the midfield but never close to scoring points again. Yoong, however, proved far less capable, failing to qualify three times after setting laps above 107% of pole position. Towards the end of the season, Giancarlo Minardi temporarily sidelined the Malaysian driver, calling in BAR test driver Anthony Davidson as a replacement. The Englishman, however, managed only two disappointing retirements, after which Yoong returned to the cockpit for the final races. Although Paul Stoddart once again faced financial issues at the end of the year, with rumors of a possible sale of his airline and a dispute with Malaysian sponsors over more than $200,000, the 2002 season ended on a positive note for Minardi. The team finished ninth in the Constructors’ Championship, ahead of the defunct Arrows and, more impressively, Toyota, which had vastly greater financial resources than the small Italian team.
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