Minardi PS03 sneak peek
Published on 13 February 2003 by Verstappen Info Page
It will be ready soon. The new car which Jos will be driving this season. Very exciting for Jos, but also for the team. This season has to be it; the big step forward. That is what team owner Paul Stoddart has said. Easy said but it is not so easy to do. The development of the new car, which is a process that lasts a year and continues after that. New changes and alterations to the new engine, the data from the wind tunnel. To make a long story short it is a very long and complicated process. We had the opportunity to interview 2 key people about the new car. They have been part of the development from day 1 and are responsible for the PS03. Loic Bigois (Senior Aerodynamicist) en Gabriele Tredozi ( Technical Director).
 Senior Aerodynamicist Minardi |  Technical Director Minardi |
Loic Bigois has seen a few more Formula 1 teams. The 43 year old Frenchman studied aerodynamics and went into the French air industry. In 1990 he was approached by the Ligier team to join Minardi. Besides aerodynamics he did a lot of CAD/CAM work. The Ligier team had a few hectic years and in 1994 Bigois decided to accept an offer of Sauber to replace Mika Gascoyne (at present Technical Director of Renault). He returned back to Ligier to design the Ligier Mugen Honda in 1996. In 1997 Ligier became Prost Grand Prix where Bigois became Chief Designer. Early 2001 Minardi approached him and the move to the Anglo/Italian team was a fact.
Are you making one or two chassis this year with the height difference between Jos and Justin?
GT: We are only making one chassis which is suitable for both drivers.
Okay that is clear. This will bring us to our next question: do you have to make compromises in making the cars considering the heights of your drivers?
GT: Not really, the current chassis doesn't differ that much from last years' and that car was quite comfortable for Mark Webber (1,86metres). With only a few minor adjustments to the pedals and other small things we were able to fit the chassis around Justin. Not that difficult at all.
That's allright then, but we Verstappen fans have one great fear: this will affect the fuel tank, like we had with the 2001 Arrows. Jos drove some very good races but were spoilt by a bad pitstop strategy which were necessary due to a small fuel tank.
GT: I will ensure the fans, the fuel tank we will be using is capable of any pitstop strategy you can think of. It will not give us any limitations.
You mentioned that the PS03 is a re-developed PS02 and not a complete new design, explain?
GT: The 2003 car is a re-developed PS02. We have taken that chassis as a basis and added some technical improvements. What exactly I cannot tell you. Besides these improvements we had to make a few adjustments to the car due to the new engine. The changes we made were the gearbox, sidepods and some electronic systems.
What kind of specific problems did the new engine give you?
GT: None! This new engine is smaller and lighter so it gaves us some possibilities to improves the weight balance of the car.
When did you start with the PS03?
LB: Right after finishing the PS02. It is a continuous process and the car is never finished. Besides we need all the time we can get. As a small team we have to be creative with time, technical aspects and money. We booked an optimal result with making the PS03.
Sounds good. Jos told us that you were looking at the aerodynamics data since early January. Does Minardi have its own windtunnel?
LB: No we don't. We usre the windtunnel of Fondmetal Technologies in Casumaro, Ferrara.
What did the windtunnel give you as a result? What are the differences in aerodynamics compared to last year?
LB: We have made a large number of small adjustments. This car is a re-development of the PS02 so radical changes, as we made when we went from PS01 to PS02, were not to be expected. We have done some tests and made re-adjustments. We will keep testing during the 2003 season. We have and extensive programme with the goal to improve the car during the season.
Will the car be made entirely in Italy or will something be done in England?
GT: No, the car is designed, developed and built in Italy
A question we receive quite often: why is the car so late?
GT: You think the car is late because you are comparing it to the other teams who have presented their car alreadu. We are right on schedule with the development of our car, so according to ourselves we are not late. We will perform 2 extensive tests with the new car before it will be shipped to Australia.
Concerning the engine. All kinds of stories go round about which version Cosworth Minardi will use. Some say it will the engine of early 2002, others say that it will be the one of end 2002 which is the same one Jordan will use. Come on tell which one and what is the difference to last years' Asiatech concerning horsepower, weight and size?
GT: We cannot comment on that. We will not be making comparisons to last years' engine. What we can say it that it is more powerful, lighter and capable of higher rpm's. These are the most important differences which will help Minardi to do better than last year.
So which version is it?
GT en LB:..............
Okay we get the message. Let's talk about the changes in regulations. Have the technical changes which will take effect from the English GP influenced the new car?
GT: No, not really. Our car will comply with all the regulations and will not give us any problems.
Last question, about the gearbox. Did you have to design a new gearbox to fit the new engine?
GT: A part of the gearbox we had to adjust. We designed a new titanium part, one of the two parts that make the gearbox. We also made some small changes within the gearbox so it can cope with the higher rpm's of this new engine.
Gentlemen, thank you both for answering these questions and we wish you a fantastic Formula 1 season.
GT and LB: You're welcome, we hope to see a lot of Dutch Minardi fans on the circuits.
Don't you worry about that..........
