Legend Team #3 Ferrari 640 F1-89
Ferrari 640 F1-90
Driver: Nigel Mansell
Gerhard Berger
Moreno
Chairman: Jean Todt
The 640 was powered by Ferrari’s Tipo 035/5, a 3.5 litre V12 engine which produced up to 660 bhp (492 kW; 669 PS) by the season end, roughly the same amount of power as the engine it replaced, the Tipo 033A V6 turbo, though without the turbo’s fuel consumption worries. This was still down compared to the V10 Honda used by the dominant McLarens which were rated at 675 bhp (503 kW; 684 PS). The transmission to which it was mated, however, attracted more attention, as it contained the very first semi-automatic gearbox seen in Formula One.[3] In the first half of the season, it proved to be very unreliable, and hampered Ferrari’s efforts. However, such gearboxes would become the norm by the mid-1990s. Much of the development work was conducted at Ferrari’s private test track Fiorano by test driver Roberto Moreno during the winter season (Moreno also doubled as the lead driver of the rival Coloni team). By the time the Grand Prix circus returned to Europe at the end of June, the problem with the semi-automatic gearbox was found to be not enough power from the battery. With the help of electrical experts from team sponsor Magneti Marelli, the power supply to the gearbox was fixed and the 640’s reliability rose accordingly.
The car proved to be fast, and Mansell took it to victory in its début race in Brazil, despite fears of unreliability (the potential of the new car, with its innovative aerodynamics, gearbox and V12 engine was clear – Mansell declared on the eve of the Brazilian race that if "the car had even half the horsepower it sounds like it has, we’ll win every race this year…."). However, it did not record another finish until the French Grand Prix, and there were to be no races in which both drivers finished. But when the car did finish, it did so in a position no lower than third, with Mansell taking second in both France and his home race at Silverstone, third in Germany where the long straights saw the Ferrari V12 almost breathless against the more powerful Honda V10s (though they still had the advantage over the Renault V10s of Williams and the Ford V8 powered Benettons), a second win in Hungary which was highlighted by his passing move on Senna to take the lead, and finally third at Spa, before Berger finished second at Monza, won in Portugal – a race where the Ferraris were clearly more competitive than the championship-winning McLarens – and finished second again in Spain.
The carbon fibre monocoque also proved to be very strong, allowing Berger to escape from a fiery high-speed crash at Imola with only minor burns to his hands and a couple of broken ribs. In a 2013 interview, Berger revealed the reason for the crash was the front wing had broken on the car, though as the right front wheel had risen his initial thought was rear suspension failure or a flat left rear tyre. He then revealed that even in the short time it took from the car not responding to the time it hit the wall, he also realised the car was almost full of fuel and could catch fire. From then he was briefly knocked unconscious, but was awake and aware only a minute or so later.[4] Berger’s injuries were enough to keep him out of the Monaco Grand Prix, but with the help of Niki Lauda’s physical therapist Willy Dungl, and the semi-automatic gearbox’s advantage of not having to take his hands off the steering wheel to change gears, the brave Austrian was able return one race later in Mexico where his injuries would otherwise have kept him out if the 640 had used a conventional gearbox and stick shift.
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