In the run-up to the 2022 Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix, all spectators were treated to an exhibition of historic single-seaters, where various vehicles from bygone eras roared their engines down the hills of the Red Bull Ring.
One of them was the BMW P83 V10 of Ralf Schumacher ‘s Williams FW25, a car that he won four times in the 2003 season, at the Nürburgring and Magny-Cours with the German driver, and at Monaco and Hockenheim with Juan Pablo Montoya .
At the Legends Parade at the Red Bull Ring, the German felt like he was back in that era, stating that it was “as if it were yesterday” when he climbed into the car he raced in almost two decades ago.
However, for the brother of the ‘ Kaiser ‘, Michael, many things have not changed too much for him in the car, as he acknowledged in an interview with the Motorsport-Total.com portal: “It was the one I won two races with [in 2003], the seat and belts are still the way it was, the pedals were mine, the adjustments were mine, I just sat.”
“Interestingly, he still had the overalls from those years,” Schumacher revealed. “It wasn’t as complicated back then as it is now, but I still knew what to do, I knew the buttons and the procedures, it was an amazing and good feeling to experience it again.”
What makes the Formula 1 cars of 20 years ago faster than those of today?
However, comparisons between the cars of that time and the current ones are irresistible, and for many seasons it has been questioned how Formula 1 has evolved. In those campaigns, the cars had grooved tires, in addition to the beloved combustion engines V10 , which provided spectacular performance.
“The car had incredible, unimaginable grip,” said Ralf Schumacher when asked about it, although it was the stopwatch that ruled between a car from 2003 and one from now.
“I was faster [than the current Formula 1 car], but I won’t say by how much,” said the German, who recorded the two flying laps he did. “Back then my engine had just over 950hp, and here it was almost 850hp. We also changed gears 2,000rpm earlier because the drive needed to last longer, that’s a big difference.”
What has changed the most in Formula 1 compared to 20 years ago?
Here comes one of the differential points between the two cars, and it is not only the engine that distinguishes the two generations. The weight is something that has been increasing over time, and that is that the 600 kilograms of the FW25 have become 798 today.
“Cars today weigh almost 200 kilos more,” said Ralf Schumacher after delighting everyone with the V10. “We’re talking about overall performance, I have my 850bhp all the time, you can’t underestimate that.”
Although not only did it impress fans, but the regulars of the Formula 1 paddock were also enraptured by the beauty of the Williams: “Some team bosses visited me and said: ‘this is embarrassing for us'”.
The director of the McLaren team, Andreas Seidl , was in charge of starting the German’s car, since he was one of the BMW engineers who participated in the Grand Circus project when Ralf Schumacher was a driver for the Grove team.
“One thing must not be forgotten. Safety is what makes cars so difficult today, but when it comes to fuels like this, some systems become obsolete,” he said. “I imagine that people are talking about a small engine with efficient fuels, that that would already be a battery.”
What should Formula 1 change to improve today?
The winner of six grand prix in the world championship also gave his point of view on what could be changed in Formula 1 today, where “how technology is sold has to be reviewed” compared to 20 years ago .
“I think my brother [Michael Schumacher] and I had a really good time developing the car. If a V10 could go up to 20,000 rpm it would be great, but now Formula 1 is much more technical,” he said, before explaining that what What bothered him was the management.
“We used to have sprint races, it was up to the driver. Now everything is determined from the outside, watch the tyres, pay attention to this and that. How much should I charge my battery? It’s a shame, in the long run we should go back to being like before”, declared the German pilot.
