The F1/87 was an all-new design by Austrian Gustav Brunner, formerly of ATS and RAM, with assistance from Technical Director John Barnard. Barnard joined Ferrari after a successful tenure at McLaren where he was "responsible for" the McLaren MP4/2 and the TAG-Porsche engine. Barnard later stated that had he been in charge of the project from its 1986 inception, he "would have come up with a different looking car." However, because Brunner had already commenced design and construction, Barnard could not alter the car without significant expense and loss of time.
The F1/87 was "much sleeker looking" than its predecessor, the Harvey Postlethwaite designed F1/86, despite maintaining the same fuel tank size for 1987. It featured a six-speed gearbox and a new 90° 1.5-litre turbocharged V6 engine, the Tipo 033, which replaced the Tipo 032 in use since 1981. To comply with FIA regulations, the engine was fitted with pop-off valves restricting boost to 4.0 Bar. Power was rated at approximately 950 bhp for qualifying and 880 bhp for races.
The car was competitive early in the 1987 season but was hampered by persistent understeer. Following the introduction of a new rear wing at the German Grand Prix, the F1/87 became "almost as quick as the Williams-Honda," though it lacked equivalent reliability. From the Hungarian Grand Prix onward, Gerhard Berger qualified in the top three for every race of the season.
Berger achieved two victories in the F1/87 at the Japanese and Australian Grands Prix and secured three pole positions. While the car showed potential—such as Alboreto briefly leading at San Marino—reliability remained a primary concern. Berger challenged for the lead in Hungary before retiring and was in contention for wins in Portugal and Mexico before a spin and mechanical failure, respectively, ended his bids.
The season concluded with dominating wins for Berger in the final two rounds. Alboreto secured a Ferrari 1-2 in Adelaide following the disqualification of Ayrton Senna's Lotus. These results marked Ferrari's first back-to-back victories since 1981.
For the 1988 season, the car was updated to F1/87/88C specifications to meet new regulations, including a fuel limit reduction from 195 to 150 litres and a lower turbo limit of 2.5 bar. This version featured new wings and a lower engine cover. While the Tipo 033A engine remained powerful, producing 650–720 bhp at 12,000 rpm, it suffered from high fuel consumption and poor throttle response compared to the rival Honda V6.
The F1/87/88C achieved one victory at the Italian Grand Prix and one pole position at the British Grand Prix. Ferrari finished second in the 1988 Constructors' Championship. During this period, the F1/87 and 88C platforms also served as development mules for John Barnard’s 3.5-litre normally aspirated V12 and semi-automatic gearbox, which eventually debuted in the Ferrari 640 in 1989.
Derived Figures:
Power outputs in kW and PS are included as they appear verbatim in the corpus.
Speed trap figures (e.g., 328 km/h to 204 mph) are included as they appear verbatim in the corpus.
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