Competition car Unregistered

Chassis no. 136

- Given to Jean Alesi by Scuderia at the end of the 1992 season

- Displayed in his villa for over 30 years

- Competed in seven Grand Prix in 1992, including five with Jean Alesi

- 4th in the Australian Grand Prix, 5th in the German Grand Prix

- Complete and entirely original

- The finest provenance: owned by a beloved Ferrari driver

- No reserve

  

“The car had been serviced, I did two laps of the track at Fiorano and then came back into the pits, the tyres were changed and I loaded the car into the truck, with the engine still warm”, Jean Alesi recounted. “Once I got home, I unloaded it and put it on display. Since then, it hasn’t moved.” And so, after finishing the season, this Ferrari F92A single-seater went straight from the competition department to the driver who had competed with it in several Grands Prix, and remained like this for 30 years, without moving and with no work done on it or changes made to it. How many Formula 1 cars can claim such a destiny? What better guarantee can there be of its authenticity and integrity in every respect, both mechanically and aesthetically? These circumstances alone make this car altogether exceptional. But so too does its pedigree: the most prestigious brand in Formula 1 and one of the most popular and gifted French drivers of his time.

 

Ferrari’s new racing car for the 1992 season, the successor to the 643, was named the F92A to emphasize that it marked a new phase for the Scuderia. This was the wish of Luca di Montezemolo, Ferrari’s managing director since the previous winter, who set about restructuring the company to forget its previous mediocre season. He brought Harvey Postlethwaite back as technical director to support Jean-Claude Migeot, who was in charge of the chassis (they had already worked together at Ferrari and then at Tyrrell), and Claudio Lombardi, who was responsible for the engines. Steve Nichols, meanwhile, who had contributed to the development of the F92, left the Scuderia. Di Montezemolo also brought in Niki Lauda as an additional adviser.

It was therefore against this eventful backdrop that the F92 emerged, which did not prevent it from being particularly innovative, at a time when aerodynamics and ground effect were just as important as the power produced by the engines. With a carbon-fibre structure, it had a raised nose and, above all, a "double-flat bottom" floor with two side pods slightly offset from the bodyshell, in the manner of the nozzles of a fighter jet. It was fitted with a new front suspension with a single spring/shock absorber and, at the rear, one of the last V12 engines to power a Ferrari single-seater, as it would be replaced three years later by a V10. With five valves and two injectors per cylinder, it developed nearly 750bhp at 14,800rpm, producing a sound guaranteed to thrill the most blasé of enthusiasts! This was mated to a longitudinally-mounted gearbox, replaced at the end of the season by a transverse unit. Its streamlined shape made it one of the most elegant cars on the grid.

As far as the drivers were concerned, alongside Jean Alesi – who remained faithful to the Scuderia – the departure of Alain Prost left a place for Ivan Capelli, who came from March and the Scuderia Italia.

The season was dominated by the Williams-Renaults and by the future World Champion Nigel Mansell, and in this context Ferrari’s F92 had a mixed year: its aerodynamic design generated significant ground effect, but appeared difficult to adjust to optimise the car's stability. The V12 engine meanwhile was apparently more powerful than the Cosworth V8, but less so than the Renault V10 fitted to the Williams, and, in addition, it suffered from lubrication problems which affected its reliability and resulted in several retirements. Alesi nonetheless achieved some good results, especially in the wet, where the chassis was particularly at ease, and finished third in Spain and Canada.

 

The F92A, chassis no. 136, which we are offering today, appeared at the beginning of July at the French Grand Prix. It was assigned to Jean Alesi, who posted the sixth-fastest time out of the 25 cars that started. The Grand Prix was disrupted by the rain and a pile-up, resulting in a re-start. These unusual conditions suited the French driver well, with the result that he was in third place on the 43rd lap and was still on slicks when the rain returned. He nonetheless stopped to switch to wet tyres, but lost time in the pits and rejoined the race in fourth place, with the bit between his teeth in pursuit of Martin Brundle (Benetton). Unfortunately, his engine gave up the ghost on the 62nd of the 69 laps, but his performance earned him the third-fastest time of the race, behind the Williams.

This car, chassis no. 136, showed up a week later at Silverstone, and Alesi qualified in eighth place. This time, it was the explosion of the car’s fire extinguisher that forced him to retire. At the end of July, the F92A would be seen again at Hockenheim, and Alesi posted the fifth-fastest time in qualifying with it. Starting on hard tyres, he had a consistent race, finishing fifth and in the points, which boosted the team’s morale.

At the end of August, the car was used again by Alesi at Spa, for the Belgian Grand Prix, where he qualified in fifth place, but after a duel with Mansell on the eighth lap, he ran off the track and had to retire.

The F92A was then assigned to Ivan Capelli for two Grands Prix in September, both of which ended with retirements. At Monza, he had been seventh in testing, and then sixteenth at Estoril, a result which scarcely argued in his favour: it would be Capelli’s final Grand Prix for Ferrari.

But it was not the end of the story for the car, which Alesi drove in the final Grand Prix of the season, in November in Australia. He qualified with the sixth-fastest time, and, fortunate that the car did not let him down, crossed the finish line in fourth place.

 

At the end of the 1992 Championship, Alesi was given this F92A, chassis no. 136, directly by Ferrari. It was given a full service and covered two laps of Ferrari’s test track at Fiorano, and then took its place in the gym at the driver’s villa, near Avignon, which it has never left. The petrol in its tank is that put into it at Fiorano in 1992, and the air in its tyres dates back to the same year! This racing car is complete and untouched in every respect, just as it was when Alesi received it as a gift from the Scuderia in 1992.

“This Ferrari F92A represents a part of my life”, Alesi told us, “a symbol of my passion for Ferrari and for that period when everything was done to go fast. I hope that in the hands of a true enthusiast, it will return to the track. In any event, it will always be welcome at the Circuit Paul Ricard [of which Alesi is now president], which will let me see it again, and this time back in action!”

 

Speaking of Formula 1 cars which had finished a season, Colin Chapman said, “They’re only fit to throw out with the cornflakes”. Often indeed, the cars were dismantled, with their engines set to one side and their transmissions to the other, their bodies forgotten, unless they changed hands and lost their integrity. This is what makes this car a genuine exception: complete with its engine and entirely original electronic equipment, it is exactly as it was at the end of the season. Originally from the most iconic racing team in Formula 1 and driven by one of the best drivers of his generation, it has a provenance, an authenticity and a pedigree that make it a priceless item.

 

 

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Results: 1992 season

 

- 5 July, French GP, Magny-Cours, Jean Alesi: qualifying 6th, race DNF

- 12 July, British GP, Silverstone, Jean Alesi: qualifying 8th, race DNF

- 26 July, German GP, Hockenheim, Jean Alesi: qualifying 5th, race 5th

- 30 August, Belgian GP, Spa-Francorchamps, Jean Alesi: qualifying 5th, race DNF

- 13 September, Italian GP, Monza, Ivan Capelli: qualifying 7th, race DNF

- 27 September, Portuguese GP, Estoril, Ivan Capelli: qualifying 16th, race DNF

- 8 November, Australian GP, Adelaide, Jean Alesi: qualifying 6th, race 4th

Participating in the auction on this lot is subject to a special registration process. If you would like to bid on this lot, please get in touch with the bidding office or the motor car department at least 48 hours before the sale.

Photos © Kevin Van Campenhout