F1 2017 Car Review: 1995 Ferrari F14 T2

06 May 2018

I recently did quite a bit of driving in this car, so I thought I’d review it. I’ll do more reviews as I go, so if you have any you’d like me to do first, please comment below.

Caveat: This is all purely my opinion and experience. I drive with a controller with manual shifts, ABS on and TC Medium, so if you use a wheel or TC completely off, you may find the handling different.

About the car

The Ferrari 412 T2 raced in the 1995 season, when engine size was reduced from 3.5 to 3 litres in order to slow cars down. Virtually all manufacturers used V8s or V10s, but Ferrari stuck with their V12. This was the last year that they did this, as the V10 turned out to be the optimal engine. The car placed 3rd in the WCC, losing out to the Renault V10-powered cars of Benetton and Williams.

This is the only classic car in the game that did not win a World Drivers’ Championship, and one of two not to have won a Constructors’ Championship. The fact that it is the last V12-powered car ever to race in F1 is likely the reason for its inclusion.

Specs

The 3-litre V12 revs to 17,000 RPM and makes approximately 800 horsepower. It has a 6-speed paddle-shift transmission which shifts very quickly. It is usually capable of 190-195mph, with 200 possible on fast tracks with some slipstreaming.

By Codemasters’ own reckoning, it is one of the slowest cars in the game - when doing a Championship with this car, the medal requirements are 12th/14th/16th. However, this is definitely the fastest C2 car with those requirements (the others are the 1991 and 1988 McLaren-Hondas), making it a good choice for Championships. It is slightly quicker than the 1992 and 1996 Williams cars on the straights, but loses out in the corners.

Driving

The sound of the V12 is the first thing that hits you. Unlike the screeching V10s, it’s a warm, powerful sound with plenty of bass. It’s amazing, but it sometimes feels like it’s only 8,500 RPM rather than 17,000.

My dry qualifying in Canada showed the car’s strong low-speed grip. It’s quite forgiving if you get on the throttle a little too early - possibly even more so than the 2017 cars. However, aero grip is quite poor - when at Baku, I had to lift for turn 13 (the first of the two fast left-handers a little while after the castle section) and for the chicane leading to the long straight. And that was with a relatively high-downforce setup for Baku standards (I think it was as high as 5/8).

However, in the wet, it’s a complete nightmare. I had the misfortune of my first race in my championship (Canada) being wet. It wasn’t even raining that heavily, but there was just no grip. There was wheelspin in fourth gear, or even fifth if there was a slight curve. At Melbourne, I had to lift almost completely off the throttle to get around the gentle left curve between turns 10 and 11. I dread to think what the car is like when it’s properly chucking it down.

Stats:

Here is a graphic about the car - I’ll create one for each review I do. All scores are out of 10.

Cornering

This is a measure of the raw cornering speed over both fast and slow corners. In slow corners it is quite strong, but it has a serious lack of downforce making it one of the slowest cars in the game at high speed, so it only gets a 4.

Handling

This is a measure of how easy the car is to drive in the dry and how forgiving it is to excessive throttle. The car is relatively balanced and you can afford to be aggressive on the throttle. It inspires a lot of confidence when throwing it into slow corners. However, it doesn’t feel great on fast corners so it gets a 7.

Brakes

This is a measure of the stopping distance. The 412 T2 has brakes from the period, and as a result braking distances are considerably longer than the 2017 cars despite the slower speeds on the straights. If you’re used to braking at the 100m board in 2017 cars, you’ll need to look for the 150 in this car, hence why it only gets a 3.

Wet

This is a measure of both cornering speed and handling in the wet. This car is utterly atrocious in even light rain, spinning its wet tyres in every gear and requiring lift-off on curves so gentle they’d barely be considered a corner. It’s pretty much undriveable so it only scores a 1.

Power

This is a measure of the acceleration performance of the car. The 412 T2 is one of the quicker C2 cars under acceleration, but it can’t hold up against the more modern cars so it gets a 5.

Speed

This is a measure of the top speed of the car which accounts for both power and drag. This car is quicker than most C2 cars but it has quite a lot of drag and loses quite a bit of power past 16,000 RPM - it could do with slightly longer gearing. It scores a 4.

Sound

This is a subjective measure based on my opinions and tastes. The V12 sound is amazing and won’t annoy your neighbours as much as some of the newer cars, but it occasionally feels underwhelming. It still deserves a 9.