Forti FG01
Forti FG01B

Category	Formula One
Constructor	Forti
Designers	Giacomo Caliri(Executive Engineer) Sergio Rinland(Technical Director) Giorgio Stirano(Chief Designer) Chris Radage(Head of Design) Hans Fouche(Head of Aerodynamics)
Successor	FG03
Technical specifications[1][2]
Chassis	Carbon-fibre monocoque
Suspension (front)	Double wishbones, pushrod
Suspension (rear)	As front
Axle track	Front: 1,700 mm (67 in) Rear: 1,600 mm (63 in)
Wheelbase	2,950 mm (116 in)
Engine	Ford-Cosworth EDD1 3-litreV8 (75°) (1995) Ford Zetec-R 3-litre V8 (90°) (1996)mid-engined
Transmission	Hewland six-speed manual/semi-automatic
Power	630–660 hp (470–490 kW)[3]
Weight	Chassis weight (tub): 42 kg (93 lb) Formula weight: 595 kg (1,312 lb) (including driver)
Fuel	Elf
Lubricants	STP
Tyres	Goodyear
Competition history
Notable entrants	Parmalat Forti Ford (1995) Forti Grand Prix (1996)
Notable drivers	21.Pedro Diniz (1995) 22.Roberto Moreno (1995) 22.Luca Badoer (1996) 23.Andrea Montermini (1996)
Debut	1995 Brazilian Grand Prix
Races Wins Poles F/Laps 22 0 0 0

TheForti FG01, also designatedForti FG01-95, was aFormula One car for the1995 season and was the first car made byForti. The number21 seat was taken by rookiePedro Diniz and the number22 seat was taken by veteranRoberto Moreno. The team never employed a test driver. The engine was aFord EDD 3.0V8. The team's main sponsor wasParmalat. The FG01 is also notably the last F1 car to sport a conventionalmanual gearbox + H-pattern shifter, and was the only car to use one on the grid.

The car was designed byGiacomo Caliri andGiorgio Stirano, with input fromSergio Rinland, and was built at the team's base inAlessandria,Italy.^[4]

Building its own car for the first time was the hardest task for the team (as required by the F1 regulations). This turned out to be the main obstacle forGuido Forti, as he insisted on having a reliable car built instead of a fast one. That was precisely what he received: his first F1 car, the Forti FG01, was an outdated, overweight and very slow machine, and has been described as nothing more than "a revised F3000 car"^[5] and, more harshly, "a fearful pile of junk".^[6]

The FG01 had many influences. Its roots dated back to1991 when formerBrabham designer Rinland left the British team before the season ended. Rinland set up Astauto Ltd. in Tolworth, England, hiring several of his former collaborators from Brabham when the team closed its doors. Brabham sold the building and wind tunnel at Chessington toYamaha, facilities that Astauto rented to develop the newFondmetal GR02, which was designed and built by June 1992, just six months after it was commissioned by Gabriele Rumi. The Fondmetal GR02 was a natural successor of theBrabham BT60, in concept, as it was conceived by the same design team. Due to Fondmetal's own severe financial troubles, the GR02 was run only in a few races before the team was closed. When in late1994, Forti bought the remains of the Fondmetal Team, acquiring all the spares of the GR02 in the process, the team then turned to Rinland to purchase the design of what would have been the1993 F1 car design by the Astauto Design Team after the collapse of the Fondmetal team. At that time, Rinland was living and working in California on a newChampCar project. Forti sent his Chief Designer and former Astauto employee Chris Radage to California to gather all the technical information, data and drawings from Rinland, returning to Italy to design and develop the new Forti FG01. Rinland joined the team in early 1995 for a short period as Technical Director, once he had returned to Europe.^[7] Rinland assisted experienced Italian engineersGiorgio Stirano^[1] andGiacomo Caliri in designing the car.^[8] The car'saerodynamics were completed by former Brabham employeeHans Fouche usingwind-tunnels inSouth Africa, and composite work was done by theBelco Avia company.^[9] However, it was rumoured that the FG01 was little more than a re-working of the GR02.^[10]

Thus the FG01 did not promise much in terms of performance. It was angular and bulky, with poor aerodynamic performance negatively affecting grip and handling; it had a plump nose, initially no airbox, and was overweight and under-powered, using a small Ford-Cosworth EDV8 customer engine largely financed byFord Brasil, which developed an estimated 100 bhp less than the most powerful engine in the field, theRenaultV10 supplied to theBenetton andWilliams teams.^[11] It was also the only car to have amanual gearbox in the 1995 F1 season. The only attractive thing about the car was its blue and yellow colour scheme accompanied by fluorescent green wheel-rims, illustrating the team's Brazilian influence in its first year.^[10] Rinland subsequently left the team after a few weeks, after falling out with the team's management over the car's lack of competitiveness.^[1][12]

For1996, the car was upgraded toB specification, withLuca Badoer andAndrea Montermini on board. It was eventually replaced by theForti FG03 car for theMonaco Grand Prix.

• 
  Pedro Diniz driving the FG01 at the1995 British Grand Prix.
• 
  Andrea Montermini driving the revised FG01B at the1996 San Marino Grand Prix.

(key)

• Domenjoz, Luc, ed. (1995).Formula 1 Yearbook 1995. Silbermann, Eric (translator). Chronosports Editeur.ISBN 2-940125-06-6.
• Henry, Alan, ed. (1995).AUTOCOURSE 1995–96. Hazleton Publishing.ISBN 1-874557-36-5 – viaOpen Library.
• Henry, Alan, ed. (1996).AUTOCOURSE 1996–97. Hazleton Publishing.ISBN 1-874557-91-8.
• Ménard, Pierre (2006).The Great Encyclopedia of Formula 1 (3rd ed.). Chronosports S.A.ISBN 2-84707-123-7.

• 1995 Formula One season cars
• 1996 Formula One season cars
• Forti Formula One cars

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata