Formula 1 Thread

[Fijiandoce]

Fun fact, this years mclaren IS sporting a stepped nose

it is being covered by the vanity panel the FIA allowed.

Also, i missed the Ferrari unveiling! damnit!

BBC have it for anyone interested:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/21292236

it too is sporting the vanity panel....

[Fijiandoce]

Ferrari F138:


Force India VJM06


Vanity Panel appears to be all the rage atm

[nextgen3]

Sweet looking cars! cant wait for the start of the season!

am i still seeing Paul Di Resta with no Team-mate! billy with no mates lol

[Fijiandoce]

yeah, force India have no second driver as of yet

[Fijiandoce]

next up is sauber. 12 hours away guys

watch it live on their youtube
http://www.youtube.com/user/saubermotorsport

and tomorrow, RED BULL!

[Nitey]

The noses <3

[nextgen3]

Sauber C32 F1 Car. Iv never like there noses & the paint job reminds me of the old HRT 2010! :/

[BoyBettaKnow]

Purple RB9

[Fijiandoce]

Red Bull had a weird ass launch

had me switching between websites lol

sexy looking car though.

Mercedes are doing some pseudo reveal thing on their website, the more you retweet the more open their garage door will get
entire car can be seen as it stands currently, but its too dark to see anything of value other than outline
looks like a middle of the pack car tbh though, from the little that can be seen
http://www.mercedes-amg-f1.com/news_2004.html

[Nitey]

Love the new RB9. Very sexy!

[nextgen3]

Red Bull had a weird ass launch

had me switching between websites lol

sexy looking car though.

Mercedes are doing some pseudo reveal thing on their website, the more you retweet the more open their garage door will get
entire car can be seen as it stands currently, but its too dark to see anything of value other than outline
looks like a middle of the pack car tbh though, from the little that can be seen
http://www.mercedes-amg-f1.com/news_2004.html

Looks like the same car from last year!!! no dipped nose though! colours the same to, i really think Mclaren are the real silver lol dont like 2 the same with diffrent colour lines in teams they should have there own personal colour.

[Surebrec]

silver is mercedes' personal colour, moreso than mclaren.

[nextgen3]

Imagine Cataham got rid of the green for lime green lol

[Fijiandoce]

Mercedes is unveiled...kinda







correct me if im wrong, but shouldn't the front wing be under the nose cone? pull the front down? from the looks of it it seems like it will pull the car forward, less grip on the rears....

EDIT:
my proficiency with fluid dynamics is equal to that of a high schooler, as i did fluid dynamics as part of my physics course in my final year.
having acknowledged that i know very little, its worrying that a lot of my points are lining up with that of someone who took fluid dynamic further

"At first glance I can't see where the 'step change in performance' Mercedes are talking about is going to come from with their new car.

"There are a few changes here and there, but not necessarily in ways that look like they will be a big advantage.

"One area that is definitely working a bit harder is the front brake ducts, which are more elaborate.

"The nose has the allowed 'vanity panel' to hide the height difference between nose tip and chassis. If you put little ridges on either side of the nose, that can help prevent air spilling over the side. But the way Mercedes have designed their nose it looks like it will exacerbate that problem, which affects the aerodynamics detrimentally.

"The sidepods have a raised outer edge. It's aimed at getting air to the rear but it creates lift, and then there are turning vanes on top to reduce the lift. So that confuses me a little.

"They are trying to use the exhaust for aerodynamic effect at the back, but there is an awful lot of bodywork back there which will block the airflow and reduce the effectiveness of the 'coke-bottle' shape, which is what gives overall downforce, as opposed to the on-throttle downforce you get from the exhausts.

"Unlike the McLaren, which looked a step forward in every area, I wouldn't necessarily say I'm seeing anything too exciting about the Mercedes."

unless the insides of this car were designed by da vinci, i think Mercedes might struggle to fend off force india. they have no hope of threatening Lotus imo.

on the nose cone; the only way i see it working is if the airflow off the front wing is directed at the airflow spilling off the nose cone. but this can only be true for the car when travelling in a straight line....i wish the season started tomorrow. i want all these questions answered!

[keefy]

Looks good to me.
If it didn't work well they wouldn't have done it.

[Fijiandoce]

Looks good to me.
If it didn't work well they wouldn't have done it.

naturally, i hope that im wrong and that it does work. but every time i look at it and compare it i can't help but notice the front and back

it was the same with the 2011 car, i called it out early as going to be heavy on the rears, that turned out to be true.

i actually liked last years car. thought is was a decent attempt.
that being said however, if this is an evolution then it could work.

last year, Mercedes ran the lowest angle front wing to any other team, a compromise to offset their tyre deg, they were doing well until they prioritised this factor.
maybe by having the wing out front like that they hope to unbalance the car, using the longer bodywork to hold the airflow and increase stability??

but as i say, i want to see them racing so we can get actual answers

an actual pic of the W04:




EDIT:
So apparently (after reading up on it) Aldo Costa got busy with last years design. this years car is heavily influenced by the RB8. new gear box and a rear bodywork that works the rear diffuser heavily.
i still have my reservations, but im hopeful this years car will be a contender at the front (not for championships but as a thorn in the others sides )

[Fijiandoce]

still waiting for williams but here are the Caterham and Marussia cars:

CT03

MR02

Marussia looks like a glorified GP2 car o.O

Edit:
Good luck telling these two apart


lewis should have used the white helmet from singapore last year

[BoyBettaKnow]

I thought the new Marussia was decent looking

[nextgen3]

14 days until Williams reveal there car at barcalona! maybe bit of a wait. :/

[Fijiandoce]

I thought the new Marussia was decent looking

i've got nothing against it save for the fact it looks like a GP2 car
thats not to say GP2 cars look bad

Hamilton chose his words very carefully today, though its obvious he's in a bit of shock

"I feel like it's a good platform, a good foundation to work on”
Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton has given a cautiously optimistic assessment of his new Mercedes after his first proper run in the car in pre-season testing.
Hamilton, who has joined Mercedes from McLaren, said: "We have some work to do but it doesn't feel like a disaster."
Mercedes ended last season struggling even to score points, while McLaren had Formula 1's fastest car.

"It seems we're not in a bad starting place so it must be a big improvement for [the team]," Hamilton said.
"I feel like it's a good platform, a good foundation to work on."
After a brief outing on Wednesday was curtailed by brake failure, Hamilton said he felt the car was lacking aerodynamic downforce, a point he made again on Friday.
"Definitely. [I'm] just going to keep on asking for downforce and hope the guys continue to do a great job back at the factory," he said.

Hamilton and team-mate Nico Rosberg were restricted to less than 30 laps between them over the first days because of reliability problems, but the German managed 148 laps on Thursday and the car ran reliably again for Hamilton on Friday.
"It's been good to get some laps in," Hamilton said. "Obviously yesterday Nico got 148 laps in. I think that's the most I've ever seen. Today to get some running in, it's great to get a feeling for the car."

BBC

[Fijiandoce]

a bit of sad new guys, DC's sister passed away

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotlan...tland-21395171

35 years old. much too young.

[BoyBettaKnow]

Shame that, i actually saw him on TV that day!

Williams' FW35 passes final crash test

Tuesday 12th February 2013

Williams' FW35 passes final crash test


Williams' 2013 challenger has passed the final FIA crash test ahead of its launch in Barcelona.
The Grove-based squad used their 2012 car during the first pre-season test at Jerez last week with the main focus being on aerodynamic and tyre evaluation.
However, Pastor Maldonado and rookie Valtteri Bottas will get their first taste of the FW35 at the second test at the Circuit de Catalunya next week after the car was given the green light during the final inspection last Thursday.
The FW35 will officially be launched at 9am (GMT +1) at the Barcelona circuit next Tuesday.

Wonder what car Pastor will be using as a battle ram this year

[keefy]

Never been this into formula one ever. I used to watch it alot in the 80's and 90's when mansell, Alesi, senna, Prost, Berger, but stopped when it got boring or at least I grew tired of it i was more into British Touring cars and rallying and went to many of those races, whats better than seeing your dads car doing 140MPH whats more all the rally cars are road legal.

But last year was the best and most entertaining season I have ever witnessed.
Now with turbos being allowed again we may eventually see a big leap in turbo efficincy in production cars.

[BoyBettaKnow]

Yeah but the 1.6 Turbo won't be until next season. Last season was brilliant though. I hope this season will be just as close. I'll be so annoyed if Vettel wins again. I was furious that he even won it last time.

[keefy]

Damnit. No turbo this year