I heard he might be replacing Martin Whitmarsh at Mclaren... I don't know if thats true or not, but he certainly did a good job at Lotus with limited resources.


The cars so far:
Red Bull


Ferrari


Sauber


Mclaren


Force India


Toro Rosso


Mercedes


Lotus


Caterham


Williams



RedBull looks like the only team that has done something remotely elegant with the new nose regs, and the Caterham looks like a bucket of smashed crabs.

 

OK the Caterham is a male car for sure...how can a race car be soooooo ugly


I feel sorry for Martin.....he really seems like a guy that just cannot get a break, and almost to nice for F1

 

The new Ferrari has victory all over it.

Of interest me is the opening at the nose; perhaps extra cooling but track debris would be an issue.

I am very curious what this opening is for.

Any views on this?

Boon

 

I like the looks of the Mercedes...before this happened

 

I did not see that on video...he was haulin butt when he it the barrier

 

All sorts of technical innovations are realised as a result of racing technology - I myself have always been fascinated by the structure of the front suspensions of them, which seem kind of spindly and though I have done web searches on the struts and mechanism behind them ("Adjustable with cams") I still do not fully understand how that works.

Fragile seeming, but strong enough to support lateral G-forces. They do not survive impacts well at all it seems, and so would be a poor choice for a daily car.

And yet....

 

Well, an interesting test at Jerez.

Looks like the Renault powered teams (particularly Red Bull) have a lot of work ahead of them. When they are doing this to the bodywork to give cooling, you know there are big issues:


All the Mercedes powered teams looked strong, and although its hard to tell from Testing, it looks like Williams will be competitive this year.

 

That is scary when you know how much goes into F1 for engineering ...it is about time for RB to have some normal luck

..a bit different
Modern Liveries on Classic Cars

 

This is the high tech developement of automotive technology - I can see that

 

Not to derail this thread but many race car components of today are designed to be shed during collisions, the reason being less weight equals less energy being transferred to the driver. This applies mostly to open wheeled cars such as F1 and Indy.

 

So the original Volvo idea of crash force absorption is being carried over to racing technology - intrigueing.

Those are still some of the most bugly front spoilers I have seen so far! But form follows function, doesn't it?

* For those who (like me) are also as curious about "How Workezzz a Race Car" I popped open a thread on F1 front suspensions, and it is here:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...sion-work.html

That thread has already provided some stunning insights into race car technology, and what the components do
~ one of the things I was not previously aware of being the push-rod vice PULL-rod suspension

 

Even though this is a almost 10 year-old post I am always willing to share the excitement of the greatest form or racing known to man.

I noticed the other comment regarding CART and you may check for yourself the following fact:

In 1987, Nigel Mansell was clocked through the speed traps at 237MPH in a Ferrari, what else, on a California Track which is a road course. Then known as Indy Cars, the terminal velocity was not even close even down the fastest section of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the back straight.

This occured in the final heydays of the F1 Turbo and I know not the 1988 statistics but Senna was at the helm of a 1200 BHP McLaren in qualifying trim.

Over 200 former and current drivers were polled in I believe 2010 or 2011 who was the greatest pilot of all time and all stated "Senna!"

I had the distinct pleasure of talking to Ayrton in Mexico and I informed him that I read that Radio Controlled Airplanes was a hobby of his and he stated, "It is my favorite hobby." He was teamed with Gerhard Berger at this time.

With 25 laps to go in the Mexico Grand Prix Senna radioed in that he had a tire puncture and Ron Dennis ordered him to continue even though he had over a 30 second lead and could easily pitted with fresh tires and claim another victory limped into the pits with, you got it, a flat tire.

Mansell and Prost finished 1,2 for Ferrari.

If in any doubt check it out.

Boon

P.S. The quartet of Senna, Mansell, Prost and Piquet would eat and spit out Schumacher and company. However, I must confess that in the above mentioned poll Schumacher was 2nd of all time. Sorry about that Michael and I do not know the current Medical Condition of Michael but I was deeply saddened when I heard on the radio that he was in a Coma from a Skiing Accident.

 

Hello and how are you?

I believe this is my first contact and I look forward to many more from not only a Forum Brother but an F1 fan as well.

I will open your link momentarily and I am curious as to what the front air intake in the nose section is for; especially the Ferrari's as it appears to be larger?

Hope to hear from you soon.

Boon

 

Only 5 days until the Bahrain test 8 days long......and only 27 to the race....sweeet.....

 

OOPS off to a bad start at Bahrain