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The 2013 Formula 1 Pre-Season Thread |OT| Plenty of Time Left in the Silly Season

O

Omiee

Member
it will be very strange to see hamilton drive the mercedes. used to seeing him driving the mclaren all these years.

still the mercedes looks good.

can we have dimensions of the cars?

im curious to see which car is the tallest or widest.
 
P

Pimpwerx

Member
Those winglets next to the cockpit on the Merc are legal? I thought the FIA banned such things when mirror stands were being used as aero devices. PEACE.
 
Nicktendo86

Nicktendo86

Member
My god, Gary Anderson is actually quite scathing about the new merc:

Gary Anderson said:
"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."
Click to expand...
 
P

Pimpwerx

Member
Nicktendo86 said:
My god, Gary Anderson is actually quite scathing about the new merc:
Click to expand...

Car analysis is flakey at best. The design choices were made via simulation and wind tunnel tests. The eyeball isn't gonna discern the gains or losses. Winter testing will tell the tale, and I'm hoping the Merc can be at the sharp end of things. PEACE.

EDIT: Not an attack on you, Nick. Just commenting in general. I prefer Scarbs' breakdown that doesn't try to project.
 
Nicktendo86

Nicktendo86

Member
Pimpwerx said:
Car analysis is flakey at best. The design choices were made via simulation and wind tunnel tests. The eyeball isn't gonna discern the gains or losses. Winter testing will tell the tale, and I'm hoping the Merc can be at the sharp end of things. PEACE.
Click to expand...
And we all remember I'm sure his comments about the mp4-27 which turned out to be the best car of 2012 all in all so I don't take his opinions THAT seriously. However, those comments were pretty brutal....

Edit: don't worry mate I didn't take any offence :) I agree with you 100%
 
K

Kipp

but I am taking tiny steps forward
Yeah, seconding what Pimpwerx said, I can't imagine Anderson would be able to find massive flaws just by looking at the car that the Mercedes team somehow failed to notice throughout incredible amounts of design and testing.
 
C

cmr-94

Member
Sky F1 Insider ‏@SkyF1Insider

Arrived in Jerez ! I can't wait until tomorrow as we have some Massive news to tell you all! Like, MASSIVE news !
Click to expand...

Anybody have any idea what this could be?
 
A

Adamm

Member
Wax Free Vanilla said:
The F1 channel has been added to that NOW TV pay-per-view bollocks?

£9.99 for 24hr access
Click to expand...

F1 in 3D!

But yeh sky tend to build up news way too much. Its probably nothing.

Edit:
Yeah, it wont be anything that major if sky are the ones controlling when the news is released, especially if they know what the news is but saving it for tommorow. Best we can hope for is 2nd Force India driver announcement. But likely something to do with Sky themselves. New presenter?
 
S

Shaneus

Member
No other pics of the STR? I'm curious to see the difference between it and the other cars. Especially considering there are a few obvious attributes that are distinctly different to the rest of the cars (ie. dat nose).
 
A

Adam Scott Aukerman

Member
Adamm said:
F1 in 3D!

But yeh sky tend to build up news way too much. Its probably nothing.

Edit:
Yeah, it wont be anything that major if sky are the ones controlling when the news is released, especially if they know what the news is but saving it for tommorow. Best we can hope for is 2nd Force India driver announcement. But likely something to do with Sky themselves. New presenter?
Click to expand...

Doubt very much it will have anything to do with the sport. My first suspicion was a line-up change in their team, but the suggestion of NOW-related news sounds more likely (if their level of hype is appropriate, which it probably isn't).

As for Gary Anderson's analysis of the Merc, I think he's probably more right than not. Of course you can't design a car by eye, and they will have made improvements in areas that aren't visible outside the car, but you have to remember that last year's Merc was a bit of a dog, and F1 is still very reliant on aerodynamics for performance.

Of course, that won't be what they end up racing in Australia, and nor was last year's McLaren - which only really emerged as top dog after half a season of development. They won the first race, but much of what happened in those first 4-5 races was down to dumb luck really.

Shaneus said:
Especially considering there are a few obvious attributes that are distinctly different to the rest of the cars (ie. dat nose).
Click to expand...

Looks much like the Merc nose to me, minus ridges. Good performance tends to follow James Key around like a foul stench though, so I've long been expecting them to take a step forward.
 
N

navanman

Crown Prince of Custom Firmware
Shaneus said:
No other pics of the STR? I'm curious to see the difference between it and the other cars. Especially considering there are a few obvious attributes that are distinctly different to the rest of the cars (ie. dat nose).
Click to expand...
Visually very similar to last years car. I won't post it the full article but James Key says the key changes he has made since coming in are to the mechanical and suspension setups.
Aero development is in its infancy and expect big changes during the season.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/105405
 
N

navanman

Crown Prince of Custom Firmware
James Allen has a piece on the new Mercedes:
Mercedes rolled out its new car today, the F1 W04. A lot of work has gone into this car, especially around the cockpit area and on thermal management. We are yet to see what they have in mind on the front and rear wings, but it looks like a lot of careful detailed work has been carried out by Aldo Costa and his team, so here is our analysis of what’s been done and what it will mean for Mercedes’ chances this year.
Click to expand...
James Allen
 
Y

Yen

Member
"@danielricciardo: The car launch was today. Looks good. But it can look as good as Victoria Silvstedt playmate of the year all it wants.. As long as its fast!"

Indeed
 
M

mclem

Member
rogue_pigeon said:
Ferrari and Red Bull (particularly the latter) have been the key instigators in preventing proper spending caps in the sport, which is largely why teams like Caterham and Marussia are struggling to compete. They want to stay in the sport, clearly, and sadly this is what they have to do to be able to. Hardly warrants a fucking.
Click to expand...

To put it another way: Ferrari is Activision. Red Bull is Electronic Arts. Caterham is Platinum
 
B

brotkasten

Member
mclem said:
To put it another way: Ferrari is Activision. Red Bull is Electronic Arts. Caterham is Platinum
Click to expand...

Why would anyone associate such a low performance mediocre team with Platinum Games, who are at least critically acclaimed? Caterham almost got their ass whipped by Maruissia last year and they didn't even have KERS.
 
M

mclem

Member
navanman said:
That swag:
BCQyDcVCMAADJ3D.jpg:large
Click to expand...

I'm sorry, the first thing I thought of when I saw this was "Lewis carries around tiny Nico in a backpack"
 
S

Shaneus

Member
Yenrot said:
"@danielricciardo: The car launch was today. Looks good. But it can look as good as Victoria Silvstedt playmate of the year all it wants.. As long as its fast!"

Indeed
Click to expand...
Ahaha. Massive bonus points for quoting BASEketball.


mclem said:
I'm sorry, the first thing I thought of when I saw this was "Lewis carries around tiny Nico in a backpack"
Click to expand...
Oh shit! :lol

brotkasten said:
Why would anyone associate such a low performance mediocre team with Platinum Games, who are at least critically acclaimed? Caterham almost got their ass whipped by Maruissia last year and they didn't even have KERS.
Click to expand...
This. If I had to equate Platinum with anyone, it'd be Sauber.
 
B

bobnowhere

Member
Pretty sleek looking!

There are a few more sponsors on the nose but I imagine the cupboards are pretty bare at Marussia. Probably still waiting for that fat check to come in neatly stapled to a random driver's forehead.

Edit: I know Williams are waiting till the second test for their new car, but I read they might be showing off their new livery today, maybe?
 
B

brotkasten

Member
Wow, the Marussia looks pretty amazing. Third best looking car on the grid, after Ferrari and Sauber.

Caterham is just ... eh, whatever.
 
H

Hackbert

Member
fyeah.. testing weeks are here.

P Driver Team Time Laps
1 Rosberg Mercedes 1m20.846s 11
2 Massa Ferrari 1m21.598s +0.752 11
3 Maldonado Williams 1m22.568s +1.722 8
4 Hulkenberg Sauber 1m23.398s +2.552 7
5 Webber Red Bull 1m24.650s +3.804 5
6 van der Garde Caterham 1m24.994s +4.148 6
Click to expand...

seems to be the timing right now. anyone has a good live ticker to follow? i usually use f1 fanatic /autosport combo

edit : mhh in editing view the tables are correctly shown. sry for the mess, but it is still readable
 
W

Wax Free Vanilla

Member
Best website for testing: http://f1tests.info/2013.php?rev=on


McLaren broke down after 3 laps


Andrew Benson ‏@andrewbensonf1
Caterham team boss Cyril Abiteboul suggests "vanity panels" on noses might not make it as far as races

Andrew Benson ‏@andrewbensonf1
Abiteboil: "Ferrari has a nice nose but will be interesting to see what they actually run in the races when weight makes a difference"


So all teams will race with the ugly on show
 
B

brotkasten

Member
Wax Free Vanilla said:
Best website for testing: http://f1tests.info/2013.php?rev=on


McLaren broke down after 3 laps


Andrew Benson ‏@andrewbensonf1
Caterham team boss Cyril Abiteboul suggests "vanity panels" on noses might not make it as far as races

Andrew Benson ‏@andrewbensonf1
Abiteboil: "Ferrari has a nice nose but will be interesting to see what they actually run in the races when weight makes a difference"


So all teams will race with the ugly on show
Click to expand...

That's would really upset me. Why would they come up with such a solution, if it would be a huge disadvantage?
 
A

acm2000

Member
marussia looks the best of those 2 (eye candy wise, very sleek albeit, very basic), but that caterham has a LOT of serious aero going on, very rare for such a small team, compare it to the marussia and its a whole new level, front end plates, pods, rear wing etc
 
S

Shaneus

Member
acm2000 said:
marussia looks the best of those 2 (eye candy wise, very sleek albeit, very basic), but that caterham has a LOT of serious aero going on, very rare for such a small team, compare it to the marussia and its a whole new level, front end plates, pods, rear wing etc
Click to expand...
That's a really interesting point. I didn't notice the extent to which the Caterham has gone as far as aero goes.

Do Marussia still use the McL wind tunnel?
 
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