The Official Motorsport Thread 2009 (Formula 1, MotoGP, WSBK, WRC, Nascar, IRL Etc.)

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Pimpwerx said:
I hadn't noticed those Ferrari mirrors at all. I don't see any teams complaining. If it's allowed, everyone will just mount their mirrors on pylons, and then everyone will have an excuse for pushing the next driver wide b/c they can't see shit on their winglets. :lol


Meh. IMO, the aura and mystique of Newey was blown right out of the water once he left the McLaren's comfort zone. No coincidence that massive budgeting and strict professionalism translates into a good design program. I think we can forget about Newey saving anyone anymore. PEACE.
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Newey was a legend at Williams. The McLaren's of 1998 and 1999 were awesome because of Bridgestone.

Like Byrne's importance is overstated for Ferrari. Ferrari dominated for so long due to Ferraristone.
 
I'm getting used to the look of the '09 cars. There's some lovely detail on them. The macca's exhaust exits are a work of art and the Ferrari's sidepod intakes and nose / keel look like more like a fighter jet than ever.

The toyota looks like a toyota though; did they realize there were new rules aside from "oh shit, we need to change the wings a bit" ?
 
With the testing ban this season, I wonder if teams will debut their complete aero packages in Melbourne this season, or wait until the European tour begins in Spain like usual. It's not like they'll be able to do much any on-track testing (at least not within eyesight) between the flyaways and the Euro tour, so I'm hoping we see complete racing packages from the first race. Just 69 more days. :) PEACE.

EDIT: Oh yeah, since there's a testing ban, you better get your fill of testing results while you can. After winter testing ends, that's it. :(
 
The launch event video

McLaren Launch

Q&A with Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton starts his third season in Formula One as the reigning world champion, and must defend his title in a year that has seen an almost unprecedented level of technical and rule changes.

But as the Briton told the assembled press during the launch of the McLaren MP4-24 at the team's technology centre today, he is unfazed by the task ahead of him.

Q. You are wearing the crown as champion; does it carry added pressure going into the new season?

Lewis Hamilton: I don't think so. I feel more relaxed going into the season simply because I'm come off a great season. It is like when you go from race to race - when you win one race the next one you have gives you some extra confidence. I feel I have reset my goals, and reset my targets back to when I started in Formula One. I want to be world champion. I don't sit here saying I am world champion; I sit here saying I want to be world champion.

Q. There were plans for you to do a tour and appearance in Woking after you won the world title this year. Is that something you feel should have happened?

LH: They had some plans to do it, but unfortunately it didn't work out. It is important for me to give something back to the fans to say thank you to them and last year we went to the Race of Champions and I participated in that. That was a great way of saying thank you to everyone.

Q. It seems like five minutes since the last lap at Interlagos. Has it all been a bit of a blur for you since then, and did you manage to relax at all over the winter?

LH: I have not really thought about the last race or last season much. I did as much analysing as after the first race of the season, analysing where we could improve, and then I just put it behind me. I was then working on preparing myself for this season. I was fortunate to have some time off over Christmas; I enjoyed myself, relaxed and completely put my racing out of my mind, and was able to live life normally.

Q. How normally can you live your life now that you are a world champion?

LH: I can't particularly walk around everywhere without being recognised, but there are ways you can do things. Going to the cinema is easy, keeping my hoody up and hat on, and most of the time I don't get noticed. But I don't go walking around town in whatever country I am in. I was in the States for a while and over there no one really notices me, so I do live a normal life.

Q. You have been a huge inspiration for children around the country. With the Stars of Tomorrow karting championship, could the industry do more to help kids progress up through the ranks?

LH: For sure we can always do more. I think the great thing is we have some great people running those championships, Carolynn Hoy does a great job, and I remember since the day they brought about Champions of the Future, it was a great championship that gave a great opportunity for youngsters like myself.

So, the more attention we can pay to those kind of series, I am hopefully going to go to a couple of those races this year, as I love watching racing. It is incredible to see how small the kids are, but I think the great thing was that a lot of the F1 teams are starting to pick up young drivers from an early age - like Ron did with me. He started a trend and hopefully they will do more now.

Q. There have been changes to the regulations which have been specifically introduced to help overtaking. In discussions with your engineers, can you confirm to us the switch to slicks and the adjustable front wing will make overtaking easier?

LH: I can't confirm it. I've not driven the slick tyres yet. I didn't do any of the end-of-season testing, so I have not driven with lower downforce, slicks or KERS. I have spoken to the test drivers and they say it is an interesting package to drive. I cannot comment much until I get to the track next week.

I hope we do have a little bit more overtaking. The way they have made the tyres I hear there is a small operating window, so looking after them will be even harder compared to last year. So it will be interesting.

Q. You've talked about making less mistakes in 2009 compared to last year. Can you talk a little about how a driver goes about doing that?

LH: Not really, no! I really can't! I analysed the mistakes I made last year and, for example Montreal last year, with the pit lane light – every time I go down the pit lane now I am always looking out for the light. You just have to learn from the previous experiences. I am sure there will be some experiences this year that will take you by surprised, and you are always learning.

I am sure the oldest man in the world is still learning today. You have just got to make sure we try to prepare ourselves in advance and try and avoid any mistakes.

Q. You say you have not been thinking so much about last season. I would think that when you win the world championship, after fighting for it for so many years, when you have some time surely you would be thinking about it? How do you do it? Do you not think at all about the sweet moments?

LH: Obviously there are very proud moments. Sometimes I may sit on the my laptop and go through some of the pictures I have from last year – and you just remember coming across the line, seeing the chequered flag, the finish line, one of the wins, or it might be a bad race. You look at those and you do reminisce and remember the great moments.

But then you just try to move on. I try not to live in the past. It is a fantastic season, I am world champion and it is a great feeling. I have got to embrace that and carry it with me. I am trying to enjoy my life. I am still young and I have all these wonderful things happening to me, and it is difficult to imagine how many things are happening. I am just trying to enjoy them.

Q. With testing so heavily restricted this season, does it change the way you approach pre-season testing?

LH: I think what is important is that because we have a completely new car, a completely new package, I have come back into the factory – and although I have watching closely the development of the car, I am sitting down more with the engineers and it is a bit like the preparation I had for 2007. I am understanding the differences in the suspension, KERS and all the safety aspects.

But also those vital few tests we have, I have like only seven days in the car, and so we are going to make sure that we really extract the most from those days. Hopefully we don't have any reliability problems. We have been very, very fortunate in the past, in two years we have not had any reliability problems, so I am confident the team have done a great job.

Q. You are going to be defending your world title in a completely different atmosphere because of the rule changes. Do you think that is going to make it harder for you to establish a period of dominance like McLaren's past champions have, and will the introduction of slicks impact on your attacking driving style?

LH: I think definitely it is going to be interesting. If we had an evolution car that was evolving over a few years, then perhaps it would have been easier – although it is never easy.

Definitely when you change the rules so drastically, sure it will be tough to stay dominant for such a long period of time. But as long as we prepare properly and do the job we are supposed to do, which is everyone working flat out to make sure that this car is the best.

We are learning every day with the car in the wind tunnel. We are developing new components for it, so it is going to be developing at such a fast pace this year. How we monitor that and how we make sure we continue to improve with such short testing is going to be interesting.

I think my driving style with slick tyres, I have driven slicks in the past, in GP2, but I not sure if they have similar characteristics, so when I get to the test next week I will get my first feeling of that. But I have always found I am quite good at learning and understanding with tyres, and knowing how to use them. So I don't think I will be at a disadvantage.

Q. Bernie Ecclestone has said quite a few times since the end of the season that he would like the title to go to driver with the most wins, not the most points. Clearly you would not necessarily agree on that on the basis of last season, but would you like that sort of system?

LH: Not really. We work hard as a team to win and be consistent, and being consistent, whether you finish first or third, it has to be the team and the driver who has done the best job over the year. It is not just who has won the most races.

Q. Ron Dennis has been a part of the team throughout your period here. He has talked about handing over the reigns in the next few months. How would you feel about that?

LH: Ron is a huge part of the team. He has got racing in his blood, so he will never leave the team. He will always play a part, whenever he steps down and chooses to play a more quiet role in the background. I am sure he will do something like that.

I will always remain close to him. I've known him see I was 10-year-old. We have a great relationship, and he has made a huge impact on my life – and he still does today. We are great friends. The great thing is we have got great people in the team. It is a huge team, and we are very powerful together. It is not as if when he steps down we are going to struggle. We are very, very fortunate that we will stay a strong team.

Q. We know you are highly motivated, but just this week Bernie Ecclestone has said that given his bad luck last year it would be good for Felipe Massa to win the championship this year. Does that provide you with a little bit of an extra kick, and do you see him as your main opposition?

LH: Not really, because I've not really kept up to date with what people have been saying. Felipe and I get on very well, we had a great battle last year and I am looking forward to competing with him again next year. I am sure he is even more motivated, as am I, and it is going to be a close battle. I don't know if it will be me and him, or him and Kimi (Raikkonen). We don't know, we have to wait and see. I hope we are at the top to keep with them and we have to wait and see what happens.

Q. Let's talk about the car. You've probably had a seat fitting and seen the controls from the wheel. What are your impressions of it?

LH: This is the first time I've seen the car all put together. I've seen the guys working on it over the past few months, and as always it looks very elegant. It is quite a bit different with the smaller wing at the back, it is unusual to see, and it is great to see the slick tyres. The sidepods look quite a bit different to how they have done in the past, but the cockpit is the same pretty much – although I have a few other buttons to play with which is more fun for me. I've always liked gadgets, so I have a few more devices I can play with.

Q. The job of a driver is to get the most out of the equipment they have got, but those buttons give you quite an opportunity to make a difference. How excited are you by the subtleties of what you can do with that? And secondly, drivers of your calibre once they win that first championship they take off. Your rivals are afraid that is what is going to happen with you. Do you feel you are about to take a step forward?

LH: Firstly I think we don't really know to what effect the new controls will have, so for sure the team and the driver that gets on top of it more than the others will have a slight advantage. That is what we are working towards.

And I think for sure once you get the first win out of the way, in every championship you compete in, it does take the pressure off. It does give you a bit of momentum. But every year is just as hard, if not harder with the new regulations, so it will be tough.

Q. How does living in Switzerland compare to living in Woking?

LH: You cannot really compare it. I had a great time living in Woking. It was great to be able to run and cycle down here to the Technology Centre, and I had a great time in town. Blockbusters was just down the road. I don't have Blockbusters in Geneva, but I enjoy it over there.
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Hamiltons Helmet for 2009

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Heikkis Helmet for 2009

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Mclaren looked really good until i saw the front on view which nobody seemed to have pictures of

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Ferrari looks a bit different since they have gone to a lighter paint colour....although i wish Ferrari would do a retro scheme with black front and rear wings (thanks to ixnay at the autosport forums)


keep the barcode red and it would look brilliant
 
Norante said:
Why did Hamilton half-copied Senna's helmet design? >:-(
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He's been rocking the Senna look since he started. Says the color choice was so his dad could see him in the starter leagues. Can't fault the choice. Senna did have the loudest helmet out there colorwise. ;) PEACE.
 
Pimpwerx said:
He's been rocking the Senna look since he started. Says the color choice was so his dad could see him in the starter leagues. Can't fault the choice. Senna did have the loudest helmet out there colorwise. ;) PEACE.
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These days Valentino has taken up that mantel, I mean just look at some his helmets,

f_SKN_Rossi08helmet.jpg


agv_helmet_gp_tech_dream_rt.jpg


2008520_111637.jpg


t315_fa4c988c04169afae2a56b4e00bd03.jpg


And of course, who can forget this?

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I like the look of the McClaren overall better than the Ferrari. I'm not crazy about either of them.

Also, the front end of that Toyota car is fucking hideous.
 
DrM said:
There are some photos of new Renault car on F1Today.nl
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Good spot. Can't see much apart from the fact they appear to have removed most of the blue from the car (apart from the ING text) and added red to the wing endplates and mirrors to welcome Total back to F1.
 
Great thread, subzero!

Can't wait for the F1 season to get started, really excited for the new cars being unveiled and testing laptime championships... (who's going to win them now that Honda is kaput??)

One thing I've noticed with the three new cars is how tight the F60 and TF109 are around the exhaust area while the Macca has the entire rear assembly and exhaust shrouded up. Some posters on Scuderia.net believe this is in relation to how far along the McLaren KERS system is and how it has been completely integrated into the rear of the car as opposed to being added in at a later date as other teams are doing...
 
h3ro said:
Great thread, subzero!

Can't wait for the F1 season to get started, really excited for the new cars being unveiled and testing laptime championships... (who's going to win them now that Honda is kaput??)

One thing I've noticed with the three new cars is how tight the F60 and TF109 are around the exhaust area while the Macca has the entire rear assembly and exhaust shrouded up. Some posters on Scuderia.net believe this is in relation to how far along the McLaren KERS system is and how it has been completely integrated into the rear of the car as opposed to being added in at a later date as other teams are doing...
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Thanks, and about the KERS system, McLaren according to reports are at least 4-5 months ahead of Ferrari, in the development of their KERS system, and BMW at least 3 months ahead of Ferrari, then Ferrari and the other teams trailing behind.
 
subzero9285 said:
Thanks, and about the KERS system, McLaren according to reports are at least 4-5 months ahead of Ferrari, in the development of their KERS system, and BMW at least 3 months ahead of Ferrari, then Ferrari and the other teams trailing behind.
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Yeah, McLaren and BMW are way ahead of the curve... Macca PR statements put their current system at about a 0.3-0.5 second per lap advantage over not using the KERS during a lap at all in the MP4-24. Should be a big advantage for McLaren, BMW and by virtue of Mercedes, Force India...
 
h3ro said:
Yeah, McLaren and BMW are way ahead of the curve... Macca PR statements put their current system at about a 0.3-0.5 second per lap advantage over not using the KERS during a lap at all in the MP4-24. Should be a big advantage for McLaren, BMW and by virtue of Mercedes, Force India...
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Toyota are in real trouble then, as they're considering not using KERS, either that or they have one hell of a fast car and don't need the KERS system, but what are the chances of that huh?
 
h3ro said:
Yeah, McLaren and BMW are way ahead of the curve... Macca PR statements put their current system at about a 0.3-0.5 second per lap advantage over not using the KERS during a lap at all in the MP4-24. Should be a big advantage for McLaren, BMW and by virtue of Mercedes, Force India...
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Yes, but the KERS system weights about 60 pounds. This comparison would be between using KERS and not using KERS on a car that already has the extra weight of the KERS system. So there is no way to say if it's faster than a car without the extra weight of KERS.
 
StoOgE said:
Yes, but the KERS system weights about 60 pounds. This comparison would be between using KERS and not using KERS on a car that already has the extra weight of the KERS system. So there is no way to say if it's faster than a car without the extra weight of KERS.
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Yep, ofcourse. That's what Ferrari is banking on until they get their system up and running anyway...

But since this if F1 and McLaren have had their system ready for so long, I'm sure they've been able to bring the system's weight down to the bare minimum (is the KERS weight specified?) to justify the weight penalty.

Also, I think drivers like Kubica and Webber (taller and heavier than someone like Heikki or 'Nando) are really going to suffer if their team's system doesn't compensate for the added weight sufficiently... Imagine if JPM didn't jump ship! :lol
 
I have no idea if there is a weight requirement to having KERS. I think most of that weight comes from the battery to store the energy, so I'm not sure the teams have that much control over KERS weight. If nothing else it will be interesting to see early on if the KERS or non-KERS teams are better off.

Is KERS mandated in 2010?
 
StoOgE said:
Yes, but the KERS system weights about 60 pounds. This comparison would be between using KERS and not using KERS on a car that already has the extra weight of the KERS system. So there is no way to say if it's faster than a car without the extra weight of KERS.
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there is a fixed limit on the minimum car weight which the cars themselves are naturally well under, previously the teams had to use ballast to bring the weight up to meet criteria.

a car with or without kers will actually be pretty much if not exactly the same weight, its just the cars without will use that weight for ballast which can be moved around the car for a gain in balance. rumour mill suggest that currently ferrari's kers system is currently too heavy and leaves them no ballast to play with and actually puts the car a tiny bit on the heavier side while mclaren and bmw have there systems well within design parameters.

its like a team having a heavier driver, the overall car weight will still be at the min mark but they would have less ballast to play with.

the only team that may have trouble with this is wiliams due to the mechanical kers system they have chosen.

it was originally expected for the kers systems to be very heavy units but development has been crazy the past year. bare in mind that mclaren dabbled with kers about 10 years ago and merc have had a division running on it for a couple of years, while the other teams have gone as far as buying up advanced electrics firms pumping masses of money into lightweight super capacitors etc.
 
I have this sinking feeling that the eco-fascists running Congress will be made aware of NASCAR soon, and before the year is out, the only government-allowed cars in NASCAR will be the Toyota Prius and Chevy Volt. Why do they hate anything resembling fun?
 
I occasionally run across one of those monster truck shows on Speed and it really is amazing that no one was seriously hurt before this by debris from a truck or by a truck ending up in the stands. They always seem to be on the ragged edge of control and there's just so much that can fly off or simply go wrong with the vehicles themselves.

I realize they have them indoors because it's a travelling road show of sorts, but really, they shouldn't be indoor events.
 
Holy hell, that must be the ugliest front wing since legendary BMW "plow" several years ago.
 
I wonder if the Renault nose is a temporary solution after the rumblings that they failed the FIA crash test?

The rest of the car seems really sleek with a lot of attention to detail right up to the point where the nose is mounted.
 
Hoping with Alonso's input the '09 Renault will be strong off the bat, I would love to see him be in the running for world championship this year!
 
dalin80 said:
more likely to be tyre temp and load measuring sensors, the wheel covers arent allowed to extend that far.
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You are right. Right now, there is lunch break in Algarve. First crash of the 2009 season award goes to Williams and their test driver.
 
I think the adjustable flaps sounds really interesting, but kinda weird that there is a limit to use it. I guess it would not be so safe if drivers had to take one hand of the wheel going into each corner to adjust it.

The new cars will still be very fast, but it seems like F1 is going backwards in regard to performance. The engines are smaller, the rev is more limited and downforce is weaker. This season will have slicks and KERS, but the downforce will probably be a big downgrade. I guess changes to have better races over better lap times is better in the end.
 
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