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Formula 1 2014: A preview.

Well the FIA did not like the look of the "stepped" nose and changed the regulations to avoid them. Now we are stuck with these, yet another FIA mess... Hopefully McLaren and Magnussen will deliver in 2014.
 
And then double points for the last race in 2015, it is just getting stupid.

As I said at least from the side the cars look rather good, but those noses! :hopelessness:
 
And the next 'ant eater' (One of the nicest names I heard when talking about those noses...) from Scuderia Toro Rosso:

 
First day of testing in Jerez today, and several more cars presented today at the track, starting with the Mercedes-AMG W05:



The nose is a bit like the Ferrari, but slightly less extreme. Not as sturdy either, as the front wing broke off and here's how Hamilton ended up:



Vettel will defend his title in this RB10:



An esthetically pleasing design from Newey once again. Note how the front 'keel' also doubles as an air intake:

 
A better look at the Force India, showing a big, black trunk on the nose:



And the most surprising car is the new... Caterham! Quite an extreme interpretation of the rules from this small team!

 
Well hopefully day 2 of testing will produce more laps than yesterday.
I actually like the sound of the new engines.
I know the new noses are supposed to stop incidents likes Mark Webber's in Valencia, but would have thought a lower noses would have the opposite effect of going under a car?
 
noddy said:
Well hopefully day 2 of testing will produce more laps than yesterday.

I know the new noses are supposed to stop incidents likes Mark Webber's in Valencia, but would have thought a lower noses would have the opposite effect of going under a car?
Click to expand...

If you get rear-ended by a Ferrari you'll probably end up on your nose..

Day two did see more running, especially from Nico Rosberg who managed a total of 95 laps, two more than the total number of laps from day 1! Jenson Button was fastest, both in the wet in the morning en in the dry in the afternoon, so a good day for McLaren.
Big problems however for Renault, as Red Bull managed only eight laps before the car caught fire, Caterham did eleven laps while STR couldn't get the car running at all! Renault say they will (try to) solve the problem tonight though, but not a good start for their new engines.
 
I'm surprised Dyson hasn't signed on as a title sponsor of the series, with all those vacuum-cleaner noses showing up.

Oh how I long for the days of BRM H-16's and the threat of a Jim Hall variable-winged Chapparal. OK, so I'm old.

Actually the rules never make sense until the racing begins, and some never do, but with the immense technology available, the rule book inevitably grows larger and fussier. I wonder how well I could live on the wind tunnel budgets alone!
 
Hey All,

These guys took a page right outta International Harvester from the early 80s - with that anteater nose. :mixed-smiley-010:

i7488-01_1_.jpg


Them 88s was good tractors - durable too...

Be an interesting year.

-Ed-
 
:biggrin-new::biggrin-new: Probably more durable than the Renault powered cars, Ed...

Day three of testing, and the same story as yesterday.. Still major issues with Renault (Their Energy Recovery Systems (ERS) seems to heat up too fast.), few problems for Ferrari and Mercedes. McLaren tops the time sheet once again:

1. Kevin Magnussen (McLaren-Mercedes) 1m23.276s, 52 laps
2. Felipe Massa (Williams-Mercedes) 1m23.700s, 47 laps
3. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1m23.952s, 62 laps
4. Jenson Button (McLaren-Mercedes) 1m25.030s, 40 laps
5. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) 1m25.495s, 58 laps
6. Nico Hulkenberg (Force India-Mercedes) 1m26.096s, 17 laps
7. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso-Renault) 1m29.915s, 30 laps
8. Adrian Sutil (Sauber-Ferrari) 1m30.161s, 34 laps
9. Robin Frijns (Caterham-Renault) No time, 10 laps
11. Max Chilton (Marussia-Ferrari) No time, 5 laps
10. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull-Renault) No time, 3 laps

Number of laps per team over the last three days:

Mercedes - 177
Ferrari - 136
McLaren - 135
Williams - 100
Sauber - 94
Force India - 65
Toro Rosso - 45
Caterham - 22
Red Bull - 14
Marussia - 5


And by engine manufacturer:

Mercedes - 477
Ferrari - 235
Renault - 81
 
Well all test sessions are over, less than two weeks until the start of the first race, and some things became clear during testing:

No team is without problems, there will porobably be a lot of retirements in the first races!
Mercedes seems to have build the most powerful and most reliable power plant, with Ferrari not far behind. Renault are in deep problems, lacking apparently 165 bhp compared to the Mercedes, and reliablilty is a major issue as well.
If Vettel wants win his fifth title he will need a miracle.

The Mercedes powered teams have been fastest most days, with top positions split between Mercedes-AMG, McLaren, Force India and even Williams.
Ferrari are usually in the top ten, Sauber just outside and Marussia had a few good days too.
Renault... The Toro Rosso, Lotus and Caterham did have good days, but lack speed (Caterham's Kobayashi already complaining that a GP2 car would be faster..) and Red Bull only had a good day on the last day of testing, with 77 laps. Still well of the pace though.

And to compare: Both Mercedes and Williams drove almost 5,000 kilometers during testing, Ferrari 4,500, McLaren, Sauber and Force India 4,000 while Toro Rosso did 2,400, Red Bull 1,700 and Lotus just over 1,200...
 
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