F1 Winter Testing Topic

First topic message reminder :

The cars have all been revealed with a range of noses that reflect a zoo more than a F1 paddock.

Testing begins at Jerez today with all but Lotus getting first running of the new cars and Hamilton is first to test the safety features with a trip to the barriers

I'd love it if Massa and Williams could mount a challenge this year it'd be nice to see him as team leader after playing second fiddle at Ferrari for so long. Wonder if it will be Mercedes Mclaren and Williams and force India and Ferrari all in the top spots

Bottas might be the name to watch

More information coming out about RB from Helmut Marko (wouldn't trust this geezer with my life but here's what he's saying)

"The Red Bull does not look good,"

"Nothing seemed right -- the coordination of engine, gears and setup did not fit together. Sebastian (Vettel) was always sliding and spinning his wheels, while the Williams was like on rails," he added.

''We weren't running full power, however, the car looks significantly slower in a straight line than its Ferrari and Mercedes-powered rivals, and Renault is to blame for that. Without the engine problem we (Red Bull) would be near the front there again. I think we have a good car. There are curve measurements, especially in the fast corners because the car was again the fastest. But you need a motor that works''.  

Apparently, Renault ran their power unit on the dyno and forwarded the numbers, but they didn't attach the rest of the drive-train with shafts, clutch and gearbox added. As a result there seems to be more heat and vibrations that Renault didn't think about & only the teams found out about these issues during testing. Caterham's shoddy design & poor aerodynamic package, which isn't tightly packed at all in comparison to the RB, isn't showing these signs of unreliability as much & the engine/energy units aren't being as stressed as much. That's why Caterham have been able to run & the other Renault powered teams haven't. Renault also have huge software issues to iron out but going into Australia they expect a difficult weekend, non-finishes most likely.

I give it a couple of races to sort out & then fully expect Red Bull to be challenging but what a poor, amateurish mess by Renault really.

Which is pretty surprising, given Renault's long association and past success in F1. I expect a few backsides will be getting kicked behind the scenes. I read somewhere that they changed the set-up / location of their F1 engine department, separating it from the rest of their business. Seems its messed up their design, build and testing procedures, allowing a lot of flaws to slip through.

Ironic that the problems can apparently be got around with poor aerodynamics / inefficient bodywork design. Maybe Newey should give Caterham's designers a call for some pointers?

As for software issues, I thought the engine management hardware and software was supposed to be standard for all teams, (supplied by McLaren, I thought) or did that get changed at some point?

Personally, I'm still confident Red Bull will be challenging for race wins after the first 3-4 races. Lotus shouldn't be too far behind.


In the meantime, maybe this is a chance for Caterham to pick up some points early on, purely through reliability?

Nice looking livery from Williams, expecting alot of TV coverage of this in the early season.

@dyrewolfe - I believe the ECU is still provided by McLaren as standard, however, the ERS (Energy Recovery Systems) are designed by the engine manufacturers, therefore, that's why Renault have the software issues & other heating problems in comparison to Mercedes or Ferrari.

It is quite bonkers that Caterham will gain a reliability advantage (of sorts) over RB because of a shoddy piece of design work & for having a slower car. Laughable really. As for RB, clearly having problems. Aerodynamically with Newey they are in a different league, however, there are clear signs that the team don't have the expertise in personnel, in terms of newer technology like KERS or Brake-by-Wire. We should of expected it really, for years they've had KERS issues, now the KERS units are integrated - it was obvious this was going to happen.

Here's Felipe Baby!   

Cool retro look for Massa and Bottas - are they auditioning for a remake of the film 'Grand Prix'?   

Fernando wrote:

Liking the new Williams livery...and their driver coveralls. Very retro, but clean, simple and recognisable too. That said, I'm concerned there could be comparisons wit this...





Nice to see the Martini logo again...for some reason it looks really good on cars.

Dyre

Can't compare - front end on Herbie was much more aesthetic than the 'crashed through Ann Summers' look of most of this year's F1 cars.   

The F1 liveries just aren't as good nowadays. They look too polished for me. I much prefer the old Marlboro McLaren red and white, Williams Canon colours and the John Player Special Lotus livery.

Here are some nice feature which put 1980s liveries on modern F1 cars:-
http://news.boldride.com/2013/12/what-if-1980s-racing-liveries-on-modern-f1-cars/40981/
http://www.motorsportretro.com/2013/10/gallery-2013-f1-cars-wearing-retro-liveries/

Note the 2014 Williams and the old Brabham.

Nice finds sportform!

The Brabham, Lotus & McLaren all look fantastic and Jordan's "Bitten & Hisses" / "Buzzin' & Hornets" liveries, after tobacco advertising was banned, are among my all-time favourites for sheer inventiveness.