F1 2013 - 2014 season discussion

OK, that's done and dusted, now it looks like the remaining seats have been decided too:

The Quantum money never arrived at Lotus, so neither did Hulkenberg; Lotus have signed Maldonado (to nobody's surprise, but most people's disappointment). You never know, though, maybe Lotus can turn him from an idiot with speed into a race-winner. They've almost done it with Grosjean after all.

Massa has Malonado's old seat at Williams, Hulkenberg has gone back to Force India, though I'm not sure why it's better than Sauber (possibly the powertrain? or possibly the cash...), alongside Perez, leaving whiny Paul di Resta without a drive. He is being touted as a possible Indycar candidate (as a harsh variation on the old FILTH acronym, FIFOTI - Failed in Formula One Try Indycar). Sauber's lineup will probably be Sutil and Gutierrez.
Back to the top and Red Bull of course will be hoping that Ricciardo is fast - but not Seb-botheringly quick; Ferrari and Mercedes look set for a mighty tussle as both have driver lineups that will always be looking to score decent points. McLaren? Who knows? If the car is good and suits Button, they could be back up there, if not, I think it'll be his final season. If Magnussen outpoints Button, ditto. The only way I can see Button in F1 in 2015 is if he has a stellar season in 2014 or if the car and Magnussen are so underwhelming that Alonso won't touch Macca with a bargepole in 2015. I fervently hope the former is true!

I can't be bothered to think about the lower order teams, but they will have mainly pay drivers...

Getting excited about learning more on the technical side for 2014...

If we have a repeat if this year it won't really matter how quick or slow he is. They only needed mark to pick up 36 points this year to win the constructors.

I'm surprised they don't just save themselves a heap of cash and just run one car .

It is worrying how Pay drivers are now the norm in all but the top 3/4 teams. Years ago it was the back of the grid only that needed them. Now the teams seem to accept that Red Bull are going to win and so you may as well get the money in to pay for development.

In fact this is my main gripe with how F1 has found itself. The way the aero and tyres work on the cars means that an excellent driver driving at his very best will still not be able to beat red Bull. I have no argument that Vetel is up ther with Hamilton/Alonso but the later cannot get close even if they drive their nuts off. Hamiltons style in particular does not suit the is tyre dominated formula wjere you have to tippy toe about managing things rather than just ragging the car to the max. Vetel was not even taxed in the later part of the season and could, at will, pull out a second a lap or more on the rest of the pack. I would still love to see Vetel in a Ferrari/Mclaren or Merc and see how he gets on.

Even in the days of ground effects there was the element of reliability and different engine designs and tweaks to add some more dynamics. Thankfully next season we shall see the engine playing a part again, at least for a year or two. Freezing the development of such a fundamental part of motor sport has just made it dull.

I so hate these rubbish tyres. Looking at the track in the closing races and it looks like black hail has descended on all but the racing line. This prevents mad overtakes to as getting off line can kill the next lap or two. It also make a mockery of the laughable “green” credentials F1 is touting, let alone the cost.

It's a re-hash of an often repeated argument - and I agree with much of what bockers says - but I really feel bad for Pirelli in all this. They have no opportunity to test the tyres that are being run in an extreme and often unpredictable environment. As a result they make the tyres they have been asked to (that go off after a small amount of time), but with extra robust construction to ensure they don't get even worse publicity for killing a driver after a failure. Then, when (as the experts) they or their possible replacement manufacturer, suggest moving to a more acceptable profile of tyre, the teams all go mad and say they haven't designed the cars to operate with that dimension of tyre.

Not surprisingly, someone has screwed up in organising all this, and Pirelli ends up looking like the bad guys. I really wouldn't blame them for walking away!

So what did I miss in the last 2 races in the US and Brazil? Apart from Vettel winning both races and Mark driving around without his skid lid after coming 2nd in Brazil.

Er, that was it, I think! US race was the first GP I haven't watched for years. Brazil was ok, apart from the tediously predictable winner.

For those - like me - looking for a potted guide to next year's tech specs, take a look here:

BBC guide with Gary Anderson

Weber's comment on that video was just what I have been thinking! These rules really help Vettel, not hinder, providing Red Bull build a car that's decently reliable, reasonably quick I think he'll still be the one to beat.

A 1.6 litre engine turbocharged so heavily that it produces >600 BHP combined with lots of race fuel, some heavy duty electronics (KERS x 10) with explosive battery technology, and flammable carbon fibre bodywork.

I think Webber retired at just the right time.
Remember to bring marshmallows / toasting fork.

Yes, I remember someone (Brundle?) saying that F1 is about heat management. And then some...

Hulkenberg re-signed for Force India. Must be frustrating for the lad; if it weren't for McLaren having to offer Magnussen a seat after another team principal "reneged on an agreement", I'd have loved to see him there.

Or Lotus - assuming they can keep going at the level they were at.

Well, that's really what I mean about the frustration; the Lotus deal was only going to happen if Quantum's money came through. There has been plenty of talk (though unsubstantiated) that the main man for Quantum is all mouth and no trousers, which is how it looks at the moment. Lotus need Maldo's millions and he thinks he's a decent F1 driver, unlike the much more talented yet less cash-rich Nico H.

What are Maldo's millions? Is it a personal fortune or is he bringing some sponsorship with him?

How did Williams get out of the Maldonado hole?

Maldonado is sponsored heavily by the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA. Though there was some talk that this money might evaporate for politically expedient reasons following the death of President Hugo Chavez (a personal supporter of young Pastor), this did not happen and Williams cleverly tied up a contract, which meant that PDVSA had to buy themselves out of the deal when Maldonado "decided to leave" the team. Thus Williams have some breathing space dosh to fund Massa's experience hopefully in order to develop a decent car for 2015. Nonetheless, it is rumoured that Maldonado still arrives to Lotus with a dowry of some $30m, enough to pay a few debts (and maybe even some of Kimi's wages).
F1: it's not what you know it's how big your wallet is.

That Grosjean / Maldo combo may earn Renault / Lotus a reputation for being at the centre of every controversy. Nice to see Pat Simmonds back at Williams after the Renault deliberate crash fiasco.

That's an interesting point about Massa - presumably they won't get him until Jan next year or he might be able to bring some useful "loophole" info from Ferrari.

Double points for the final race of the season.

Seriously?

Anyone remember when F1 was a proper sport?

It's just dreadful, isn't it?
The sooner meddling Bernie is in banged up, sorry out of the way, the better....

Maybe he'll put some special stages in too or if you collect enough rings / collect the correct item from the mysterious "?" box you'll get a super boost?

What I'd like to see is a kind of short cut but it was hellish dangerous, maybe a short rally style gravel curve on top of a big cliff. The signage could say "this way to beat Redbull, if you dare". Obviously it would need painting in special paint that Germans named after water can't see.....

Remember playing your Joker in Jeux sans Frontieres? Utter nonsense

What seems so daft is that with the new regs and the extra tyre test and spending cap, it finally looked like there was some hope for a credible challenge to the dominance of one team (in this case RBR, but it has been many others).
This just makes it look, well, as you guys have mentioned, like SuperMario crossed with It's a Knockout. Maybe Stuart Hall should commentate - just to add even more common sense!

Wrong approach. Reduce the points to the top six again. Remove blue flags.

If you're not at the front, why should you get points for half the field? If you're the world's best driver, why do you need help overtaking?

He may be busy for a while Well not busy, but occupied (fnahh fnahh..)

I think it would be a useful addition to the rules if every driver had a dog in the car. They are supposed to reflect road car technology after all.

They should also have to spend half of the race talking to their team on a hand-held mobile phone instead of using the pre-fitted but (in road car terms) rarely used bluetooth option.

Definitely with you on that one.

Double points! Crazy - I thought this was supposed to be the pinnacle of motorsport not Play Your Cards Right!

I guess the double points gives:

1) hope at the end of the season
2) makes the teams work on improvements to the end
3) err ok 2 points..

The whole point is incentivising, sadly when you have absolute domination then extra points works in the opposite direction and everyone gives up.
I think that BTCC ideas are good, weight penalties, reverse grid and points for other achievements - it would be good for a constructor point for NOT having a car blow up, tyre fail, quickest pit stop etc just to mix it up a bit for the lower teams as they could achieve this and give them all a boost!

I've always felt that it can't be the pinnacle of motorsport when at least half of the drivers are there because they're paying for their drives rather than on merit.

Yep 100% agree.

True, probably Moto GP is the pinnacle, WRC also takes some gumption, I guess F1 has the top title as the cars are / were so fast and dangerous.

A paid driver still has to be worth sponsoring, yes there are some better drivers but would you waste millions on sponsoring a crap driver? It doesn't do much for you or your business!

I do like that, as in MotoGP, they are going to keep their race number.

I was less upset by the double points thing maybe because I already see F1 as entertainment rather than sport

Looks like it's not only fans that think it's daft...

Finger boy unimpressed

+1

...designed to keep the championship alive after Vettel won with 3 races to spare - so I guess nobody's predicting a change next year.

Perez in at Force India - DiResta no drive....

DiResta is not bad, but not World Champion material and he doesn't come with a big wad of sponsorship cash.
Also, although people accuse other drivers of whining, wee Paul is worst of all...

I wouldn't say that - He won in DTM and in F3 where he beat Vettel... Money talks though. And he ain't the biggest whiner either!

I don't think he's made a lot of friends at Force India from what I've heard; you could argue that success in lower formulae wrote expectation cheques that his performances in F1 have failed to cash.
Either way, he was never going to get a seat with the top 4 teams and why hang around at the back of the grid? I think he has a good chance of succeeding in the US or maybe following Webber into Porsches.

The BBC has released it's TV schedule for next year. No surprises, but they have also not announced any changes to their presenting lineup either, which means being subjected to more excruciating Suzy Perry bumbling. It's got to the point where I have to actually stick her on mute when watching live coverage and record the highlights to watch later, just so I can fast forward when she's on screen. She is just awful and seemed to actually get worse as the season went on.

Come back James Allen, all is forgiven

I didn't catch ANY F1 last season, despite being somewhat of a fan.

What was the usually delectable Suzy Perry doing to annoy the viewers?

Still, on the bright side, at least we'll get David Coulthard's awesome gridwalk skills...

You cant beat Martin's gridwalk and Teds note book on sky F1 and not forgetting the very sexy Natalie Pinkham

Have to say Suzy Perry is not making F1 coverage on BBC that enticing. Too much faffing about and not much substance.
Only nine races live on BBC next year so looks like my sat box will be tuned into RTL next year.

Indeed - Point Proven

F1 seems to be doing all it can to destroy itself. Clearly the sponsorship is drying up and that should be a huge warning sign that things aren't good. F1 is supposed to be the cutting edge of motorsport, a place where technology makes a debut before filtering down to the road car.

The problem is that almost ALL motor manufacturers are currently developing Electric vehicles. Cities around the world are significantly curbing exhaust emissions and offering benefits to Zero (At point of use) emission vehicles. It seems electric vehicle are the way forward and F1 is currently out of step with this element of motor vehicle technology. This could also be why teams can't secure sponsorship deals and why a top team needs to take paying drivers?

A few weeks ago Jim posted about Formula E. The whole thing is still in its infancy but perhaps this is where the smart motorsport investment opportunities for sponsors will be in the future? Manufacturers are making electric vehicles so where better to invest. The market is growing and there is room for significant technology development in batteries, motors and efficiency. Such a growing market would be ripe for investment and its environmental credentials are a bonus too, as are city centre race tracks.

Formula E is already looking like it will attract huge American interest too. There are already two American teams and just this week the Boston Celtics invested £21m in the series. For me the most interesting aspect is the fact the Formula E organisers say they are not looking to compete with F1 and Indy car.

One *big* problem with electric cars is the battery technology. You basically have to take what you're given; you can't change the total stored power and you can't change the rate at which you can suck power out of them (or stuff it in) as a car developer, unless you're a major car maker at the same time.

Yes, you can play around with the control systems, but you can't 'let's try putting the exhaust *there*' to see if it improves efficiency. It's going to be a case of who's got the best aero again... (and who can keep the control electronics the coolest).

Mind you, I'll be impressed with someone that can put an electric car together that can do two hundred miles at race speeds; that will translate to two or three times that range in a road car and might make the damn things actually useful.

Hmm. Who'll make the first electric coupe?

Agree - that electric Merc SLS on TG was stunning but the range, at full chat, was still hopeless. Most battery-powered devices focus on reducing power requirement - there's a real limit to what you can do with a race car as the laws of physics tend to need to be obeyed.

I would agree that current electric car technology is quite poor and needs significant development. Perhaps though a racing series will assist those seeking the finances required to undertake that development? The aero package will still be significant in the electric cars but if the rules are good the balance between down force and drag could be far more a factor than it currently seems to be.

The gap between the current F1 teams is a joke. The rules brought in on funding limits, tyres, Kers & testing bans were all supposed to bring the field closer together. They have not really worked though and have resulted in one team / driver dominating the sport year on year. The Williams and then Ferrari dominant years were bad but at least during those years reliability played a part. Teams pushed boundaries to try and get faster and as a result they suffered failures. The current rules don't allow for significant in season development or testing. Any improvements to a car are minimal at best and there is little place for innovation.

Any NEW team now can't get anywhere near the top because they can't bring something NEW to the party. In the "Good Old Days" teams could innovate, yes it made for some mad cars and yes it could be a little less safe, but at least it was interesting.

All the "NEW" rules for the 2014 F1 season seem to be just tinkering. None of them will enable the lower teams to compete so the yawn fest will, I'm sure, continue.

The budget restriction rules do not work because the top running teams have better r&d facilities so will stay at the top. The only way to get ahead in F1 is to spend money, althiugh it does not always work (toyota). Restrict that and the teams already with teh tech will prosper and those at the bottom will get pay drivers. Bloody madness. Let them have free reign to cash ad come what may. F1 is capitalistic in the extreme to restrict at that level of motor sport is madness

Jesus, where do I begin? To sum it up, her knowledge of F1 is non-existent. She knows nothing about the drivers and even less about the sport technically and politically. Her lack of knowledge is painfully obvious when she asks DC the most stupidest questions and DC looks almost embarrassed when answering them. During live broadcasts she bumbles along, umming and erring, desperately trying to feed EJ and DC points to elaborate on, but she hasn't got a clue and there is zero chemistry there. She even screws up the basics of timing links to articles and inteviews.

As the season wore on, it just got more and more painful to watch. I actually felt sorry for her, as she was clearly out of her depth. They really should have given the anchor role to Leigh Mackenzie, as she does a great job and actually knows what she's talking about.

Leigh's been my favorite to be honest. I guess there's a reason she's the one talking to the drivers. I think some would just turn their back on Suzy and run away.

Suzy's performances are just unforgivable. It was always going to be an uphill struggle to match Jake Humphrey, but it's like she gets to the circuits having done no background research at all. When a sport is as deep as F1 with millions of knowledgeable fans, her shortcomings are just glaringly obvious.

There's a double reason to turn it off when Suzy Perry appears - she's normally accompanied by Eddie "when I ran the Jordan F1 Team" Jordan.

I'm somewhat disappointed to be missing Sky F1 coverage next year for the reasons above. I much prefer the Sky team - MB in particular - but with 4 ex-drivers, the discussion is more educated. EJ irritates me

I think I've grown accustomed to EJ, because Suzy Perry is so bad - everything is relative.

There is a F1 review of the year on BBC today - 13:15.

An alternative look towards the 2014 season, courtesy of uber F1 journalist Maurice Hamilton.

For anyone interested in Formula E, take a look at this youTube vid.. It really shows just how much of the drama of a racing car (expecially F1) is due to the noise. Seeing a Formula E car do doughnuts is almost embarassingly boring and makes me think that you might was well be watching a G-Whizz do wheelies instead for all of the entertainment it imparts.

Although sound is an extremely evocative medium, I'm surprised that you would knock something like Formula E on that basis, Dennis. There are going to be profound changes in how we use energy for transport and fun - the very existence of the term petrolhead could die out in our kids' generation. I am just pleased and excited that something this high profile is happening to show that there might be a future for motorsport even when we can't afford fossil fuels. I'm not naive enough to think that Formula E is the only way forward or that it isn't significantly based on marketing hype and the chance to earn a quick buck out of being "green". But I really hope it delivers exciting racing and maybe recruits some new fans to racing. If the price is a poorer soundtrack, I'll pay it.

But if it's boring to watch, Jim, there'll be no racing anyway.

I was passed yesterday by a Tesla executive saloon - entirely silent. It was most bizarre. Reaching my destination, a Maserati was just starting up - heads turned.

Noise is part of the thrill of motorsport. I'm not arguing with your point but, in the same way as touch-rugby would be a lot safer, Formula E is going to be missing something vital to the excitement.

I like that - touch rugby is like an electric racing car, MRS you'd make Clarkson proud!

I have to support Dennis on this. The noise is a significant part of the experience, standing watching an F-16 climb on full afterburners was all about the noise and difficulty breathing. I don't think a glider climbing at the same rate would have anywhere near the same excitement.

I did read somewhere (possible a spoof article) that there was talk of recording and playing engine noise on electric cars because they cause a risk to pedestrians who don't hear them coming..

As I said, I'm not denying the thrill of the sounds that accompany our relationship with speed and power - I'm as hooked as anyone.

I'm simply surprised that we are prepared to dismiss something that could be exciting despite the lack of noise, something we learn to love for different reasons.

Is cycle racing like touch rugby because the bikes make no noise?

The problem is, if the cars make no noise, the commentators will *never* shut up.

For me, I don't think every day motoring (a boring experience of being taxed, taxed again, and then thrice taxed while being treated inconsiderately by other road users) should have anything in common with F1 (a sport with sponsors who can avoid tax, and drivers that have to behave considerately or be penalised).

Racing should be about taming the beast - be it a chariot with a brace of uncontrollable stallions, or a roaring V10.

Cycling isn't a good example Jim, that ranks alongside golf, tennis and cricket as a spectator sport!

Meanwhile...

I hadn't heard about this until I saw it reviewed on Joe Saward's blog today, but it looks worth a watch:

F1 film

Looks like it will appeal to existing fans; covers some old ground, but with a deft touch and hopefully with some dignity.

I'll keep an open but sceptical (if that's possible) mind until I see it.

Cycling as a sport is a bit different: inside a velodrome there's the noise of the crowd and it's a sprint so probably not a good analogy. In the endurance events I think there's a number of factors that are different:
- it's a team (of competitors) sport and a very tactical one. Yes, F1 can be but people don't much like it when team orders are issued.
- you can see the riders and experience their pain
- it's easier to empathise with: pretty much anybody can ride a bike
- it's free to watch: there wouldn't be such crowds if you asked them to pay £100 each.
...and so on.
Noise, also, is pretty much one of the USPs of watching F1 live. BTCC is closer racing. MotoGP is better still.
Maybe we should do an experiment next season and all watch a race with the sound turned off and either radio or text commentary. It just HAS to lose something. The question is, will there be anything about the racing that will make up for that loss?

Looks great, Jim. Thanks for pointing it out

Richard, I'm absolutely not denying that motorsport will be diminished by the absence of a visceral soundtrack; I would add that the smells of a racing engine are pretty evocative too.

My comparison with cycling was purely in response to your touch rugby comment; MotoGP has the sound, pushbikes don't, though I confess it does much less for me than car engines. I also agree that throughout its history to date, noise has been an inseparable part of the thrill of motor racing.

But maybe we will learn to love other things about it that will compensate to some extent. Presumably, the squeal of the tyres in cornering will be more audible? Crowd noise (assuming it draws crowds!) will play a role. Fundamentally, if there is hard, fast racing, I would hope that enthusiasts will find something to like.

Fair enough, Jim. I should point out that cycle racing bores me rigid...

Me too... But is it because it's quiet?!

Then you need to go to an evening of a Six day track event. I went to the Ghent 6 Saturday afternoon and evening session a few years back. By far and away the best sports event I have ever been to. Derney racing with big motorbikes and handlebar moustached drivers was a particular highlight, and the sound did add a lot. Am hoping they get a similar event going in the Olympic Velodrome.

I follow cycling but even I can see road racing as having a limited appeal. Some days it can bore me rigid and since all the drugs fiasco I have lost most of my enthusiasm for it.

Yes, I mean the full road races as televised.

@ Jim - no, not necessarily because it's quiet but it would be more exciting if that had V8s or turbo V6s....

Maybe this (clearly 'enhanced') film is the future of electric racing...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DITjqRmZ7JA

I would say I am intrigued by the Formula E series, but the lack of noise does make it a little sterile. I am prepared to hope for good things with the racing though. There's many ways they could enhance the experience, through information, graphics etc. which appeals to the geek in me. They could easily make the cars make noise, either artificially through some kind of audio system or perhaps spokey dokes in the wheels

Hey - no fair. I already suggested that!

MrB used the right terminology, that counts for a lot in nostalgia!

Lol!

I was thinking last night (and in my defence it was late and I was just dropping off to sleep!) that they could attach some kind of 'funnel' that made a noise by the air rushing through it, the faster the car the louder the noise!

Why not just say bollocks to it and put slots in the road and run electric cars..... Oh wait!!....

Formula e has a place, just like women's football.

It's not going to reduce the total carbon footprint of a race season, the cars are a tiny part, now transporting the circus about..... If electric cars are the way forward let f1 evolve, a jump to electric f1 doesn't allow things to evolve and gain best solutions and let's face it, electricity comes from burning fossil fuels, batteries are massive polluters from mining to creation to shipping. Once we have green electricity generation electric cars make sense, until then it's bollocks.

Given that Formula E is neither replacing nor challenging F1, what genuine objection do you have to a race series that will encourage development in all the areas you point out as necessary. Your post just seems like an excuse to make a cheap jibe at women's football and say bollocks twice.

I've not really looked into this formula-e series, but if there is a meeting in the UK, especially Silverstone, I'll definitely drag myself along for a look.

There was moaning about diesels in the Le Mans (and the BTCC)series as well, and they seemed to still put on a decent show.

(it appears the only calender date for the UK is "London" in June 2015)

If it's not meant to replace it what is it for? F1 will accelerate real world electric cars, there is little use for totally electric cars until we stop using fossil fuels to generate it and batteries dont do more damage to the environment.
Most of my post was out of frustration, electric cars will only mean pollution is heavier around powerstations and where battery elements are mined from. It's a band wagon, especially as f1 is being done over by stupid regulations.
Although maybe if the governance was different and they were properly allowed to innovate with some bill gates money style backers.... You could have Microsoft vs Apple vs Google on a race track!
Why was it a jibe at women's football unless you think they're both second rate sports.

I was comparing them as will whenever get proper funding and tv space so although it's quite cute they are unable to improve and reach their potential.

Jim you've made me think outside my box..... Hmmmm...

Fair points all - and thanks for clarifying the one about women's football, which I absolutely don't regard as second rate.

Battery life increasingly seems to be the holy grail for our increasingly electronically reliant lives. I do agree with you about the problems inherent in current power production and battery manufacture, but I really hope that getting some big names and big investment involved in Formula E might bring about some progress in this and other fields. Although I may sound like an evangelist for the series, I'm actually quite cynical and do fear that it will be a way for celebs and companies to show off their "green" credentials and merely earn a bit of kudos and some cash. But, I'm also prepared to give it a chance to prove me wrong; to offer exciting racing despite the challenges it faces and despite the fact that it will sound like 20 washing machines on spin cycle driving round the streets.

Back to F1, roll on electrical fires and turbo smoke!!

Whoa, seems like my post stirred up some much needed motorsport related discussion.

To be honest, I'm not dismissing Formula E at all and if it came across that way, then that definitely wasn't my intention. I am as intrigued as anybody (and a lot more than most) as to how Formula E will pan out and come across to the public, but I was shocked by how anaesthetised a Formula E car is as a spectable. This is why I made the post, to actually put the point across; just how will the general public take to this silent form of motorsport, if a dyed-in-the-wool, self-confessed motorsport geek like me finds the prospect of seeing cars glide around circuits in eerie silence unappealing?

Televised races will of course have commentary to drive the entertainment along, but I can't help thinking that anybody actually paying to attend the races is going to get bored very quickly with the lack of atmoshpere and the series will die a death after three years. I'd like to be proved wrong though.

Actually it takes away 2 elements at the event: noise and smell! Without the stink of race fuel and the screaming it removes most of the atmosphere for me. Wonder if the smell would be that of a new scalextric set?

Woohoo! Scratch'n'sniff racing!

The thing is, the diesels race with their petrol counterparts and provide a stark contrast with each other. To me, this only serves to enhance and appreciate the noise and atmosphere the latter bring. Take Le Mans for instance, the whisper of the Audis couldn't be more different than the scream of an Aston V12 or the OTT bellow of a Chrysler V8. The diesels actually add to the richness of the grid. Playing devils advocate, would a whole grid of diesels have the same appeal?

Remember the truck racing they used to do?

That was pretty impressive IMO!

Touche!

On anotheer note, the numbers which drivers have requested and been allocated have been announced.

# Driver Team/Car
1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault
3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull-Renault
6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes
7 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari
8 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault
11 Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes
13 Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Renault
14 Fernando Alonso Ferrari
17 Jules Bianchi Marussia-Ferrari
19 Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes
20 Kevin Magnussen McLaren-Mercedes
21 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari
22 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes
25 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Renault
26 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso-Renault
27 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes
44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
77 Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes
99 Adrian Sutil Sauber-Ferrari

Maybe with Formula E, they should take a note from the Blues Brothers to improve the noise?

Used to do?

Still do at Le Mans...

I think there's still a full race calendar for truck racing. I used to go and watch them at Donnington. Fantastic watching them try and get round that first corner straight off the grid and up through the esses.

It is being reported that John Button, Jenson's dad and a regular fixture at Grand Prix has been found dead of a suspected heart attack. No more lucky pink shirt.

Yeah, I read that today too. Martin Whitmarsh has written a lovely piece about him on the Mclaren website.

Thoughts to JB and family.

Sky Sports News are having a F1 themed day tomorrow.

Details here.

On a side note, Sky have released a Sky Go android Tablet App. So if you are a Sky customer you can watch most of their channels on the "go". Quite why it has taken them so long is beyond me.

I loaded that a couple of weeks ago, but it says it doesn't work if your android tablet is "rooted", whatever that is.

It means if you have buggered around with the android version. If the tablet still has the android version it was bought with or official updated version then it should work fine. I tried before Christmas and it was restricted to certain tablet types. This latest version does not have the same rerstriction.

No mine is untouched, it may be the tablet type then.

I'll try it again.

Another rumour courtesy of Joe Saward is that Lotus F1 (as opposed to Lotus Group) has been sniffing around the suspended de Tomaso company in Italy. It is thought this could be the beginning of a tie-up that could see both a road car project and the renaming of the racing team to de Tomaso F1...

Reloaded the app. Still the same.

Sky News ok, anything else, "Sky Go is not supported on Rooted android devices"

http://helpforum.sky.com/t5/Sky-Go-on-Android/Sky-Go-Advice-for-Rooted-Devices/td-p/1505409

Thanks John.

For you BBC watchers, I hear that Gary Anderson has left / been pushed.

Really? That's a surprise to me. He's one of the few informed voices on the BBC coverage. Wonder who he pissed off...?

I'll be gutted is Gary Anderson isn't in the BBC lineup for 2014. I'll be inconsolable if Suzy Perry is kept on.

Apparently so

According to another seemingly inside piece, Anderson's departure is an indication that the BBC may relinquish its broadcasting rights and drop coverage at the end of this season, rather than 2018. Whoopee.

At which point, F1 becomes a closed book to Mr Barnacle.

+1

At least from a viewing perspective.

Also, it looks like Bernie will be tried for bribery in Germany, so he may be attending fewer events too...

In fact, corporate governance regulations might make it essential for Ecclestone to step aside, as some partners might be prevented from doing business with someone who has been indicted...

Could this be the end of the Ecclestone Era?

Ecclestone definitely to face trial.

http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2014/01/16/now-it-begins/

It will be interesting to see how the money-obsessed goblin extracts himself from this one! It will be even more interesting to see who steps into the breach if he does go.

"Ecclestone steps down from F1 board" according to the BBC. Remains to be seen where that leaves Bernie, CVC and F1...

I also wonder if this means Bernie offer for the Nurburgring will continue as well

I don't fancy paying sky to watch F1 unless this season is reeeaaallly good.

I think it was you that mentioned lots of overheating - could be the BBQF1 season. A big hit to reliability could spice it all up nicely...

I still can't afford Sky though.

Its not just the race coverage you get alsorts of additional programs on sky f1 that make it worth every pennie.

all changed at McLaren . Ron Dennis is taking on the F1team again .!

Obviously £25 a week isn't enough rent, Jim!

Certain picky wives, it seems, prioritise things like food, children's clothes and debt repayment over satellite TV subscriptions. Married a wrong 'un!

Wow! Big news about McLaren! Looks like Martin Whitmarsh might pay the price for the last couple of seasons' mediocre (by Macca standards) results. Not convinced that Big Ron coming back will bring the success he hopes for. There is inevitably talk of Ross Brawn coming in, but it would surprise me.
Probably too late to affect this seaon's car, but should please Honda for 2015.

Nice little story about John Button here.

Whitewash had to go imho. McLaren finished 2012 season with fastest car and threw that away to produce a dog. All this when they knew a complete redesign was needed again the next year for the turbo cars.

I business terms that is utter madness. Also last season's car never really got any better as they failed to understand the pull rod suspension and its effect on the cars aerodynamics. Harsh but that is just plain bad management.

Yes I absolutely agree with you. The races may have been 'dull' in 2013 but the package as a whole, is worth my extra £5 per month on top of my basic SKY subscription.

The BBC coverage when Jake was heading it was pretty good. The snippets I've seen with Ms Perry at the helm have been atrocious. Losing Gary Anderson looks to be a further dumbing down of the coverage.

As much as Whitmarsh comes across as a nice guy I think the buck has to stop with him. The 2013 season was abysmal for McLaren.

My completely uneducated guess is there'll be an interim Team Principal until the summer break and then Ross Brawn will come in full time.

As has been discussed elsewhere, Ross Brawn is an obvious gossip target, but given the situation he has just left at Mercedes (too much interference from other "chiefs"), would he really want to go to McLaren and have Control Freak Extraordinaire Ron up in his grille about every decision? Brawn has been there, done it and got the T-shirt, I can only see him agreeing to work as team principal at McLaren if Ron Dennis backs right off. And I don't think that's likely for the moment.
Joe Saward seems to think things will "move fast", but whether it'll be an interim and/or internal promotion or someone from outside Macca, it remains to be seen. Interesting though. Martin Whitmarsh is apparently likely to get a sideways move rather than the chop.

I doubt Brawn will be anywhere this year. He's already said he wants a year out to go fishing and watch Man. United, but where will he be in 2015? Who know's. I believe he had a falling out with Honda when he was running the Brawn team, so he might not do the whole McLaren deal.


Well, it did, it was quicker than the 2012 car, it was just a case of everyone had upped their game and were quicker than McLaren. I did see any interesting article a couple of weeks ago of apparently McLaren had been trialling some sort of air deflector on the rear suspension arms, which would benefit them because of their rock solid suspension.

I also wonder if this has been prompted by bad wind tunnel tests of the new car? I hope though that McLaren can do a Brawn GP and pull an amazing car from the flames.

I wonder if it was prompted by the Alonso foolishness? I'm sure Dennis was using phrases that included the words "dead", "body" and "over my".

Au contraire, recently Ron has used the phrase "never say never" with regard to Alonso returning to McLaren. Not at all sure Fernando feels the same way though!

I don't think Ron coming back to Mclaren will make any difference to their performance this year.
The new guys from other teams might though!

That could just be to show that he isn't holding a grudge - I'm sure Ron will get his genes mutated into those of a mule before donning an enormous pair of hob-nailed boots and kicking the whole idea of an Alonso return firmly into the long grass.

2014 F1 Grid Complete

That's good news! I may have lost my FF1 shirt with Kobyashi, but he was always entertaining to watch.

Pleased for Kobayashi - he showed flair and was exciting to watch battling in the mid-order.

Rumours that McLaren would - like Lotus - miss the Jerez test look to be unfounded, for one reason at least. The MP4-29 has now passed the FIA crash tests - some were pointing to this as an issue.

HELLO!!!! A swede in F1!! I am in heaven right now

Seems Force India have started releasing photo's of the new car already!

Force India admit they chose a picture that shows as little detail as possible! The most noticeable change from this angle is the drooping nose...
I think McLaren will be first to launch their car (online) on Saturday (if my terrible memory serves), followed by a rash of others over the next week or so. Doesn't Jerez testing get underway on Tuesday?

McLaren launch on Friday Jim. According to Joe Saward they won't have a major sponsor onboard for the launch.....

You're right Bezzer; Joe Saward is where I read it, so shows I'm right not to trust my memory!

New Mercedes V6 > CLICK

And here is apparently, Willams offering albeit virtual.

I saw this on Joe Saward's blog:

"Elsewhere, McLaren has announced that it has extended its relationship with Santander."

So that sinks the Sony rumours and the stories of a return to McLaren Orange.

Also, he mentions a rumour that Martini may team up with Williams. Would be lovely to see that famous colour scheme on another racing car. As long as it's a fast one...!

And a reliable one! I can just hear the commentators, "That new Martini Williams car could break down any time any plane anywhere"

Edited for accuracy, since we don't know what any of the engines are going to be like

I have to admit, although I understand the cost-saving side, the Colin Chapman approach that if a component lasted a lap past the finish it was over-engineered did make things a lot less predictable and more exciting.

I think this year we will see a lot of expensive breakages. As Brundle often says, F1 is about heat management...

I wonder how many nose changes we will see across the cars, maybe there should be a prize for the most ugly design of the year!

Nice mock up if Williams get the sponsor



In other news oh dear, although I don't know the past history with Sam, but I never heard a good thing said about him.

I fear that the nose on the 2014 Williams might let that livery down, sadly. Otherwise, gorgeous!

I've never heard a good word about Sam Michaels either, but nobody ever explains why. It's a mystery, especially given that he has worked for some excellent teams not given to employing muppets.

Joe Saward explicitly said it won't be Michaels, so interesting if it is...

Eric Bouliier for McLaren..........

He's just quit Lotus.

Top man.

That's a surprise.
I thought he was part of Genii the owner/sponsor?

I'm very surprised about Boullier's decision, but I'm not 100% sure it means he's on his way to Woking. He's clearly a talented guy and I like his interviews, but there were some shenanigans at Lotus last year that were a little shabby. No idea how much he was involved or just toeing the company line, but I'll be interested to see if he does pitch up at McLaren...

12pm launch for the 2014 car at Woking, I wonder if big Ron will mention the new Team Principal.

I really hope it's Boullier.

Anyone going to watch it?

Link here for the online launch - http://www.mclaren.com/formula1/car/

In fact, it's done already!

Fugly as a Fugly thing hit with a Fugly stick!

It's not looking great is it? Although, Lotus have said that their noses won't look like an ant eater, so will be curious to see what theirs looks like. Still, Ferrari launch tomomrrow.

http://m.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/25877832

Boullier to McLaren? (Apologies if I'm slow on the uptake)

I hope so as I like the guy. No idea if he's any good but he comes across well

Yes, the BBC definitely reckons Boullier is going to McLaren. If so, Ron Dennis must think very highly of him indeed, which is nice!

I don't think the McLaren is that ugly; it's been a long time since any part of an F1 car was there to look pretty; every milimetre is just there to do its job. Can't quite see the trick lower rear suspension arms (if indeed they are trick...)

No title sponsor I notice...

It looks like an F3 car!
The wings and tyres look too small to be F1

Jim, you really need to pop along to your local Specsavers!

Ok I agree F1 cars have been hit with a multitude of ugly sticks over the past few seasons, but the front end of that McLaren makes a Nissan Cube look like a thing of beauty.

Are these hollow noses related to something like cooling?

If I was doing a KERS car I'd use the batteries as ballast to create downforce in the right places.

Notice the rear covers on the rear suspension arms next to the tyres? I wonder if that has anything to do with the blog that I saw (and couldn't find either) to do with the way is ducted to the back of the car

Pondman, looks like your number plate could be worth something

Oh and here is Lotus's offering

Good god!

Funnily enough, I am going to Specsavers tomorrow, so I'll tell you if I change my mind afterwards.

There have been no truly pretty F1 cars (at least in my opinion) for many years. Those that are prettier than others are probably down to happenstance. Even Ferrari, whose raison d'etre is to produce fast things of beauty, has created cars that look much the same as the others. It's more about wind tunnels and CFD than designers with flair and feel.

They're not attractive but nothing I've seen so far compares with the sheer ugliness of the 2008 offerings.

In F1, if it's fast, it's beautiful.

Not so in other sports; I call my first witness: Metro 6R4.

What's not to like about the 6R4

It's gorgeous; just not classically beautiful! Ugly-sexy I believe is the term.

OK, I've just seen another view of the MP4-29 (on F1 Fanatic) and I realise that it has in fact got, er, a penis. On it's nose.

Specsavers comment acknowledged for accuracy.

No Total logo on the Lotus i see. What happened with that partnership.

I think Total will still be a part of it. Where Renault goes, Total goes. As you will no doubt know, it's a French bromance thing...!

The orange crescents look very McLaren West...

The silly noses are due to an equally silly loophole in the 2014 bodywork dimension regulations. To reduce the chances of flips resulting from nose-to-rear tyre contact, the nose must now be no higher than 185mm and the front bulkhead has been lowered 100mm to 525mm.

This change is actually a compromise from what the FIA originally wanted, as the idea was to have the nose tip even lower, together with a lower chassis all the way back to the cockpit. But the teams didn't want this, arguing that it would require all new suspension geometry and all new aero and mega costs, hence the compromise. However, these allowances have left loopholes to be exploited.

*deep breath*

The cross sectional area of the nose tip must be 9000mm2 and the area 50mm behind the actual tip must be centred at 185mm above the cars reference plane (the bottom of the stepped floor), additionally this cross section must not be lower than 135mm (10mm above the front wing) or above 300mm. In addition, the nose must not be higher than a diagonal line passing from 300mm height at the nose tip and a 625mm at the front bulkhead.

The aero guys in the team want to get as much air as possible to the floor of the car for downforce, so they want to have the nose as high and as short as they can get away with. In contrast, to pass the FIA crash impact tests, you want to have a long structure and it needs to be low and have the correct cross sectional area to comply with the 2014 regs.

Therefore, the obvious thing to do is to separate the two demands of the nose into two different nose sections. i.e. Build an upper nose section for aero and the lower nose to satify dimensional regs and crash crash impact tests. Hence why teams are launching cars with what look like dildos stuck on the front of them.

The teams caught onto this loophole really early on and some actually wanted the 2014 regs rewritten to close it off, as they knew the cars were going to look odd. Unfortunately, the FIA didn't grant these requests. It would have been very easy to solve too, by specifying an additional couple of minimum/maximum cross sectional areas further up the nose from the tip to the chassis, and/or stating that the tip must be joined to the 525mm high area of the chassis by flat pieces of bodywork in both x and y planes. Although, this would have stifled creativity and the noses of the cars will have ended up all looking identical. You can't have your cake and eat it.

Hope this makes sense.

Has anyone else noticed that the two nose prongs of the Lotus are different lengths? There is more than one way to skin a cat it would seem.

Ugly, but clever.

Interesting flow structures behind the pylons of the front wing. They also look to have reverted back to pushrod front suspension after their switch to a pullrod setup last year. This tends to lend weight to the suggestion that Mclaren didn't understand the geometry and different aero characteristics of the latter. Which contributed to lack of performance of the MP4-28.

I don't really see anything trick about the rear suspension. But it is interesting to see that Mclaren have left the driveshafts exposed, instead of encapsulating them together with the lower wishbones like they did last year.

I'd imagine that the rear brake ducts on the launch car will be red herring items and you'll see very different versions once the car hits the track. The one's on the launch car look very aero neutral, when you want them to be generating downforce directly through the rear hubs.

The weight of the cars KERS batteries is pretty tiny compared to the 2000kg+ of downforce that a formula 1 can generate. What's far more important is that the batteries are placed as low as possible for CoG reasons and have their mass as centralised as possible to the CoG to reduce their polar moment of inertia.

Thanks DennisK
I guess the Lotus nose was what the FIA intended but the dildo noses will have the downforce advantage??

What the regs were intended to do, was to end up with a nose like the Brawn GP car of 2009, only with a smaller cross section at the tip and straighter edges.


However, by not specifying the dimensional requirements of the nose tightly enough, the teams have naturally gone for performance over aesthetics.

The two-pronged Lotus solution maximises the amount of air going under the chassis, by creating a channel through the middle. They are unequal lengths to still satisfy the dimensional regs, but I am surprised that they haven't resorted to a non-structural vanity panel to avoid the asymetry at such a critical airflow point. The 'single-finger' solution maximises the airflow by being as small as possible. Like I said, more than one way.....

Out with the old and in with the new.

Opinions?

You're right, just checked their site and they have pushrod on the front and pull rod on the rear.

Ferrari launch in less than 45 minutes - http://f14t.ferrari.com/en/

Hard to tell from that, but it certainly doesn't sound as bad as people have made the engines out to be

That's what I thought too. I'd also guess from the clip that they weren't running the full 15,000rpm either, judging from this clip I saw weeks ago.

Well, here is Ferrari, certainly no ant eater / penis nose for this one!

That so just sounds like a typical Ferrari road car, but with just extra turbo noises!

That is one fugly f1 car!

Another thing to note of the penis nose tip, is that it's no wonder Mclaren had some trouble passing the front impact tests. Must be some pretty trick construction going on inside there, to have sufficient controllable deformation from such a small constant diameter structure in a diagonal plane.

More info on the Ferrari test mule here.

Looks like Ferrari have taken a more literal approach and designed a nose more in keeping with the regulations as they were intended. Viewing the side profile, the underside of the area behind the front wing looks like it will generate a low pressure area there, sucking in and accelerating airflow through the 'mouth', which is the same approach that Mclaren used for years prior to 2013. Although they also had a large horizontal splitter in that area to condition the flow too. I can't help thinking that it's the wrong way to go in terms of performance, but what the hell do I know?

It's also possible that the nose is an interim 'safe' design, to get the car through the front impact tests and onto the test track to rack up development miles. Meanwhile the factory may well be developing a more extreme version to be introduced later.

One thing that also stands out immediately, are the comparitively small radiator intakes on the sidepods. Suggesting that the Ferrari drivetrain package has better heat rejection figures than the Mercedes. Although the latter is rumoured to have the best power output out of everyone.

Just gone and placed a bet on Nico Rosberg to win the championship. Good odds at 12/1.

Also placed a fiver on Jenson at 28/1. I can only dream!

Doesn't power = heat so more power means it'll get hotter?

I hope to God mc and Ferrari have got it right and can push redbull! Even if just on reliability.

Wonder if the fronts will cause another blown / double diffuser ruling....

Not necessarily. It's more a question of efficiency and what maximum temperature your engine can run at, before it affects reliability. Also, the new ERS systems will be converting heat energy (from the exhaust gases) into electrical energy, which can then be used as the team sees fit. The amount of energy which can be recovered, stored and used from heat is unlimited. Energy recovered from the rear axle is limited to an output of 120kw for 30secs a lap.

Excellent vid of the new Ferrari here., which sums up the huge technical challenges that the teams face this year and the advantages that being a 'works' team will give.

It also really shows just how tiny the Ferrari's sidepods really are. They are so narrow, that they don't even have an undercut around the sides. They've probably learned lessons from the 2013 Sauber, which used a very different radiator arrangement to get their very narrow sidepods. Ferrari's feat is all the more impressive, as the 2014 powertrains require a lot more cooling than the old 2.4l V8s.

Looking at the top of the engine cover, you can see some small, narrow, additional holes, but you can't tell if they are exhausts or intakes. Although the angle of the strakes suggests the latter.

So far, the Ferrari looks to be the most interesting of the 2014 cars.

So here is Sauber's offering:



And Mercedes have been teasing some shots:

I like the thinking behind the Renault uneven-length nose, whether or not it proves successful.

The Ferrari looks ok.

Funny how there's no nose shots of either the Sauber or the Merc...!

Well Merc haven't released their's yet, so they are only teasing shots. I think they are meant to be showing the car today, or tomorrow, which is when testing starts

The Ferrari nose reminds of one of those 1950s upright hoovers but in the leaned back position that you'd use if you were trying to do under the settee.

Yes, even better if they had a warm light on the nose too with Hoover emblazoned in Blue, would be great for clearing up the ridiculous tyre detritus too

I think that would be a nice touch. The model you're referring to was of course the classic Dirtsearcher.

Paint that red and you've got the front half of the new F1 Ferrari

The Sauber uses the same solution as the Mclaren...



As does the Toro Rosso, which was unveiled today at Jerez before testing commences tomorrow.



Will be interesting to see what Newey and co. have come up for the new Red Bull. The smart money is generally being put on Mercedes for this year though.

The Toro Rosso nose design has just been subject of a tweet by Ann Summers outfit who say they have based it on one of their sex toys! Maybe it was ?

Maybe Anne Summers will be the new title sponsor for Mclaren?

The more I look at the Mclaren, the more I like it. I think it generally just looks 'right'. I think they've come up with the most elegant nose solution so far. If you look at the sidepod inlets, you can actually notice that they've very slightly assymetric. Just one example of the neat details on the car.

Besides the front noses, the teams are also all trying different tricks at the mandatory central rear exhaust exit and 'monkey seat' area, in an attempt to get the airflow to 'talk' and link up with the rear diffuser. In essence, they're trying to replicate the effect of the lower beam wing which has been removed for this year.

Are there any side views of the new Mclaren. I've only seen end on ones so far?

I can't help feeling that the main ugliness - which is odd, since it is an area generally, if it looks good, it works well - is in the front wing... all the levels, steps, discontinuities, end plates, vortex management and so on. On none of the cars does it look good.

I'm not convinced by the aero as part of the package. There is no doubt that it works; if the car has more downforce then it has more sideways. But it's not an area that has any relevance outside a racetrack: it doesn't work at road speeds to any extent and by definition it's massively draggy.

Now they've obviously done the maths and concluded that the fuel cost and the top speed limit from the wing is worth the faster time around a corner... but I can't help feeling that there's a case to be made to limit the front wing to a single non-deformable layer with limited size end plates. Perhaps the back wing as well, though that's less convoluted.

Even if longer lap times result, it would have the effect of slowing much sooner/longer into a corner at which you have arrived more quickly and might even allow some overtaking.

Well, it's test day and all the other teams are showing their cars off. Lets start with Force India


Here is Mercedes


Next up, Red Bull


Now Toro Rosso

The Red Bull nose (perhaps unsurprisingly) looks the most elegant, though the Merc isn't bad either. What's with the handlebars on the Merc...?

Live text coverage here:

http://live.autosport.com/commentary.php/id/691

I actually laughed when I saw the Force India!!

Cheers Jim.

I've also renamed the thread, since it really isn't closed season anymore.

Shame there is no testing coverage on Sky this year, although there is an evening roundup.

Some interesting stuff. Red bulls design is very different and I wonder if the solid middle bit makes the difference in getting air flow around the wheels. The Force India looks ridiculous, shame they are not sponsored by Durex as product placement would be so easy.

Back of the Merc is interesting as are the camera pods up on stalks.

So... does the car with the highest power have the smallest willy?

Is the rear wing on the Merc much higher than last year?

The on-track picture makes it look so but the static shots of the other cars look normal (it's taken me this long to notice the rest of the car).

Sounds like Hamilton has just binned it on Turn 1, oopsie!

Damn that ferrari is ugly. Definitely the red bull wins in the looks stakes.

I wouldn't be so sure, the way the car has been photographed and paint job, helps hide the nose looks

And here is Caterham's take on the whole front nose!

Caterham takes first prize for original take on the regs!

I see Lewis tried to reshape his this morning - Caterhams does look interesting....

It's certainly less phallic.

Hmmm, noses.... I predict a 'rule clarification' before too long that deals with how fugly they all are. Although tricky as it's such an integral crash structure/aero part. Adrian Newey is already talking about safety issues with them (possibly because Red Bull have gone 'safe' and not produced a hideous pointy thing and he's worried they've missed a trick??)

Also, why the heck are there no decent videos on the Sky website? A 15 second badly shot, virtually silent clip of Hamilton's crash isn't cutting it. I mean, it's not like I don't pay enough for their bloody coverage!!

Look on youtube. A few bites on there. Would love to type stuff about today, but got lessons to plan for tomorrow.

Mclaren didn't run today, due to hydraulic and electrical installation problems. As in, 'why isn't it all fitting together properly?'.

Lewis crash into turn 1.

Lewis fly-by

Kimi (low revs)

On more pressing F1 related news. The BBC have confirmed that Suzy Perry will be fronting their coverage again this season, yet they let Gary Anderson go.

On the upside, they have brought in Allan McNish for the whole season (great!), but for Radio 5 Live.

The mind boggles......

Looking at the Red Bull, in it's current configuration it looks extremely plain, especially at the rear.

It's a safe bet that by the end of the next Bahrain test, they rock up with a totally new aero package, leaving their rivals with less time to take inspiration i.e. copy from it.

Yep......its different!


Looks like they ran out of paper and had to 'tack a bit on the front'

I actually quite like it when someone produces something drastically so different in design.
Be interesting to see how it compares!
The nose lengths compared to the complexity and sizes of the 2014 front wings make it look like they could fall off at any time........

Nah, they got a work experience student in to design them a front nose!

This is interesting though, as to why some cars haven't got the dolphin / pencil nose.

Oh day 2 live commentary is here and it's the wet testing day today, rather than Friday as previously scheduled.

Here's a question: why do smaller engines, with more heat energy recovery, and with less fuel available to burn, require more cooling? Surely more of the energy in the fuel is being converted into motion, making the engine (theoretically) more efficient... and therefore with less waste heat to dispose of.

Well, I can only guess that the turbo exhaust housing will get hotter than a N/A engine exhaust heads would get, on top of that, they need intercoolers for the turbo's, so they need more cooling for that, rather than normally just having the oil and gearbox coolers, along with the radiators.

I think one of the biggest issues with the ERS-K (as we now have to call it) system is cooling. Whether in the charging or discharging phase, I know not. Add the other heat ERS system and (as Begbie rightly points out) the turbos and you have a lot of heat to get rid of. F1 designers (especially Newey) always want to package as tightly as possible, and don't really want all that pesky air going through the radiators when it could be working at generating downforce.

The side pods for all the cars are a standard design (One Red Bull designed for the teams). They are bigger and structurally stronger than last years for the safety and cooling reasons.

Eh? Are you sure about that, Bockers? There is much talk about the Ferrari and Sauber side pods being slimmer; I've not heard anything about a "standard" one...?

From the live feed on autosport:

10:29 Big pitlane news this morning is McLaren confirming it has signed ex-Lotus boss Eric Boullier, but it's not a straightforward 'new team boss' deal...

The McLaren press release in full:

'McLaren Racing is pleased to announce that Eric Boullier has been appointed to the position of Racing Director, effective Monday February 3rd.

Eric is one of the most capable trackside leaders in Formula 1. He has played the central role in Lotus F1 Team’s recent successes, and brings with him extensive single-seater motorsport experience, having worked in senior positions in World Series by Nissan and A1 Grand Prix before moving up to Formula 1.

Working with Jonathan Neale (Chief Operating Officer) and his senior management colleagues within McLaren Racing, Eric will ultimately report to the Chief Executive Officer of McLaren Racing, an all-new position, whose yet-to-be-appointed occupant will in turn report directly to Ron Dennis (Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, McLaren Group).

Until such time as a Chief Executive Officer of McLaren Racing has been appointed, Jonathan Neale will be acting in that role.

Eric Boullier said:

“First of all, I regard this appointment as an honour, a privilege and a wonderful opportunity.

“The McLaren Racing workforce and the facilities at the McLaren Technology Centre are world-class, and I’m hugely excited about the prospect of joining such an outstanding team.

“I’m both eager and determined to play an active part, working alongside McLaren Racing’s other senior managers and directors, within a new operational structure, to bring about the changes that will deliver success.

“Last, I want to take this opportunity to assure the McLaren Racing workforce that I’m utterly determined to match their famous passion and commitment to win.”

Ron Dennis said:

“Eric’s appointment is an integral part of a senior management restructure within McLaren Racing.

“I’ve already personally conveyed to the entire workforce of the McLaren Group, which includes McLaren Racing, the values, principles and mindset that I intend us all to adopt, going forward. My intention is that from now on everyone at McLaren Racing will understand their responsibilities and accountabilities, focusing on their specific areas of expertise, in keeping with those values, principles and mindset.

“In due course we’ll announce the identity of McLaren Racing’s new Chief Executive Officer, who’ll report to me, and to whom Eric will report.

“I’m firmly of the belief that, once McLaren Racing’s restructured senior management team has been assembled, together we’ll begin the march back to full competitiveness, quickly and professionally, harnessing the fantastic depth of talent that exists within our organisation.”

I know, maybe it was dropped? It was certainly part of the changes outlined by the Sky F1 team in early december.

Referenced here:-
http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2013/07/new-side-impact-system-to-be-used-in-formula-1-from-2014/

They sound fantastic!
I thought they might sound a bit pants but the V6 sounds great.

From the little I've heard, there's a hard, metallic rasp to the noise. Very brutal and quite exciting. I'm sure we'll get used to it!

For the bits that I heard on Ted's notebook (Sky only) they sounded alright, but there wasn't really a shot of the car on full chat, although you could hear Raikkonen getting wheel spin in 2nd or 3rd gear after coming out of the last corner onto the main straight.

I think I've read that the torque compared with previous configurations is massive - one reason for Pirelli's doubts about the wheel/tyre size - which presumably might explain the wheelspin.

Have been roaming around a few F1 sites and it seems Gary Anderson is now part of the Autosport team this year so the BBC have lost a technical analyst who should have been retained in my opinion given so much change this season.
Gary, has picked up on some interesting aero parts at the rear of the McLaren car which may give them extra down force.
It seems the Caterham nose has now been dubbed the "gonzo" mobile and you can see the likeness. Must admit to wishing their was some live coverage rather than just this text update service!

No more running for the Red Bull today. It doesn't look that rosy in the Renault engine camp at the moment!

Here is the story Cooperman mentions about the extra downforce

Well, at least the McLaren turned up and ran, which some were doubting. However, I seem to remember Button topped the timesheets at last year's first tests and that didn't quite work out...

Interesting theory here from Joe Saward. Sainsburys' Big Cheese to lead F1 or possibly McLaren...?

The only thing which has been standardised for the sidepods are the deformable tube-like crash structures, which are placed inside the bodywork towards the top leading edge of the sidepods. The teams developments in this area were all converging on the same technical solution, so the sensible thing to do was to make it a spec part for 2014 to save costs.

Apart from these crash structures, the teams still have a free reign on the design of their sidepods.

Yeah, the 2014 powertrains (we can't call them engines anymore) have far more torque, as the old 2.4l V8s hardly had any! The ERS power boost is far more powerful this year and you obviously get instant maximum torque from zero revs. The V6 engine alone will also have a lot more torque than the old V8s.

Hearing the Ferrari exiting the slow, final hairpin yesterday was an eye opener. Listening to the revs, you could hear the turbo V6s output being subtly modulated by the MGUs output. It almost sounded like the car was running a CVT. The strategy of using the MGU output to provide the torque 'punch' out of traction heavy corners, will be essential to the teams if they don't want to run out of fuel in the race.

I'm already used to the sound of the new cars and I actually quite like it. Also, the different powertrains sound different between manufacturers too - praise be!

Mclaren were certainly impressive today. Despite losing all of yesterday, Jenson seemed comfortable right out of the box, very quickly getting down to the fastest times from yesterday and then blowing them away. If Jenson is comfortable with the car, then it's a sign that it is intrisically well balanced. Rosberg in the Merc was also very impressive, even to the point of doing a 21 lap stint, which was only cut short by a red flag.

Early days, but I'm happy that Jenson and Mclaren seem to have a solid and reliable base to build on. The car doesn't seem to be a dog. The Mercedes seems as well sorted as the rumour mill were saying. Hang on, which two drivers have I put a fiver on for this year?

As for Red Bull....shame they seem to be having more problems than most.

It will be nice to see JB in a sorted car this year.

Mclaren press release of todays running, with Jenson pretty uch summing up my own comments. He is also in the car tomorrow morning with Magnussen due to take over in the afternoon. Jenson was originally only scheduled to run yesterday and today.

Nice youtube clip of the new engine sounds. Bear in mind that all of the 2014 cars will be running reduced revs at the moment.

Gary Anderson article on the trick Mclaren rear suspension. Couldn't see the details on the launch pictures, so here are a couple of good pics. It certainly explains why the team isn't running encapsulated half-shafts like other teams.

Sad side note, two McLaren staff were killed today on a car accident on the roundabout outside the Woking headquarters.

That's awful news.

How long until the F14 T will be nicknamed the FIAT?

About one this morning, at a guess...

I remember going to Brands in the 80's when the Turbos were last around - think they were 1.5 litre. The noise was awesome back then...... Recall being rather close to Michele Alboreto's Fezza when it blew its Turbo - It was the day of Mansells' first win. The bang made me jump about 3ft in the air....

Autosport live link not working for some. Here's another way in:

http://live.autosport.com/commentary.php/id/693

I wonder if Ron's McLaren coup came a few weeks too early?

They're looking to be in good shape now with some solid running.

By comparison has Eric Boullier's old outfit got any track time in yet?

Lotus bailed out of this test some weeks ago, skinflint, but the same question could be asked of all the Renault-engined runners.

It's too early to be any more than an inconvenience, but I should imagine Red Bull are a bit frustrated.

The Autosport website is claiming it is an issue with the electronic controls RBR has linking up to the Renault powertrain.

And that appears to be born out by RBs admission that todays issues (they have packed up for the day early) are their making and not Renaults.

Indeed, with Renault engineers not being too happy with what RB have done with the packaging. Yesterday it was turbo's catching on fire, today it's, well, anything you read or want to believe

I didn't realise Button had been suffering from fitness issues. Apparently he had a knee infection that prevented him exercising to keep his weight down. Thought he was looking a bit like a big, fat lard-arse. Not.

Red Bull have packed their bags and are going home early. Not a great start to the 2014 season for them.

Meanwhile, Rosberg has finished for the day and handed over to Hamilton for the remainder of the day. Have to say the Merc is looking very reliable.

Most of the F1 journos seemed impressed with young Magnussen in the McLaren yesterday. He certainly seemed to settle in very quickly.

F1 needs more fighters and Shark wrestlers!

All interesting stuff... Is the Merc too reliable? You would expect problems or else maybe it's over engineered. Of course Red Bull are the other extreme which does sweeten the mix for the season start.

Yes - the old quote about making a fast car reliable is easier than making a reliable car fast.

I'd wager a very large amount of money that the Mercedes is fast as well as reliable.

Red Bull's issues today were of a new mechanical problem. I'd guess that they were having gearbox issues, as it was rumoured that they have been having problems making theirs strong enough to cope with the greater torque, while still hitting the demanding specs that Newey and co have demanded for the car.

I read the Red Bull had bee having drivetrain vibration issues as well as overheating. Looks like the are really needing to do some serious work to put the issues right. I think the first 3-4 race could be a real mixed bag of results for the teams.

Just picking up on this, Jenson smashed everyone in the opening day of testing last year, but it was due to a error made during the build-up of the car at the circuit. Basically, the team installed some suspension components upside down, meaning that the car was running much lower and producing loads of downforce. But the car would never be able to run in that spec in the race with a full fuel load.

Expanding (see what I did there?) on this; yeah, the ERS-K (or MGU-K), ERS-H (or MGU-H), energy storage units (batteries), electronic control modules and all associated cabling needs to be air-cooled.

Looking at the MGU-K in isolation; it is harvesting kinetic energy under braking from the rear axle, the KE is converted to DC electrical current which is then converted to AC for storage in the batteries. On discharging, the AC is converted back to DC to power the MGU-K, which outputs 120kW (160bhp) into the crankshaft of the V6 engine for 33seconds of the lap. This process of harvesting, conversion and discharge is constantly occuring corner after corner, lap after lap.

THEN, you have to factor in the additional MGU-H, which can harvest an unlimited amount of recovered energy from the spinning turbo compressor under braking. Again, you still have to go through the energy conversion processes back and forth, just like you have to with the MGU-K. Except, energy generated by the MGU-H can either be fed back to the turbo compressor wheel shaft to spool it up to eliminate turbo lag, OR it can be fed to the MGU-K to supplement the 160kW the latter is already outputting to the crankshalf to power the wheels.

To sum it up, you have a huge amount of energy being shunted around the massiely complex electrical systems of the car and in an ideal world, you would want big, thick, chunky cables with a high capacitance and low resistance to handle it all. However, with it being F1, you want to run as thin a cable as possible to minimise weight and improve packaging, but this generates a lot of heat together with the batteries etc. One team has reported that they have to use no less than thirty four separate electronic boxes to control the 2014 powertrains and all them run hot and require cooling.

The 1.6 turbo V6s actually produce less heat than the old 2.4l V8s, so the water radiators for them will be small. However, you have to remember that they have to run huge intercoolers now to go with them. Typically teams will have one of the sidepods completely full of intercooler and the ERS radiator and the other side with the engine and gearbox radiator. If you look at the Mclaren front-on, you can see that the right sidepod inlet is a smidge larger than the left one.

Interesting. I wonder if 'drivetrain vibration issues' is engineering speak for 'the gearbox is being destroyed due to it being too fragile'?

Dennis, I think you might have the AC and DCs upside down, or at least in the wrong place.

Batteries want DC and they're pretty fussy about how they get it. Too many volts or amps at the wrong time and you're dealing with a lithium fire... nasty nasty nasty.

Power is proportional to current squared, so you want as little current as you can get to use as thin (i.e. as light) a cable as you can get away with. The way to do that is to do it the same way as the national grid - very high voltages.

Whether the necessary conversion devices - effectively, lots of switched-mode power supplies - are sufficiently light and sufficiently efficient (95% efficiency at 120kW is still 6kW to lose as heat) to be worth doing I don't know... I do know that if I were designing this I'd be looking at high voltage low current systems - perhaps 400V rather than the 12V you might find in a coupe - just to get the weight of the cable down.

Agree barnacle: you'd normally want to generate in AC too as I believe it's more efficient (hence alternators and not dynamos in modern cars). What I'm not sure about is whether you'd then want to convert back to AC for motors - I don't remember the different characteristics of the two motor types - though I thought DC were generally the better for low-rev torque (not much use in an F1 car). If it's regenerative you're using an AC motor as a regenerative alternator.

Sorry, got my AC/DC the wrong way around. Doh. I was very tired. You're the man when it comes to electronics barnacle, not me.

Not sure about the Ferrari or Mercedes, but the Renault powertrain MGUs are definitely generating in AC, being stored as DC and then being converted back again on discharge.

At work we used a thing called a variable speed drive which is supposed to make AC motors run more efficiently.
I'd guess there would also be better control, less weight, fewer moving parts and lower losses by driving the motor with AC.

Never realised how many complicated systems / components were involved in this new seasons cars until recently. I can almost see Christian Horners nervous foot twitching at a rate of knots even he may overheat given RB's issues. Are we getting to a point where there drivers ability to cope with adapting to the technology is becoming more of a factor?

Never has it been more true what Martin Brundle says about F1 drivers being heat management engineers. Turbos have just upped the ante in that respect...

Yes, an alternator generates in AC but it's regulated and rectified in the unit (on a road car). A car dynamo *also* generates in AC but it does it in alternate coils and the commutator sorts it out. AC and DC are all really a bit vague when you're talking about generators and motors; the most efficient motors are switched DC which is, when you think about it, AC. Most motors are AC purely because we deliver the mains in AC, and we do that so we can use transformers to step up the voltage to hundreds of kV - though now they're starting to use DC-DC converters to transmit high voltage DC which is about a third more efficient on the same cable.

I note in passing that 120kW at 400V is 300A - that's still a pretty fat cable! If only they still used steel chassis parts... hmm, how about room temperature superconductors? They'd be handy. There's some in the store-room, right next to the unobtanium.

If I was Mark Webber, I'd be having a chuckle to myself about Red Bull's woes

I believe the v6's can suffer from torque harmonics. This can cause undesirable torque oscillations which... By the sound of it have over torqued the RB gearbox.

I understood about 50% of this.

Sorry... just saying high power motors and generators are weird.

This is an interesting article from F1 Fanatic about what happens when an F1 driver floors the throttle. Not necessarily what you think...

Computer says "no"

Or in simplistic terms:


I do wonder if there was a typo or a bad translation, as the story says:


Also, in other news, a change for 2014 qualifying? http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/112434

My eyesight isn't quite good enough to read that diagram, but it seems to cover the various MGU's of the PU!

I think the mistake will be a typo (or autocorrect!).

I did try to find a larger image, as this image was used on Ted's notebook with a Renault engineer, but it explains what happens with the MGU's when they brake and accelerate

Confirmation of a Williams title-sponsor deal with Martini:

Autosport article

The article also details sponsorship deals with Genworth Insurance and Petrobras, so could the money flow like the Martini and bring the good times back to Williams? That would be brilliant - imagine Massa competing with Alonso without team orders.

Sorry, imagination running away...

Anytime, any place, anywhere...

Second pre-season test has started in Bahrain. Text coverage on Autosport Live.

I really hope Ferrari have a good year, otherwise the F14T jokes will all come out.

No Red Bull so far

Yeah, but for all the media faff, you know what Red Bull are like. They'll probably get no pre-season running, then stick it on pole in Melbourne...

Apparently, Red Bull have taken two solutions to Bahrain, to try and solve their cooling issues. They don't know if either of them will work. Toro Rosso are having battery issues, keeping them in the garage. Which is exactly the problem the Renault powertrains were having in Jerez.

Yeah, its reminding me of Nigel Mansell's first race for Ferrari back in 1990. The car wouldn't run for more than a handful of laps in testing, with it's semi-auto gearbox. But then he goes and wins the opening race in Brazil.

There is no mistaking that Red Bull really are on the back foot though. It's not quite panic stations yet, but it's getting close.

What... you don't mean... there could be some *racing* this year?

Let's not get ahead of ourselves!

Hulkenberg has beaten the fastest time of last season's Bahrain test...

Looks like Vettel's stopped on track after 10 laps. They seem to be close to the pace.

It could be said that Red Bull are really "on fire" this afternoon.

Well, Red Bull finally got a decent number of laps in the bag. Posted a decent time, considering today was really a shakedown for them. There doesn't seem to be much wrong with the car speed-wise at least.

They'll be mighty relieved just to put a few miles on the car.

Jenson has got engaged to his long time girlfriend Jessica. After the death of his father, I thought he might. Good lad.

Red Bull only got 28 laps done today due to a new mechanical problem.

As someone said yesterday (Vergne, I think) - the McLaren and Mercedes are quick, whatever tyres or fuel load they are using. Force India and Sauber are also looking in good nick, with Williams and Lotus looking like they have potential. Tough as ever for the lower-order teams. Red Bull and Toro Rosso must be getting a little frustrated, even if they aren't yet worried. Good news for Button on and off the track.

Forgot Ferrari: car looks pretty quick and neatly packaged and apparently needs less cooling than other power units, allowing sleaker body. But a few niggles are still hampering testing.

Force India and Sauber are a bit of an unknown in my opinion and Williams look to be in better shape than both of them, which I'm very happy to say. Sauber have a big aero package (almost a B-spec car) coming for the last test, but I personally think Williams would make a good bet for a podium in Melbourne. Lotus are still a complete mystery as they've yet to do a decent number of laps and they have lost a lot of good people jumping ship to other teams, with a fair few of them finding homes at Williams.

Yeah, Ferrari do look quite good, but they are around 0.2sec per lap slower at least than Mercedes and Mclaren on a race simulation run. I pointed out at the cars launch that it had noticeably smaller rad inlets, indicating that the Ferrari powertrain requires less cooling. The Sauber uses the same powertrain and they also have reletively small inlets too.

The pace of the Mercedes has been really impressive so far. Especially when you consider that it hasn't yet got anything really trick at the rear of the car like the Williams or Mclaren. I would expect most teams to adopt the Williams solution rather than Mclaren's, as the latter will require a hell of lot of work to retro fit.

I've been looking more into the Mclaren's trick rear suspension and it's really, really clever, especially as it drops drag as speed increases, by opening up the slot gap between the 'bell-shaped' rear wishbone arms. What none of the tech articles have picked up on so far though, is that in medium and high speed corners, a certain amount of 'drag steer' effect will be induced. It's obviously a secondary effect, but still worth having.

I think I would put my money on a Mercedes at the moment. RBR apparently running about 150bhp down on other power units. At least it will give a finger some rest this year!

A 1:33.2 from Rosberg in the Mercedes this morning. Hell's teeth...

Only 15 laps from Red Bull today. If it wasn't panic stations after Jerez, I think it's safe to say that is no longer the case. They (together with Lotus) have now lost two thirds of their entire preseason testing having done almost no meaningful running. Meanwhile, Mercedes and Mclaren are pumping in full race simulations. Although Rosberg caused two red flags today, so the Mercedes still looks slightly fragile.

Sauber, Toro Rosso and Force India have all had big reliability problems today.

And Kimi ends the day with a spin and has beached his car.

Slightly scary pace from Rosberg in the Mercedes today. I wonder if it was the first time the Mercedes powertrain has been ran at full power.

How does that compare with historical times?

Rosberg's 2013 Bahrain pole position time was 1min 32.330secs. The 2014 cars are actually looking quicker than last years.

Very interesting!

Some weird looks and noises..........

Testing footage

Someone stuck a sword through the Ferrari at 0:55...

I love the noise!
They sound like proper old school f1 cars.
It would be good to see a return to form for Williams and hopefully Caterham can bag a couple of points too.

4 more days of Bahrain testing starting Thursday. That doesn't leave the teams much time to sort anything.

I believe the engine development must stop soon too and builds frozen. How does this work with e new engine supplier joining, as Honda will be doing next year. I find all this freezing of specs rather stupid, isn't F1 supposed to be the pinnacle of engine technology and developments. Let them continue to drive development I say. All this cost saving stuff is a joke, how on earth do you regulate it.

Bernie takes all their budget, and then gives them back a million a week pocket money.

The answer is that unless you freeze engine development, there will be an all-out arms race, with only the top teams able to compete. Customer engine deals (already hard to ensure parity of information, etc) would become multi-tiered and uncompetitive. The costs of unfettered development would drive many manufacturers away and most teams out of the sport. It seems - and is - artificial, but then it is up to the teams to find other loopholes and ways to gain a competitive advantage. It's ingenuity engineering.

As for enforcement, that will come down to forensic accounting and really shouldn't be too hard. Hopefully it won't cost as much as the development it is designed to stop!

Ferrari lose Smoggy Smedley to Williams...

C'mon Felipe baby!

Good news for Williams.
I hope he and the other newcomers can make it a much better year for the team.

Interesting bit of background; one can only hope for better days...

Nigel Roebuck on the demise of FOTA

Some interesting reading on that site.

There is. I didn't used to like Mark Hughes' writing, but he has done some good stuff for Motorsport.

Just been reading the Bahrain test summary on the BBC website.
Apparently Lotus are "happy with the pace of the car".
It's 8 seconds off the pace .

Rumours that Renault are asking for a delay to today's homologation deadline...

Yes - given Renault's previous stance on this and subsequent issues, I think this will be very contentious...

I think they will be fine. It is in no ones interests to have an engine manufacturer disadvantaged. It's not as if there are loads knocking at the door to supply to F1.

Well, it's not the first time Renault has asked for leeway on modifying their engines. They were granted dispensation during the V8 engine freeze to increase performance, as they took the development freeze too literally, compared to Mercedes and Ferrari.

No doubt, the extension request will be centred on reliability and I'm sure that Ferrari and Mercedes won't have an issue with it. It's in the sports best interests to have three competative powertrains.

The pace from Red Bull today was pretty impressive, when you consider that they're more than a whole test behind in terms of understanding their car and they've had to butcher holes into their bodywork just to get any running at all.

Seeing the Red Bull on track, it's amazing to see how much rake they're still able to run with compared to everyone else. In recent seasons, they've been able to run with huge amounts of rake due to their greater understanding of exhaust blown diffusers. So it's very puzzling to see that they can still run with more rake than anyone else, despite EBDs being effectively outlawed.

Mclaren, Mercedes and Force India have all had gearbox issues in recent testing, with Williams being the only Merc users not to suffer any such problems. The Williams is reported to be a bit handy, speed wise - what chance a win in Melbourne?

I wonder if it's significant that the Mercedes runners have had more problems later in the testing programme. Rosberg's engine is being replaced as a precaution this morning due to wear on certain components. The power unit has done over 2000km, so a significant proportion of its expected 4-race lifespan.

Possibly, as the the teams will be keen to see just how long each component of the powertrain survives. Especially as they only have five sets of them to last the season. They will also be turning the wick right up in the search for performance in this last test.

It also seems as though Renault didn't ask for a homologation deadline extension in the end.

Looks like yesterday was a false dawn for Red Bull. Vettel hasn't completed a lap yet, with over half of the day gone.

Williams looking very good - Red Bull looking in big trouble.

Dreadful day for Red Bull. Hard to see how they will complete the race in Melbourne, never mind be at all competitive.

Williams are looking strong, as we're Force India earlier in the week. McLaren seem ok, but lacking ultimate pace. Although of course we might not have seen them try a full-on qualifying simulation yet.

Are Williams still using their flywheel-based ERS-K or are they now running a conventional setup?

Think I may be seeing some happy Williams team drivers this year, Red Bull must be scratching their heads as Caterham rack up some serious laps with the same lump. Maybe they are just pushing it too far too hard. If they trying to make up a power deficit as some are suggesting they are likely to take a few races to catch up, if they can that is.

Please let a lower team be sand bagging and redbull be genuinely shit! It'll make for a great season opening! Be Braun all over again!

Nobody will be sandbagging in testing There is just simply too much to do and things to test to distruction to waste time sandbagging. The Red Bull will be quick, as long as it can hold together. The problem is though, development will be spent on reliability where other teams will be making their cars faster. Lotus are also in deep trouble too. They've endured a worse time than even Red Bull.

Williams have never actually used their flywheel KERS in F1. They have always used batteries instead. Their flywheel system has instead been used by Audi in their R18 e-tron Le-Mans cars and by Porsche in their 911 GT3RS race cars.

The reason Caterham are generally able to rack up laps with their Renault powertrain is because their packaging is very conservative compared to the Lotus and especially the Red Bull. It is dog slow though.

A bad day for Mclaren so far today. Very little running done and Mercedes also had an gearbox issue this morning. The Mclaren is lacking downforce, but is still running in it's launch spec with little to no upgrades at all seen on the car, which is surprising for them. Vettel has been battling issues all day, but at least is getting some laps done.

Williams are looking to be in very good shape in terms of pace and reliability. They have really come to the fore in this last test, which is great to see. They have recruited a lot of good people in the last year, the switch to Mercedes power was inspired and the demise of the coanda exhausts will also really benefit them. I can't wait to see the car in it's Martini livery. Force India are looking quite good too.

Finally, big kudos to Marussia. The car looks to be a neat thing and has some decent pace.

I'm increasingly concerned and disappointed that McLaren seem to be going backwards quickly after a promising start. Nonetheless, I hope they will pick up some pace - Button said that they probably wouldn't bring any or all their upgrades to this test, which is disappointing but therefore not surprising.
Still excellent to see Williams and a couple of the other less fashionable teams doing so well.

Didn't know the flywheel KERS never made it into F1, must have taken my eye off the technology ball!

Would never have expected to see that comment in the 90s!

Joe Saward is reporting that Mark Webber will make a series of films about F1 for the BBC this year. The BBC hasn't mentioned it yet on its F1 page...

Indeed, but as fashions come and go, I hope it is Williams' turn once again.

Me too. I love Williams' independent spirit and it's been agonising watching them struggle against the might of the manufacturer-backed teams for the past decade.

Williams Martini Racing is confirmed. Nice, subtle but distinctive livery. Sadly unlike the repulsive drink, but you can't have everything!

Martini livery is without doubt one of the coolest. Hell, I even tried to drink some once to look cool.

You have to love Martini if only for their ongoing support of motorsport.

Just for old times sake -

That delta and the F1 car look cool as f00k!

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/sport/sport-headlines/mordor-grand-prix-announced-2014030684354

Coincidentally there's a Martini racing exhibition going on at the Haag right now I've just seen in the KLM in-flight mag. The Grale of course features in the ad.

I know there aren't many Lewis fans on here (for some reason :s) but I like him and he is a true race enthusiast. he just loves the racing and I thought his last post on facebook was revealing

I'd like to see him do well this season

Am a Lewis fan also and hope he does well this season. I suspect we will see lots of smoke, fire extinguishers and yellow flags but hopefully not for a Mercedes car. Really looking forward to seeing how RBR cope with the troubles and maybe Williams in the top 6.

I'm no fan of Hamilton but I agree with his comments regarding overtaking and different race winners.

Hopefully with the huge changes we'll see all of the above.

Would like to see Nico whip him

For anyone who hasn't seen it, this is a bit of fun. I did it last season and it's surprising how accurate you can be one race and how hopeless the next. Will be harder this year without having Vettel as a shoo-in for race win, pole and fastest lap!

Castrol GP Predictor game

Time for the Autralian Grand Prix Thread?

Go on then...

I find it worrying that McLaren don't have a main sponsor at the start of the season. Ron says one is in the pipeline but why would they lose the opportunity of the first eagerly awaited races?

F1 season preview on BBC Red Button right now!

Also, Melbourne qualifying is being shown live on Sky 1, Saturday 5am.

For those who want a lie in, green light is at 6am

F1 season preview available on www.grandprixplus.com for subscribers. First year on there as we don't get Sky and BBC will be a bit less than last year I think.