McLaren Tech Director, Paddy Lowe said the following at the launch of the new car yesterday. What does it mean?
"There's still is a very narrow extent to which you can use exhaust gas to generate performance, but it's much, much reduced from last year. Inevitably we've been looking at ways to make the most out of that in the face of the new constraints."
How? What? Where? Does anyone know? Can someone enlighten me?
Thursday, February 2, 2012
"Ist Lewis ein Feigling?"
German F1 fans were delighted yesterday when Hamo tweeted from the launch of the new McLaren that he'd try to take a "sneaky pic" but were waiting for ages for Lewis to take the snap. When it finally emerged a "sneaky Pic" was all it was.
Hamo had taken his tweet literally and had sneaked up behind the new car to snap the photo when it wasn't looking!
Copyright Lewis Hamilton - Twitter pic
"Ist Lewis ein Feigling?" asked one disappointed German follower "Er hätte ein Foto von der Front nehmen können aber er hat von gefangen zu werden durch Ron erschrocken. Wir wissen, dass Diffusoren so verboten sind, gibt es nichts, an der Rückseite zu sehen"
Hamo had taken his tweet literally and had sneaked up behind the new car to snap the photo when it wasn't looking!
Copyright Lewis Hamilton - Twitter pic
"Ist Lewis ein Feigling?" asked one disappointed German follower "Er hätte ein Foto von der Front nehmen können aber er hat von gefangen zu werden durch Ron erschrocken. Wir wissen, dass Diffusoren so verboten sind, gibt es nichts, an der Rückseite zu sehen"
Ferrari No to Winter Races - No to F1 Snow Tyres!
In alternate news:
Following on from the PR success of Red Bull's Himalayan hill climb Ferrari have made a categorical statement that they will pull out of F1 for good if their cars are required to race on snow. The unsurprising decision was made following secret testing of specially made Hancook snow tyres on a new "drone" 2012 F1 challenger.
Tifosi peeking over the fence at the track yesterday said that the new car managed to make it to the hairpin 2nd bend before a catastrophic wipeout claimed the entire chassis with only the drivers cell surviving. The "drone" was allegedly being driven from Felipe Massa's PS3.
It is not unexpected therefore that Ferrari have cancelled tomorrow's planned car launch.
Copyright of Ferrari
The Fiorano Circuit is famous for being able to recreate wet conditions for the purpose of testing however, until now nobody realised they could also carpet the track in snow.
Bernie, as usual, was bullish stating that if rally fans could enjoy seeing their heroes racing on snow and ice there was no reason that F!, the pinnacle of motorsport, shouldn't provide fans with the same spectacle.
The official Ferrari statement read:
"There was no let up from the snow last night, which continued to fall on Maranello and the surrounding area and the situation does not appear to be changing this morning," Ferrari said on its official website. "The forecast is still bad both in terms of predictions of more snow fall and of a further drop in temperature.
"Therefore, the decision has been taken to cancel the presentation ceremony for the new car, which was to have taken place at 10.30 tomorrow. The decision was taken because of the weather conditions and because of the difficulties that would have faced the 300 or so people due to attend from the team partners, the authorities and representatives of the media in their attempts to get to Maranello."
No mention of the secret and embarrassing test was made which is not surprising, given the fact that nobody is sure whether or not the use of a "drone" car breaches testing rules.
Following on from the PR success of Red Bull's Himalayan hill climb Ferrari have made a categorical statement that they will pull out of F1 for good if their cars are required to race on snow. The unsurprising decision was made following secret testing of specially made Hancook snow tyres on a new "drone" 2012 F1 challenger.
Tifosi peeking over the fence at the track yesterday said that the new car managed to make it to the hairpin 2nd bend before a catastrophic wipeout claimed the entire chassis with only the drivers cell surviving. The "drone" was allegedly being driven from Felipe Massa's PS3.
It is not unexpected therefore that Ferrari have cancelled tomorrow's planned car launch.
Copyright of Ferrari
The Fiorano Circuit is famous for being able to recreate wet conditions for the purpose of testing however, until now nobody realised they could also carpet the track in snow.
Bernie, as usual, was bullish stating that if rally fans could enjoy seeing their heroes racing on snow and ice there was no reason that F!, the pinnacle of motorsport, shouldn't provide fans with the same spectacle.
The official Ferrari statement read:
"There was no let up from the snow last night, which continued to fall on Maranello and the surrounding area and the situation does not appear to be changing this morning," Ferrari said on its official website. "The forecast is still bad both in terms of predictions of more snow fall and of a further drop in temperature.
"Therefore, the decision has been taken to cancel the presentation ceremony for the new car, which was to have taken place at 10.30 tomorrow. The decision was taken because of the weather conditions and because of the difficulties that would have faced the 300 or so people due to attend from the team partners, the authorities and representatives of the media in their attempts to get to Maranello."
No mention of the secret and embarrassing test was made which is not surprising, given the fact that nobody is sure whether or not the use of a "drone" car breaches testing rules.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Let's Go 2012
I'm going to Silverstone this year - a birthday pressie from my best mate (though any mate who gives you GP tickets as a pressie is at least elevated to the ranks of "very good"). Last year we went to Spa and, while he didn't lose his shirt, everything else was nicked on Friday night from the tent. A valuable lesson of which he will be aware come July.
I've been to Silverstone for testing - remember testing - and have great memories of the track, the pits and the paddock, as well as the accessibility to the drivers. Backstage passes are always cherished but I think they'll be outside the boundaries of my circle of influence (Not to mind the paypacket).
No Worries - I'm well happy with GA and look forward to seeing the new layout in the flesh (so to speak).
I won't get to see all of the races live this year, unless someone can persuade Sky to make it free to air, so it'll be highlights only for at least half. I haven't looked at which races are live on the Beeb so can't grumble too much yet. But those of you who've been reading my rants last year know how I feel about the whole bad business.
To Luca (who is an avid reader of this Blog) and to all may it be a great season, with great Tam ratings everywhere but the UK and Ireland, and may we see all of the races on BBC next season.
Martin B - I'm afraid I had to relegate you on my twitter widget - I understand your desire but, unfortunately, as I'm not using sky sports you are falling off my radar too.
I've been to Silverstone for testing - remember testing - and have great memories of the track, the pits and the paddock, as well as the accessibility to the drivers. Backstage passes are always cherished but I think they'll be outside the boundaries of my circle of influence (Not to mind the paypacket).
No Worries - I'm well happy with GA and look forward to seeing the new layout in the flesh (so to speak).
I won't get to see all of the races live this year, unless someone can persuade Sky to make it free to air, so it'll be highlights only for at least half. I haven't looked at which races are live on the Beeb so can't grumble too much yet. But those of you who've been reading my rants last year know how I feel about the whole bad business.
To Luca (who is an avid reader of this Blog) and to all may it be a great season, with great Tam ratings everywhere but the UK and Ireland, and may we see all of the races on BBC next season.
Martin B - I'm afraid I had to relegate you on my twitter widget - I understand your desire but, unfortunately, as I'm not using sky sports you are falling off my radar too.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Third Cars discussed by F1 Commission
I think this is a very interesting little tidbit to come out of the Autosport story which talks about the F1 Commission meeting in Geneva to address questions which related to the collaboration between teams and the upcoming name changes at Lotus (Caterham), Renault (Lotus), and Virgin (Marussia).
Stuck down in the middle of the story they refered to third cars on the grid and give the following quote from Ross Brawn:
"It sounds simple – make a third car and sell it to another team, but if that team can run a season with a very competitive car for a lot less cost than a manufacturer, you are going to start losing manufacturers because it doesn't make sense for teams to make their own car. And we don't want that.
"In F1 it is important we have the constructors and different manufacturers involved. It has been one of the most distinctive things about F1 for many years. I think we need to explore these ideas, but I would be very cautious about the concept of selling cars.
"If the most competitive car is sold to a number of teams and they flood the grid with that car then it is damaging for the rest of the teams. We need to be very, very careful about the solutions we find in the future".
Obviously a serious business and a good point well made but then it struck me that in the past history of F1 a number of privateer teams appeared on the grid racing a manufacturer's chassis, on the basis that they couldn't construct their own. These teams normally only raced one car, one driver and were run on a shoestring budget. Often the teams only raced in a couple of GP's in the season, in their own country and maybe in one other nearby, or at a particular event of note.
Ecurie Ecosse which ran in the 50's is a good example. It only ever competed at the British GP. The team is of note for the fact that Jackie Stewart's brother Jimmy raced for them in a Cooper T20 in one World Championship F1 event in 1953. Jackie raced with them in lower formulas and events before joining up with Ken Tyrell in Formula 3.
The manufacturers competing in BTCC provide competitive cars to privateers. Matt Neal began his BTCC career with Team Dynamics and showed his racing talents by driving a factory car with a privateer team.
So what's the problem? This kind of enterprise would allow a young privately sponsored Schumi to buy a works car, hire a team and go racing in F1 to show off his/her! talent. The only downside that I could see is that it might encourage an up and coming P*nt*n* to buy a works Ferrari (with your blessing Luca!) and make a nuisance of himself in the midfield.
So while it's got its pluses and minuses, what you would have is the opportunity for new teams to enter the sport at a relatively reasonable price and perhaps form the Brabham's, Tyrell's, or Jordan's of tomorrow, moving into production over the course of a few years.
Of course you'd have to bring back pre-qualification! but that's another story.
Stuck down in the middle of the story they refered to third cars on the grid and give the following quote from Ross Brawn:
"It sounds simple – make a third car and sell it to another team, but if that team can run a season with a very competitive car for a lot less cost than a manufacturer, you are going to start losing manufacturers because it doesn't make sense for teams to make their own car. And we don't want that.
"In F1 it is important we have the constructors and different manufacturers involved. It has been one of the most distinctive things about F1 for many years. I think we need to explore these ideas, but I would be very cautious about the concept of selling cars.
"If the most competitive car is sold to a number of teams and they flood the grid with that car then it is damaging for the rest of the teams. We need to be very, very careful about the solutions we find in the future".
Obviously a serious business and a good point well made but then it struck me that in the past history of F1 a number of privateer teams appeared on the grid racing a manufacturer's chassis, on the basis that they couldn't construct their own. These teams normally only raced one car, one driver and were run on a shoestring budget. Often the teams only raced in a couple of GP's in the season, in their own country and maybe in one other nearby, or at a particular event of note.
Ecurie Ecosse which ran in the 50's is a good example. It only ever competed at the British GP. The team is of note for the fact that Jackie Stewart's brother Jimmy raced for them in a Cooper T20 in one World Championship F1 event in 1953. Jackie raced with them in lower formulas and events before joining up with Ken Tyrell in Formula 3.
The manufacturers competing in BTCC provide competitive cars to privateers. Matt Neal began his BTCC career with Team Dynamics and showed his racing talents by driving a factory car with a privateer team.
So what's the problem? This kind of enterprise would allow a young privately sponsored Schumi to buy a works car, hire a team and go racing in F1 to show off his/her! talent. The only downside that I could see is that it might encourage an up and coming P*nt*n* to buy a works Ferrari (with your blessing Luca!) and make a nuisance of himself in the midfield.
So while it's got its pluses and minuses, what you would have is the opportunity for new teams to enter the sport at a relatively reasonable price and perhaps form the Brabham's, Tyrell's, or Jordan's of tomorrow, moving into production over the course of a few years.
Of course you'd have to bring back pre-qualification! but that's another story.
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