2008/2009 Winter Testing

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i actually like the car except for the back wing. it throws off the symmetry of the width of the car. its all the same width then it hits the back and it just throws it all off. but man if loeb is that quick then maybe he should get a ride in an F1 car. it seems like hes plenty fast enough.
 
Hating the look of these interim cars. The williams looks alright, but the honda & bmw in particular look terrible. Something like an F3 or formula BMW car, with a front wing that's way too big & a rear wing which is too thin and high. The bmw looks like a snow plow from some of those shots. Hopefully the cars look much better when they're fully released, as opposed to running 09 wings on 08 bodies, which i believe they are doing at the moment.
 
I think it's the fact that the cars are predominantly white that makes them look so bad. You never know, they might update their liveries for the '09 season.
 
Hump.
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buxton_letterboxes.jpg

:lol:

way to warm up the car, Seb :sly:
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So far, Sato beat every other STR. Today, he beat Bourdais by 0.0x, so that's nothing, and Buemi by 2 tenths. I think the numbers spoke. :D

GT4 genius
Yea, whats with the Ferrari?? Is that an air vent to cool the Kers they are using??? It looks like some sort of dislocated shoulder!
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Interim measures to cool the KERS. That sort of sidepod won't be legal (never was, either), so have no fear.

KERS will be located in the sidepods mostly, though some teams might manage to squeeze a few batteries in the front. It's actually quite a problem: Not only will KERS be heavy enough to force some teams to pass the minimum weight, but it is located in the back, too - and the Bridgestones favour a heavy front. Teams are probably asking themselves again if KERS is really worth it: Just 0.2-0.3s per lap, but at the expense of lower reliability and a worse balance, perhaps even overweight cars.

Alex.
way to warm up the car, Seb :sly:
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HAWT!
 
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17th-19th November, Barcelona Day 2

Results:

Code: 
Pos.	Driver		Team		Best		Laps	
1.	S. Vettel	Red Bull Racing	1:19.751	62
2.	T. Sato		Toro Rosso	1:20.017	79
3.	S. Bourdais	Toro Rosso	1:20.034	40
4.	S. Buemi	Toro Rosso	1:20.223	99	
5.	G. Paffett	McLaren		1:21.340	70
6.	R. Kubica	BMW Sauber	1:21.521	76
7.	N. Rosberg	Williams	1:21.525	107	
8.	J. Button	Honda		1:21.770	106
9.	A. Sutil	Force India	1:22.073	55
10.	L. Di Grassi	Honda		1:22.283	100
11.	N. Piquet Jr.	Renault		1:22.348	79
12.	L. Badoer	Ferrari		1:22.425	116
13.	M. Gene		Ferrari		1:22.772	27
14.	N. Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	1:23.080	71
15.	G. v.d Garde	Renault		1:23.250	37
16.	P. de la Rosa	Force India	1:23.499	81

'09 Front Wing Comparison: Honda Vs. BMW

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The Honda has the benefit of the old wing to look a half decent package.

I'd have thought that the flywheel based KERS would be much better than the batteries, shame it aint.
 
Nov.18 (GMM) Test driver Christian Klien has issued a damning appraisal of the appearance of F1's cars of 2009.

Observers had already raised their eyebrows when Williams recently tested a car fitted with a rear wing that conformed to next year's radical aerodynamic rule changes.

The towering, skinny and basic look is back in action at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya this week, and BMW-Sauber's interim offering is complete with a wide and flat 2009-style front wing.

"It's a sexy car isn't it?" BMW's Klien joked to reporters after driving the modified F1.08.

"As it is at the moment it's the worst formula one car I have ever seen. It doesn't seem like it fits, all the big wings and everything.

"But everyone will get used to it and it's not how it will look in March."

Complete with a KERS system and slick tyres, however, the car was more competitive than its aesthetics suggest, Klien said.

"It actually drives quite nice, the lap times are already quite good as you saw," he explained. "The high speed (sections) is a bit trickier but the slick tyres give a lot more grip at slower speeds."


Written: Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:20:03
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I agree!
 
ExigeEvan
I'd have thought that the flywheel based KERS would be much better than the batteries, shame it aint.
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I think its a bit too early to be saying that, seeing as no-one is running the same spec car there, with some 2008 cars and 2008 cars with odd bits and pieces for 2009 added on. The only car that looks closest to being 2009-spec is the BMW.
When they all have 2009 cars, then we will see which KERS system is best.
 
We'll never know that, either, because regular differences in speed will still be present. ;)

Currently, it's obvious that Electronic KERS is more popular - only Williams announced such a system. Frankly, I don't see why it should be superior: A weight spinning at 100kRPM should have gyroscopic effects on the car's direction, and I still don't see how it's going to store energy for long-ish periods without friction becoming a problem, or drivetrain-losses.
 
17th-19th November, Barcelona Day 3

Results:

Code: 
1	S. Vettel	Red Bull	01:19.295	75
2	S. Bourdais	Toro Rosso	01:19.839	122
3	S. Buemi	Toro Rosso	01:20.154	115
4	G. Paffett	McLaren		01:21.140	81
5	J. Button	Honda		01:21.387	94
6	C. Klien	BMW		01:21.534	88
7	N. Heidfeld	BMW		01:21.592	106
8	B. Senna	Honda		01:21.676	107
9	N. Piquet jr.	Renault		01:22.148	94
10	N. Hulkenberg	Williams	01:22.410	52
11	L. Badoer	Ferrari		01:22.866	120
12	G. Fisichella	Force India F1	01:23.086	93
13	P. de la Rosa	Force India F1	01:23.103	88


My comments: Berger, cut the crap and sign Sato and Bourdais. Buemi was 0.2s slower than either an all three days!
 
Kubica will be complaining about having over steer in every turn :P I'm sure for the next test sessions we will see a new aero kit.

Chris
 
The cars look better without the ugly winglets, but I hate the oversized front wing. It's not proportional to the rest of the car. IndyCars and A1GP cars have front wings that are as wide as the sidepods. I'm also concerned about those exposed bits sticking out of the front wing endplates. Those exposed bits make cut tires more likely when cars make contact.
 
Currently, BMW's tester Klien feared, drivers will be afraid to approach a car, simply because wheel-to-wheel contact will mean wing-to-wing contact. The endplates (your "exposed bits"), though, are less sharp and complicated than they used to be..
 
There's no chance those endplates will carry onto the grid. The rule changes for the front wing don't entail limiting creativity and/or curvature. With virtually no aerodynamic efficiency in their current geometry, the size, protruding distance, and shape will all evolve into something closer to the previous endplates.
 
Nothing like previous endplates, but indeed very different. All the teams testing a '09 wing said this was only a preliminary idea - but the restrictions on the endplates are very severe. And who knows - perhaps directing air away from the tyre is the most efficient thing to do?
 
I didn't know Luca Badoer is still Ferrari's test driver. That kind of puts him in a tie with Barrichello for longest-serving F1 driver (both began their F1 careers at the 1993 South African GP).
 
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Pupik
I didn't known Luca Badoer is still Ferrari's test driver. That kind of puts him in a tie with Barrichello for longest-serving F1 driver (both began their F1 careers at the 1993 South African GP).
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Yeah, you can regularly see him on the Ferrari pit wall at most races. Not a bad life for an F1 (race driver) reject, eh?
 
Life as a regular test-pilot is great. You get to drive Ferraris and McLarens for thousands of kilometers a year, without the pressure of scoring. :p
 
Jerez testing, results:
Code: 
1.	S. Buemi	Toro Rosso	1:18.742	91
2.	S. Bourdais	Toro Rosso	1:19.288	77
3.	G. Paffett	McLaren	        1:20.134	26
4.	P. de la Rosa	McLaren	        1:20.164	21
5.	K. Räikkönen	Ferrari	        1:20.261	47
6.	N. Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	1:20.678	49
7.	K. Nakajima	Williams	1:21.336	56
8.	N. Piquet Jr.	Renault	        1:21.547	123
9.	C. Klien	BMW Sauber	1:22.098	15
Here are some pics from today. The BMW's front end doesn't look any different. :yuck:
 
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Mr. Boy
Jerez testing, results:
Code: 
1.    S. Buemi    Toro Rosso    1:18.742    91
2.    S. Bourdais    Toro Rosso    1:19.288    77
3.    G. Paffett    McLaren            1:20.134    26
4.    P. de la Rosa    McLaren            1:20.164    21
5.    K. Räikkönen    Ferrari            1:20.261    47
6.    N. Heidfeld    BMW Sauber    1:20.678    49
7.    K. Nakajima    Williams    1:21.336    56
8.    N. Piquet Jr.    Renault            1:21.547    123
9.    C. Klien    BMW Sauber    1:22.098    15
Here are some pics from yesterday. The BMW's front end doesn't look any different. :yuck:
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Wasn't Buemi driving a Red Bull?
 
9th December, Jerez Day 1

Results:
Code: 
Pos.	Driver		Team		Time		Laps
1	S. Buemi	Toro Rosso	01:18.742	68
2	S. Bourdais	Toro Rosso	01:19.288	60
3	G. Paffett	McLaren		01:20.134	26
4	P. de la Rosa	McLaren		01:20.164	21
5	K. Räikkönen	Ferrari		01:20.261	40
6	N. Heidfeld	BMW		01:20.678	49
7	K. Nakajima	Williams	01:21.338	52
8	N. Piquet jr.	Renault		01:21.547	102
9	C. Klien	BMW		01:22.098	15

New items:

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Something good had to come out of these regulations. That updated Williams wing is spot on sexy.

Otherwise, BMW ran slightly smaller gills, but essentially the same car (without the wing-supports, though - looks like the fixed that).
 
Metar
New items:

116478.jpg

Something good had to come out of these regulations. That updated Williams wing is spot on sexy.

Otherwise, BMW ran slightly smaller gills, but essentially the same car (without the wing-supports, though - looks like the fixed that).
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When was the last time a car running new specifications at the first test of the off-season was identical to the car that would become the team's title challenger for the next year? BMW's combine harvester is probably a work in progress.
 
PeterJB
I had said it on Manipe F1 (even though they've corrected now), and he's serving as Webber's replacement until his leg heals.
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Well, to be fair, he has been Red Bull's Test driver up till now, but still....I wouldn't think he'd be out of the running for the race seat just yet.
 

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