Virgin MVR-02 Launch

prisonermonkeys

prisonermonkeys

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Virgin are the tenth team to unveil their car, with the MVR-02 being launched at the BBC building in London at 11am GMT today. Their new chassis designation reflects their relationwhip with Marussia Motors, and in the past few days, reports have emerged showing that Virgin will compete under a racing licence issued in the Russian Federation, making them the first Russian team in the sport. Well, the first genuinely-Russian team - Midland competed under a Russian licence becaus Alex Shnaider, who runs the Midland Group, was born in St. Petersburg, but he and his company are actually Canadian; there is nothing to connect them to Russia except Shanider being born there. It wouldn't surprised me if Marussia also becomes the constructor for the team, with Virgin becoming title sponsor (instead of the other way around, as it is now). Now is the perfect time to do it, because if they have a good season this year, the team could be eligible for FOM payouts, and changing the name in 2012 - as was Marussia's plan, at least in Abu Dhabi (but then, so was a launch in Moscow) - would jeopardise their FOM payouts.

I'm looking forward to what Virgin are doing, because I'm interested in their excusively-CFD approach. 2011 proved that it can work, since they kept up with Lotus fairly well. So the idea has merit.
 
I'm also interested in what they have to offer. And hopefully it still has the nice livery.


Pardon the off-topicness, but when does HRT launch their car?
 
How is this a more genuine Russian team? Both were/are British-based teams only using a Russian license due to owners/sponsors.
A "genuine" Russian team to me would require several key members of staff to be Russian and at least some of the operation to be based in Russia.

As it is, whatever your definition, Virgin will not be the first "Russian" team in the sport, it will be the second.

Team Lotus has more Malaysian in it than MF1 or Virgin ever had Russian...

Virgin have to keep up with whatever Team Lotus manage and keep ahead of Hispania. Thats all they really need to achieve, closing the gap to the established teams is obviously key too, but one assumes Lotus should manage this. If Virgin don't show much progress this year, I don't see Branson sticking around forever and neither Timo Glock..especially when he is still seen as a good driver by better teams.
I couldn't care less about Marussia and all this PR. In the end, its still Manor Competition and Wirth Research.

As a side note, I hope Manor sign Josh Hill in Formula Renault UK. 👍
 
Ardius
How is this a more genuine Russian team? Both were/are British-based teams only using a Russian license due to owners/sponsors.
A "genuine" Russian team to me would require several key members of staff to be Russian and at least some of the operation to be based in Russia.
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Nikolai Fomenko has been appointed engineering director of the team. Truth be told, it's probably just an administrative position, little more than a title to further tie Virgin to Marussia.

I've heard the argument that Red Bull should be considered to be a British team because it is based in Milton Keynes and most of the staff are British. However, I dispute the notion. Most of the time, it's just British fans sour that a team based in England doesn't have the British anthem played when the team wins. The same applies here.
 
The point isn't that the team is British, the point is that you paint this as a more "genuine" Russian team than MF1....exaggeration doesn't even begin to describe that. I fully realise and accept that over half the grid are actually British teams running under various other countries' licenses, but to say this team is the "first genuinely Russian team" is a joke.
 
I expect Marussia to produce engines for the team for 2013 and onwards.
 
RTSolvalou
I expect Marussia to produce engines for the team for 2013 and onwards.
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I thought Marussia uses Cosworth engines for their cars?

Hopefully they design it with a big enough fuel tank from the start.
 
Yes, they do use Cosworth engines. It's one of the reasons why they got involved with the team in the first place.
 
Peter
I'm also interested in what they have to offer. And hopefully it still has the nice livery.


Pardon the off-topicness, but when does HRT launch their car?
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HRT still don't have a lauch day...

I don't doubt if they use the 2010 car, just with the rules of 2011 💡
 
Although they have no engine of their own to date, Marussia will be aided by Cosworth with development of their own engine/drivetrain equipment for the future, and there is strength to the belief that (again co-)producing an F1 engine for the 2013 formula is in the ballpark.
 
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Oh well, at least the livery's looking great.
 
It appears Virgin took a holiday during the winter, or they are heavily updating this car before Bahrain. It looks like a slightly more developed VR-01 rather than a new car. Worryingly conservative.
 
Drama does not always equal speed. But there's a few tiny little things about the car that are new, like the two horizontal fins in the space between the nose cone uprights, and the holes in the very front of the nose. It's also very tightly packaged, with tiny sidepods and a tapered rear end. And there is no sign of an exhaust (I'll bet it goes under the car). It's evolution, not revolution.

It just needs some more sponsors to fill in the acre of empty space on the sidepods and the front of the survival cell. I do like th way they have a nice big number, though.
 
Faria0808
HRT still don't have a lauch day...

I don't doubt if they use the 2010 car, just with the rules of 2011 💡
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Their intermin car has been doing pretty well, mind you. I heard hey were launching their car the first week of Bahrain tests. There was also an early render of it somewhere...

Don't doubt Kolles.



The only thing I see that's a significant difference is the front wing. They must be bringing along some major pdates in the coming weeks.
 
This thread is for disucssion of the Virgin launch, not HRT.
 
Wow that is one ugly car, worst livery so far in my opinion :yuck:. As for the bodywork it doesn't seem all that radical or improved upon. Looks like rather square and fat VR-01. Disappointing but it may perform better than it looks.

Robin.
 
Aiming the exhausts at the center of the diffuser with a steep step and a ambitious starter motor hole.
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interludes
Drama does not always equal speed. But there's a few tiny little things about the car that are new, like the two horizontal fins in the space between the nose cone uprights, and the holes in the very front of the nose. It's also very tightly packaged, with tiny sidepods and a tapered rear end. And there is no sign of an exhaust (I'll bet it goes under the car). It's evolution, not revolution.

It just needs some more sponsors to fill in the acre of empty space on the sidepods and the front of the survival cell. I do like th way they have a nice big number, though.
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But will an evolution of a car that was seconds off the pace be enough? Rivals Lotus have an entirely new car.
 
Ardius
It appears Virgin took a holiday during the winter, or they are heavily updating this car before Bahrain. It looks like a slightly more developed VR-01 rather than a new car. Worryingly conservative.
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I agree. Whilst I am no expert, this car does look worringly like an updated version of last years car.

We'll have to wait and see what happens on track though.
 
That car is hot! **** :D
 
F1 fan
...look worringly like an updated version of last years car.
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Yeah, not much of the (aero bits) changing, i guess.
Apart from the small sidepod intake.
 
Was sort of expecting it to look similar since they used CFD again. They're biggest problem is in the reliability department so hopefully that's where most of the R&D went over the off season.
 
F1 fan
Virgin part company with Wirth Research.

Can't say I'm surprised. The team is clearly not anywhere near where they wanted to be.
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That's a bad move by them. Now what do they expect to do. Wirth was just getting started on the MVR-02 ,and now they're in hardly a better position as HRT were when they parted with Dallara early last year.
 
Pat Symonds is trying to secure his future employment... It was on his recommendation that Marussia parted ways with Wirth.
 
Peter.
That's a bad move by them. Now what do they expect to do. Wirth was just getting started on the MVR-02 ,and now they're in hardly a better position as HRT were when they parted with Dallara early last year.
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Seismica
Pat Symonds is trying to secure his future employment... It was on his recommendation that Marussia parted ways with Wirth.
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Well Wirth clearly wasn't getting the job done. Pat Symonds has a far better track record... No pun intended.
 
F1 fan
Well Wirth clearly wasn't getting the job done. Pat Symonds has a far better track record... No pun intended.
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Lol :D

I think Symonds is going to attempt the Technical Director role through his consultancy role (As he can't be in F1 full time due to the ban - Not sure when it expires).

I think limited resources and lack of wind tunnel testing to back up the figures they were getting out of CFD were what caused it. I doubt anyone could do significantly better with the same resources, but inevitably whoever follows will do better because they've decided they now want to test in wind tunnels...
 
Wirth is probably the best Virgin have available to them at the moment. He wasn't exactly doing a bad job, the 2011 car was so little of a difference over the 2010 car because it was designed on the old computers, rather than the new, far more powerful computers they have now. And this year so far has really been spent trying to sort out the reliability problems that plagued them all of last year. Only now has Wirth started to rollout the upgrades to the cars, bu they haven't really broken in the upgrades, especially the blown diffuser, as yet, hence their lack of improvement.

Wirth and CFD was going to carry them a long way. CFD has potential to kick windtunnel design off the throne as the major method of car design in not only F1, but in LMS as well. And it's for sure easier to work with and probably cheaper to run.
 
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