F1 2007/2008 Winter Testing and Rumours

rpstewart · 14 Jan 2008 at 13:26

Don't like em either. They must make tyre stops tricky because they're attached to the nut (otherwise they'd be moveable aero devices) so the space round the wheel, which already has 3 guys working in it, becomes even more congested.

From the high res shots it's clear that BMW have spent a lot of time on aero work, the rear bodywork is very tight fitting, even more so than the McLaren (who traditionally have shrinkwrapped the back end). There are, of course, questions about how much of the aero package will make it to Melbourne - there are no biplane sections on the front wing for example. They have, however, committed to the horns for the launch, last year they were off for the press and then on the following day for the first test.

Duke · 14 Jan 2008 at 13:29

BMW looks good. I hope they make it into the podium more this season.

I agree about the wheel covers; they look awful.

sunama · 14 Jan 2008 at 14:13

Of all the cars released so far, I like the look of the Ferrari the most. In particular I love all the aero widgets sticking out at various points. Out of the box, it will probably be the fastest, too.

sunama · 14 Jan 2008 at 15:38

I think we all knew that Ferrari were going to be the team to beat. The question is, just how close can the rest of the pack get.

I'm dissapointed to see the Renault so far back, even though I think Alonso should be able to shave off a considerable amount of time off Piquet's best so far.

The McLarens arent listed and they are probably going to be the closest. Really we need to see how the McLaren's fair.

I'm surprised to see so many cars, so close together given the size of the track and experimental nature of these initial tests, where drivers tend to iron out the initial wrinkles before beginning to put the hammer down.

Emlyn_Dewar · 14 Jan 2008 at 16:38

Winter testing means nothing.

sunama · 14 Jan 2008 at 18:16

Emlyn_Dewar said:
Winter testing means nothing.

Gotta disagree on that. In the weeks running up to March, everyone shows their hand.

I remember, back in 1994, when Senna went to Williams. Everyone thought the Senna/Williams combo would be phenomenal, bearing in mind that Williams' 1992 and 1993 cars were way ahead of the opposition.

As it happened, the Benetton seemed to be quicker than the Williams in pre season testing, right the way through.

I believe that the Benetton of MS ended up winning the first 4 races of the season.

A very similar thing happened with Williams in 1992 and 1993. They were the class of the field in both pre season and in racing.

jaykay · 14 Jan 2008 at 18:48

The front wing of the Williams looks like a huge scope. It extends pretty far out.

Bennah · 14 Jan 2008 at 19:41

That BMW front 'scoop' is going to be a factor on the street races and races where the drivers launch the car over the kerbs. Good job Alonso does'nt drive that car or else there will be no front win left.

Anyone got any high res images of the new Ferrari?

sunama · 14 Jan 2008 at 23:43

Bennah said:
That BMW front 'scoop' is going to be a factor on the street races and races where the drivers launch the car over the kerbs. Good job Alonso does'nt drive that car or else there will be no front win left.

Surely, for races where a lot of kerb is used, an alternate nose cone would be introduced? Ive seen this done in the past.

sunama · 14 Jan 2008 at 23:44

jaykay said:
The front wing of the Williams looks like a huge scope. It extends pretty far out.

Have Williams released their 2008 car?

Memphis · 15 Jan 2008 at 00:30

sunama said:
Have Williams released their 2008 car?

I would suggest he means the BMW

.

sunama · 15 Jan 2008 at 01:14

Ah well. I dont blame him for getting them mixed up. The livery of the Williams and BMW look very similar.

Overlag · 15 Jan 2008 at 01:30

jaykay said:
When are Honda lanching their new car?
Hoping this is going to look way different from last years.

i sure hope they go back to a better paint sceme.... and loose some weight too... it looked like the biggest f1 car on the grid... like fat wise...

where can i get high res shots of the car releases? most the pics i see are like 500x400 etc

Duke · 15 Jan 2008 at 08:11

Overlag said:
where can i get high res shots of the car releases? most the pics i see are like 500x400 etc

Usually from the manufacturers site.

http://www.bmw-sauber-f1.com/interim/en/index.html - they are quite big

rpstewart · 15 Jan 2008 at 08:30

sunama said:
Ah well. I dont blame him for getting them mixed up. The livery of the Williams and BMW look very similar.

Not this year they won't be. Williams will have six (yes six!) different colour schemes this year to commemorate a number of anniversaries:

30 Years of WGPEL
WGPEL's 500th GP (Turkey)
WGPEL's 50000th racing lap
Frank's 600th GP (Monaco)

Autosport isn't letting on what the others are, mind you one will be the "normal" one. All six are due to be used during winter testing.

GravyMonster · 15 Jan 2008 at 09:44

Speaking of Williams' winter liveries, heres the 500GP one, and also it looks like Williams are going with the Ferrari 'bin lid' wheel covers/brake coolers.

http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitp..._id=816&fes_image_number=9&fes_reverse_order=

rpstewart · 15 Jan 2008 at 09:52

That's not dissimilar to last year's winter test scheme. Must say I do like the really dark blue.

GravyMonster · 15 Jan 2008 at 11:56

Have the rules reguarding the height of the front wing been relaxed for this year? I remember a few years ago the FIA said there was now a minimum height the wing must be from the ground, but the new BMW wing and this picture of the Renault seem to indicate otherwise.

Overlag · 15 Jan 2008 at 12:43

Spunkey said:
Have the rules reguarding the height of the front wing been relaxed for this year? I remember a few years ago the FIA said there was now a minimum height the wing must be from the ground, but the new BMW wing and this picture of the Renault seem to indicate otherwise.

the central area isnt as limited as the outside edges. i think BMW and renault are using the max now, where as before teams didnt use the full area they could, which is why ferrari during 2006 had a extra "wing" fitted on that area because there standard front wing didnt use that area.