Tag: FW36

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Quick reference guide to the 2014 F1 season

We’re just a couple of sleeps away from the start to the most unpredictable Formula 1 season in recent memory. Is anyone else excited?!

Judging by pre-season testing form we’ll be lucky if half of the 22 cars entered in Melbourne finish the race. Remember, too, there’s just five complete power units available per driver all year, so we suspect reliability will have a big say in the outcome of both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships.

After the break you’ll find a full calendar with start Australian Eastern start times, a list of all the drivers and their new permanent numbers along with links to all of the new cars for 2104.

Right now it looks like the Mercedes power unit is the weapon of choice, with Renault proving the least reliable. Let’s see what happens between now and 23 November when double points are up for grabs at the final race in Abu Dhabi.

For easy reference be sure to save this link: ausm.tv/f1guide2014

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Formula 1

Williams Martini Racing FW36 as art

Williams FW36 artwork by Cale Funderburk

It’s only been a week since Williams announced its new title sponsorship deal with Martini but already you can buy some pretty cool artwork through the Society6 website. Created by Cale Funderburk the treatment of the FW36 is graphic and simple in its execution. And we reckon it looks pretty good.

[Source: WTF1]

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Formula 1

Wlliams Martini Racing FW36 livery launched

2014 Williams Martini Racing FW36

The Williams F1 Team was expected to announce a new sponsorship deal with Martini and that confirmation came through overnight. With that news comes a host of images bringing us the latest interpretation of the classic Martini racing stripes, as applied to the 2014 FW36.

Sir Frank Williams spoke with optimism about the season ahead as well as the team’s new commercial partner. “2014 is going to be a fascinating season, with regulation changes of this scale often shaking up the grid and creating opportunities for teams to make a good step forward,” he said. “Over the winter we have proved our ambition by making a number of positive changes; we welcome a new driver pairing, new senior technical personnel, and a number of new commercial partners for 2014.

“In Martini we have a brand that shares a passion for motor racing and winning championships. This partnership is a milestone in our history and we look forward to working closely with MARTINI over the coming years.”

More photos of the new Martini livery and the full press statement from Williams Martini Racing can be seen after the break.

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Formula 1

F1 winter testing: Bahrain II day 3

Felipe Massa topped the timesheets for Williams on the second last day of pre-season testing overnight. His time of 1:33.258 is the quickest lap posted at Bahrain in seven days of testing.

“We did a lot more performance work in the car which is something that we haven’t done so much of so far,” Felipe explained. “I’m really happy with the car and feel we found a good balance. We did so much work on the set-up but it is very important that we go to Australia prepared.

“You can never be sure that you are 100% ready for the first race, but I feel that what we have done in these days testing has been important for making sure that we have a car that can not only get to the end of the race, but that will have good performance as well.”

Meanwhile, at Red Bull it was a total disaster. Sebastian Vettel was three hours late onto the Sakhir circuit and when he did finally emerge he could only manage half a lap due to an “electrical fault”. Red Bull worked on the car and got him out again, this time though, he didn’t even make it to the end of pit lane. The fault was pinned down to a “leak” according to Andy Damerum, Race Engineering Co-ordinator. And that was the end of Sebastian’s day!

“We can just hope for a better day tomorrow and then to have a decent start to the season in Melbourne but at this stage obviously reliability is still a big question mark,” a forlorn Vettel said. “It’s difficult to say how long it will take to remedy. I think some things will just come down to the fact that in two weeks’ time we’ll have lots of new parts on the car.

“We’ve had some damage because of the problems we’ve had here and the parts aren’t available overnight, so from that side I think things will get better over the next couple of weeks. We obviously haven’t done much running but from the little we have done has been quite promising, so I think once we get going the speed should be OK.”

Elsewhere things were better for Nico Rosberg (1:33.484) who overcame an early engine change to complete 103 laps and set the second fastest time. A couple of seconds back was Kimi Raikkonen (1:35.426) in the Ferrari, who managed 87 laps but was still unhappy with his lot. Thank goodness he didn’t go to Red Bull!

Two F1 rookies were next in the always impressive Kevin Magnussen (McLaren, 1:35.894) and Daniil Kvyat (Toro Ross, 1:36.113). For a brief moment Kvyat’s time was on top of the lap charts but he’ll be more than happy with his 81 laps, the most time he’s had in an F1 car so far this winter.

Nico Hulkenberg (1:36.113) oversaw another solid day for Force India with the sixth fastest time, while Jules Bianchi (1:37.087) and Marussia will be enjoying the rarified air found further up the order than they’re used to being.

Marcus Ericcson (1:38.083) totalled 117 laps which tends to mask the issues being suffered by the Renault-powered teams. Caterham has covered the most miles of the Renault teams so far this the pre-season, they’re just way off the pace.

Ninth fastest was Romain Grosjean (1:42.166) who got an early shower after just 33 laps and seeing the Lotus E22 fail due to an MGU-K fault.

Then came the woes of Adrian Sutil who smoked the engine of his Sauber C33 after just one lap and the lapless Vettel right at the bottom of the timesheets.

One day of testing left and a lifetime of problems facing Red Bull. Can they recover?

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F1 winter testing: Bahrain I in pictures

The design of the latest crop of Formula 1 cars, in response to new aero and crash regulations, has certainly encouraged plenty of discussion. The twin-tusk nose of the Lotus E22 (above) is certainly one of the most bizarre design solutions in the history of the sport.

Once the racing starts the novelty gawking at these god awful designs should ease and we can focus on what we love most, and that’s racing. In the meantime we bring you a gallery of 66 images from the recent pre-season test in Bahrain, six photos each of all 11 cars, that show you the class of 2014 in their best and worst angles.

A small pat on the back, too, goes to Eric Gandelin, the man responsible for the Sauber C33. We think that’s the best looking car of 2014. Although, a nod of appreciation also goes to the Williams FW36.

Those responsible for the horrors of the Caterham CT05 and Force India VJM07 should hang their heads in shame. As for the rest, a good hard look at themselves wouldn’t hurt!

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Formula 1

F1 winter testing: Jerez day 4

Felipe Massa, Williams FW36

Felipe Massa’s career could be headed for a resurgence after setting the fastest time (1:28.229) on a damp final day of testing in Jerez overnight. The FW36 has been near the pointy end all week and the decision of Williams to switch from Renault to Mercedes power for this season is proving to be inspired.

“We managed to do many more laps today than we have in the last three days which is important,” Massa said. “Today we didn’t have any issues with the car which I think is also another step forward.

“Overall, I’m happy with my first days with Williams and I’m pleased with what I have seen in the team this week. For sure it is important to be competitive, but testing is testing, and we now need to look to prepare for Bahrain and then towards the first race, which is the most important thing.”

Once again the three Renault-powered teams struggled to gain any meaningful track time and that, more than anything, is the major story from this first taste of the new regulations. At least Daniel Ricciardo (1:45.374) managed to lock in a flying lap time for Red Bull, albeit the slowest time of the day and one of just seven laps completed.

Fernando Alonso (1:29.145) has given Ferrari fans cause for optimism with the second fastest time and a large haul of 115 laps, the most of any driver on day 4. Third place was Daniel Juncadella (1:29.457), an impressive debut for the Force India reserve driver who no doubt relished all of his 81 laps.

Kevin Magnussen (1:30.806) notched up 110 laps and recorded the fourth fastest time of the day. Hot on his heels was Lewis Hamilton (1:30.822) splitting his driving duties with teammate Nico Rosberg (1:36.951) who set the eighth fastest time. Again, the Mercedes duo combined to complete an impressive tally of 132 laps.

The sixth and seventh quickest times of the day were set by Jules Bianchi (1:32.222) in the Marussia MR03 and Adrian Sutil (1:36.571) in the Sauber C33.

After Rosberg came the struggling Renault-powered trio of Kamui Kobayashi (1:43.193) with 54 laps, Daniil Kvyat (1:44.016) just nine, and as previously mentioned Daniel Ricciardo managed only seven.

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F1 winter testing: Jerez days 1 and 2

Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel

After two days of winter testing in Jerez what have we learned about the Formula 1 class of 2014, specifically these horrid looking new cars? Well, not a lot to be honest.

On day 1 most teams struggled and only 93 laps were completed by the teams in attendance, and none at all by McLaren. Kimi Raikkonen (1:27.104) was fastest in his return for Ferrari and ran the most number laps on the day at just 31. Lewis Hamilton (1:27.820) sent his Mercedes towards the top of the lap charts in his 18 laps before sending it into the wall after a front wing failure.

“We had a lot of new things to learn today,” Raikkonen said afterwards. “Even if we would have liked to do more laps, I think that for a first day it was alright. Towards the end, when the track was damp, we chose not to take any risks. Now we have a lot of work ahead of us, but all in all, we are pleased with our first day.”

After the leading two drivers times spread out with not much insight to be gained, other than there’s a lot of work to do. Sebastian Vettel and Marcus Ericsson, for example, only ran installation laps and didn’t set any times at all.

Things have become a little clearer on day 2, with all Renault powered teams experiencing problems while Ferrari and Mercedes powered cars gained an early advantage. Overnight rain saw Pirelli bring forward their designated wet weather session and trucks were sent out to ensure the track had sufficient water for testing purposes.

Jenson Button and McLaren had a good day, registering the fastest time in the morning’s wet session and also in the afternoon (1:24.165) when the track was dry.

The 2009 world champion spoke enthusiastically about the MP4-29 afterwards, too. “Of course, it’s still early days, and there’s a lot of work ahead of us,” Button said. “We need to work on both braking and traction; but that excites me, because there’s a lot of potential to adjust those parameters.

“The new braking system is very complicated, and getting it right will be tough. But these are all things we can work on: there’s nothing about the car that unsettles me, and there’s plenty of scope to explore the set-up. It will just take time.”

Kimi Raikkonen (1:24.812) was on the pace again during his 47 laps, cutting more than 2 seconds from his day 1 best. Valtteri Bottas (1:25.344) has had limited running during his two days, just 12 laps in all, but he has been third quickest on both days.

While only fourth fastest on day 2, Nico Rosberg (1:25.588) and Mercedes were happy with their lot. Rosberg racked up an impressive 97 laps, 44 more than his nearest rival, including some beneficial long runs.

“Every lap is important to get used to the new systems and it helped a lot that I have worked on this already in the simulator,” explained Rosberg. “We don’t know yet where we are compared to the other teams, but we can be quite happy after the first two days of testing here in Spain. Now I look forward to getting back in the car on Friday.”

Meanwhile the Renault powered cars managed just 19 laps between them (11 for Caterham, 8 for Red Bull and 0 for Toro Rosso). On day 1 only 19 laps were registered for the Renault runners as well (15 for Toro Rosso, 3 for Red Bull, 1 for Caterham), which will be cause for early concern.

Lotus isn’t an attendance at all for the Jerez test, choosing to wait until testing moves to Bahrain. Marussia is hoping to run its car tonight.

Photos and lap times are available after the break.

UPDATE: Pics from day 2 have now been added below.

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Formula 1

2014 Williams FW36 revealed

2014 Williams FW36

Williams has revealed a series of renderings showing their 2014 F1 car, the FW36. And as you can see we have confirmation of our first finger-style front nose. It looks a bit like an anteater, too.

There’s a couple of firsts for Williams here: it’s the first time the team has worked with a Mercedes-Benz engine power unit and the first time they’ve run an 8-speed gearbox.

Chief Technical Officer, Pat Symonds, explains some of the challenges in designing this car: “There’s a lot more technology on the cars this year. We’ve had turbo-charged engines in F1 before; what’s different this time is that it is much more than just an engine change, it is a completely different system. We’ve gone from a slightly hybridised normally aspirated engine to a fully integrated hybrid power unit with novel technology at its heart.

“Overall the cars will need more cooling this year. The demands on water and oil cooling may be slightly diminished, but the ERS system is significantly more powerful and hence needs more cooling. We also have to cool the charge air from the turbocharger compressor which requires a substantial intercooler.”

Williams has given a rough timeline for the design of the new car, which we’ve listed in dotpoint form below:

  • CAD data for 2014 power unit received from Mercedes mid-way through last season
  • FW36 design phase completed by mid-September 2013
  • New gearbox run on dyno in early-November 2013
  • Launch spec aero packaged finalised in early-December 2013
  • Transmission mated to power unit on dyno in December 2013
  • FW36 crash test passed before Christmas 2013
  • Melbourne-spec aero package approved in early-January 2014

UPDATE 29 January: Williams has tweeted a pic of the car from the team’s pit garage at Jerez (see below).

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