Tag: W05

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Formula 1

Who is to blame for ugly F1 cars?

2014 Caterham CT05

Aside from the reliability concerns facing teams this year, especially those with Renault power, the big story from Formula 1 pre-season has been the ugliness of the cars. While the variety of designs is welcome, the results are, in the main, just terrible to look at.

The teams say it’s a result of the regulations, which has made us think a few times why on earth would the FIA sign-off on regs that result in such comedy? Either they have no foresight, or the current crop of designers is way too pragmatic, putting performance ahead of aesthetics and the sport in general.

In an article for Autosport+ (subscription required) Peter Stevens, designer of the McLaren F1 and Jaguar XJR-15, shares his thoughts on the matter.

Stevens starts by pointing his finger at the FIA, stating: “well-paid rule-makers seem to have been unable to foresee the consequences of their mandates“.

Yet, it’s the engineers from the teams who have been dealt the most savage criticism. In the past, Stevens explains, an F1 car was drawn on paper and then a trained pattern maker was engaged to transform the drawing into three-dimensional form. There was, of course, a skill in that process which required the maker to interpret and understand body surfacing.

Now that most everything design-related in F1 these days is handled by engineers and CAD systems Stevens sees the weak point, in what he describes as: “the work of under-trained or insensitive engineers”.

More blunty he concludes: “We are expected to endure 2014 shapes defined by an engineering CAD programme with limited surface development capabilities in the hands of pure rationalists. This is simply not good enough.”

Hear, hear.

[Source: Autosport+ (subscription)]

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Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz

F1 winter testing: Bahrain I day 4

Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG W05

The continued dominance of Mercedes-power during F1 pre-season testing saw Nico Rosberg set the fastest time of the week (1:33.283) when he topped the timesheets in Bahrain overnight.

Rosberg was happy with his day’s work, which included a variety of tasks.

“This morning we were able to try some qualifying practice runs which felt good, meaning I could attack the lap a bit as I found a good balance,” he said. “Later in the day we did a race simulation, which was crucial to learn all the new things in the car. There was a lot of feedback from the engineers, so my head was full of information!”

Following a familiar theme the top four cars consisted of Rosberg’s Mercedes W05, followed by Jenson Button (1:34.957) in the McLaren, the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen (1:36.718) and the Williams, being piloted by new test driver Felipe Nasr (1:37.569).

Despite completing 59 laps Pastor Maldonado (1:38.707) had a troubled day in the Lotus, once again a theme for Renault-powered cars, although he did post the fifth quickest lap of the day.

A drivetrain problem interrupted the day of Force India, after Sergio Perez (1:39.258) had done 19 laps. That was four more than Daniel Ricciardo (1:39.837) could do in the Red Bull RB10. It was a combination of software and mechanical woes which ended Daniel’s day early and he’s not shying away from the team’s problems.

“In all honesty it wasn’t a great day today,” said Daniel. “We have four more days coming up and hopefully we can maximise those.

“I have to say that on the run we did today the car did feel better. But unfortunately another problem arose and we couldn’t exploit that potential. At this stage we just need laps and I’m just hanging to get back in the car.”

Jean-Eric Vergne (1:40.472) went eighth fastest for Toro Rosso, ahead of the Caterham pairing, Kamui Kobayashi (1:43.027) and Marcus Ericsson (1:45.094).

Adrian Sutil had a chassis concern with the Sauber C33 and was unable to complete a timed lap. While reliability issues ruined Jules Bianchi’s day in the Marussia.

The final four days of testing before the Australian Grand Prix (16 March) resume in Bahrain next week (27 February–2 March).

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Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz

F1 winter testing: Bahrain I day 3

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG W05

Lewis Hamilton posted the fastest time of the week so far during F1 testing overnight in Bahrain. The 2008 world champ sent his Mercedes AMG W05 around the Sakhir circuit in 1:34.263 and headed a trio of Mercedes-powered cars.

Hamilton didn’t have everything go his way, though, with a minor gremlin interrupting his race simulation in the afternoon.

“It was nice to be able to put together a good lap today because generally speaking there seems to be less grip available than last year,” said Lewis. “I’m looking forward to completing a race simulation next week as we didn’t quite get to finish it today.

“We’re trying to find any issues we can now to prevent them happening during a race situation, so from that perspective it’s a positive that we were able to find and fix something again today.”

Second fastest was Jenson Button (1:34.976) in the McLaren, while Williams’ prospects are looking good with Felipe Massa (1:37.066) showing promising form.

Esteban Gutierrez (1:37.180) went fourth quickest in the Sauber as times continued to spread out, while Force India’s Sergio Perez (1:37.367) was next.

Ferrari held the seventh fastest time for the day thanks to Kimi Raikkonen (1:37.476), ahead of Daniil Kvyat (1:38.974) in the Toro Rosso.

Pastor Maldonado (1:39.642) set the ninth fastest lap for Lotus. Glum faces became the order of the day here and at Red Bull where Daniel Ricciardo (1:40.781) endured another difficult day. Maldonado had gearbox problems in the afternoon session and Ricciardo’s day ended early after Red Bull discovered a mechanical issue during the lunch break.

“I did some good laps and those came off the back of the more than 50 laps Seb did yesterday, so we’re getting there,” a positive Ricciardo explained. “Obviously, I would have liked to do more this afternoon but we still have tomorrow ahead of us and it’s important to be ready for that.

“The car is definitely making progress though. It’s coming together bit by bit. We’d love a big chunk all at once but obviously that’s not the way these things work, so we have to be a bit patient for now.”

Marcus Ericsson (1:42.130) managed a solid 98 laps in his Renault-powered Caterham but was well off the pace, only faster than fellow backmarker Max Chilton (1:46.672) in the Marussia. Chilton’s day was over when it was decided his car needed a new engine and the team was unable to complete the task in time to get him back out.

Valtteri Bottas had a run for Williams in the afternoon as the team focused on pit stop practice, despite managing 55 laps he did not post a lap time.

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Caterham Ferrari Formula 1 McLaren Mercedes-Benz Red Bull Racing Toro Rosso

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 Mercedes-Benz

VIDEO: Lewis Hamilton photo bombs TV reporter

Lewis Hamilton crash at Jerez pre-season test

As the F1 teams universally struggled to find any meaningful track time in Jerez overnight Lewis Hamilton provided the main highlight when he put his Mercedes W05 into the wall.

The cause of the crash was a front wing failure just prior to Turn 1, which caused Lewis to lose control and sent him careering off course. Thankfully he was okay and we can make light of the situation.

To do that we bring you short video clip from a local TV report which went to air just as Lewis went on his little excursion. Perfect timing, and perhaps the world’s most expensive photo bomb!

For his part Lewis, who’d completed 18 laps, was still happy with his first day on track for 2014. “Incredibly positive start today! I’m really proud of the team for what they’ve achieved in getting us here,” he said via Twitter.

[Pic: @njuancof1]

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Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz

2014 Mercedes AMG F1 W05 revealed

2014 Mercedes AMG F1 W05

Mercedes-Benz has revealed its 2014 F1 car, the W05, moments before taking to the track for the first official day of winter testing in Jerez. Like the Ferrari F14 T the nose has a wider snout and looks a bit better than the Fiat’s vacuum cleaner approach.

The new regs have already got Paddy Lowe, technical director, waxing lyrical and making music for the ears of the marketing departments of Mercedes-Benz and Formula 1.

“From a technical and also a racing perspective, this is an incredibly exciting time for Formula One,” said Lowe. “We are introducing technologies that are new not just to racing but to the wider automotive world as well.

“The fact that we will be completing races with advanced Hybrid systems on just 100kg of fuel sends a great message about the technology that Formula One can deliver. But it is also about the technology that Mercedes-Benz can develop compared with our competition, both for the chassis and the new Power Unit.”

It is true that a V6 turbocharged engine has a much broader appeal to the road going cars we’re likely to drive in the future compared with the old V8 and V10 screamers of past years. Couple that with increased dependence and power from the energy recovery systems and F1 will once again be a true racing laboratory for future production cars.

More from Mercedes after the break, including a couple of pics of the W05 on the racetrack from its filming day at Silverstone a few days ago.

UPDATE 29 January: Four new pics added below, including a couple of the Mercedes PU106A Hybrid power unit.

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Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz Video

2014 Mercedes AMG W05 drive by

The Mercedes AMG F1 Team has completed a filming day with its new 2014 F1 car, the W05, at Silverstone. While we heave to wait a few more days to see official photos the actual car itself they did release this brief video of the car driving at full noise.

So what will this brand new 1.6 litre V6 turbo “power unit” era sound like? Not as bad as most people were expecting.

You can hear a bit of turbo whine as the W05 flashes past and then plenty of energy recovery gubbins as the car exits stage right and brakes going into Copse corner.