It is I once more, and more often than not I sort of get the idea that I should be apologising for that fact, and my continued existence in general both here in the murky wilderness of the internet and out there... Of course pointing accusingly out of the nearest window doesn't really come across too well when considering the ill-written word scrawled across this tiny forlorn corner of cyberspace. I would consider a transfer to visual media as a method of dealing with these posts in a more interactive format, but the mere thought of my image broadcast through the digital domain is enough to give me nightmares for a very long time. It would also have the side-effect of reducing audience figures even further - mostly because those unfortunate enough to witness such a production would retreat to the bathroom vomiting. If you imagine a face carved, by an angry toddler into the surface of a particular disfigured potato you'd sort of get the picture.
Besides it would never work out anyway, early forays into youtube supporting videos was already a significant failure - and all it did was showcase the considerable lack of production quality I have at my disposal. Fancy 1080p recordings of driving round circuits in a video game don't amount to anything if the camera work is poor and all stitched together in a woeful editing suite. To make matters worse the supporting annotations were unimaginative and dull - there was a prototype video for the first production - Malaysia 2011 - with audio commentary... that went in the bin very quickly... I wanted to simply and hopefully humorously ad-lib my way round a lap, as it turned out I wasn't funny or capable of finding the right words when trying not to crash the virtual car into a pixellated barrier. Therefore the text based annotations were born... in a sort of clunky awkward kind of way. In the end it proved to be far more effort than it was worth - many, many hours of recording and editing for a couple of views, and even they probably were from people who got lost on the internet. Efforts to add more contact turned the videos into more of a farce than a satirical perspective on circuit design, in the end they had to be shelved and focus returned to the text based format here. Ultimately there are no immediate plans for expansion into other media approaches - and the format of the coming season remains very much undecided, something needs to change to breathe life into the place, but I don't know what.
Anyway, before this turns into another morbid crusade against the futility of my efforts... yes, I know, the term effort might be a little too optimistic, there is a reason for this latest low key publication. That reason is winter testing, and the first round thereof in Jerez, Spain. We all know that the actual times and ranking from this earliest stage in the 2015 campaign have no bearing on the actual running order when we finally arrive in Melbourne in March. It was only a few years ago that Sauber were lighting up the testing circuit, and they didn't carry that form through to the main season. So the fact that Ferrari and Sauber were the top two cars in Jerez probably means nothing - other than that they've built something that can run consistently without breaking. Mercedes didn't lead any of the test days, but completed the most laps overall - even if they were still plagued with technical difficulties including a water leak on day one. McLaren had a difficult few days, as to be expected considering the new partnership with Honda is going to take a while to wear in, but they still completed more laps than Red Bull managed in 2014. The most amusing story of the four day event was Daniil Kvyat in his new role at Red Bull. The Russian with the death stare damaged the front wing on his new car on day one, normally not too much of a problem, except Red Bull didn't have a spare. So Daniil had to run the entire first day without a front wing on the curiously liveried Red Bull RB11.
The second part of this contribution to online mediocrity is the second half of the car reveals, many making their world début as part of the testing session in Jerez
Sauber
After a pointless season last year, the team were one of the squadrons in continual battles with Bernie over monetary distribution, and so need a stronger 2015 campaign. With the inclusion of Banco Do Brasil as a major sponsor courtesy of Nasr making the step up from GP2 there was hope for a brighter, more tropical livery. Something different to the grey of 2014, which didn't look anywhere as menacing as the initial previews suggested.
And this was the end result - it does have more colour than it's predecessor and it is a combination of yellow and blue - of which Blog HQ certainly approves. But it is a little plain, I know there are a lack of sponsors knocking on Sauber's door at the moment but it looks unfinished. It needs more yellow that's for definite but most teams could use more yellow in the livery, a few adjustments could make this the best livery in several years. On a technical front the car is considerably simpler than most of its competitors - which explains why testing results don't mean too much. Looking at the nose section I wonder if the design team looked at what Williams had done with theirs and decided that the team needed more girth on their nose appendage. It doesn't look as refined as the other designs overall, but there is plenty of time between now and Melbourne for aerodynamic aids to be added and panels to be sculpted a little tighter.
Ferrari
Released on the same day as the Sauber, the factory Ferrari team unveiled their new effort - I can't say I was surprised to see that it was bright red. A bright yellow Ferrari would be a nice change, but I think there is more chance of this blog taking over the world than Ferrari deviating from the traditional scarlet paint scheme.
Ferrari appeared to be paying attention to what Mercedes have been doing with the camera housings on the nose section - placing them in the same 'antler' position as the German team. The rest of the nose follows the platypus train of thought - rather than the shorter one demonstrated by Lotus and Mercedes. The reasoning behind the nose concept differences is to do with the crash testing rules vs the technical regulations vs aerodynamic performance. The end of the nose must be ahead of the front plane of the front wing, a shorter overhang is easier for aero design but is harder to pass the crash tests with. Ferrari have more of a crumple zone but that means the shape of the nose has to be modified to offset any aerodynamic loss. At least that's what I think is going on as per half listening to Ted Kravitz listing all the design choices in his notebook program. Whatever the reasoning, Raikkonen has stated that the car is much better than the 2014 version and it has topped timing in all four days of testing. Even though we can't trust those figures, the car probably will be more competitive than it was...
Toro Rosso
Fielding a team of rookies in 2015, especially one with so little F1 experience means that we probably won't be seeing the ultimate pace of whatever creation Toro Rosso have put together. On the day before testing began the challenger was revealed to the world - and immediately the general consensus was that it appeared the team have finally used up their allocation of gold paint.
Like Ferrari, Toro Rosso have gone for the platypus nose design with the extra crash structure - which given the inexperience of the pilots it sort of makes sense. Although saying that, only Kvyat damaged a car in testing... Like many teams Toro Rosso have sculpted a deep undercut in the sidepods to allow air to travel along the side of the car before reaching the rear diffuser. One insight that Ted Kravitz did point out was that Toro Rosso - and Sauber - have added additional cooling across the top half of the engine cover which also requires additional air inlets on the airbox above the driver's head. Toro Rosso have also gone with the antler camera hosing units on the top of the nose cone in front of the front wheels.
Red Bull
Red Bull unveiled their new challenger as part of the Jerez testing session and for some reason they wanted to hide their car from the general public - with a camouflage livery... Well I'm sorry Christian Horner, but we can still see the car it isn't hiding very well. I reality the purpose behind the mad colour (or lack thereof) scheme is to make specific details difficult to pick out. Porsche did it with their LMP1 car and BMW are currently testing their GT racer with a camouflage pattern on it. It is however, a new thing to the world of F1.
Here we can see the RB11 in its day one configuration after Kvyat damaged the only front wing the team had on site. To an extent the inconsistent lines and disruptive patterns to make picking out the shape of the sidepods slightly difficult from longer range shots. But it seems as if they've not nothing bizarre and innovative worth hiding - just another well packaged machine as we are used to seeing from Newey's workshop. Although it has been known that Adrian is having an increasingly smaller influence on design choices as he diversifies to work on other projects. I can't help but wonder if there is something devious hidden between the black and while lines of the early prototype, but on the whole it has been functioning a lot better than it's predecessor which struggled to get any running in pre-season testing. It would also be interesting to see if Red Bull carry this deceptive testing livery through to the main season, or even an even better idea would be to allow Max Verstappen to colour it in using his crayons from primary school.
Force India, Marussia and Caterham
Three of 2014's teams were not at this first test of the new year, two with obvious financial difficulties that struck them down at the end of last season. Force India do appear to be an a bit of bother, recent reports suggest that their car might not be ready for the second testing event either in Barcelona - and the reason behind that is the omnipresent issue of financial support. While the presentation livery revealed in Mexico appeared to be coated in more sponsor logos than the teams that have tested in Jerez, it appears Force India could do with a bit more cash. The current rumours are that suppliers have not been paid and therefore haven't supplied components of some sort to the team. Ultimately meaning the car isn't complete. This naturally is bad news not only for Force India but for the sport as a whole, if a team which has scored podium positions and fought McLaren in the constructors championship is struggling now it is a desperate state of affairs. In it's early years Force India did annoy me, simply because they bought out Jordan (the team) and I liked Jordan and ultimate missed them on the grid. The same applies to Toro Rosso who took over Minardi... except I never quite warmed to the Red Bull play school team. Force India have grown into a valid member of the F1 paddock and it would be a shame for these financial difficulties ruin their 2015 season as they trundle round at the back in an undeveloped car.
Marussia were in greater trouble last season and fell into administration, it was widely assumed that it would be last we would see of the little British team. But as testing came to a conclusion news filtered through of a recovery program building momentum - a program with a variety of backers looking to gain entry into the sport. The recovery plot appears to be headed by Justin King - some rich chap who used to be in charge of Sainsbury's - the plan is in place with Marussia predominantly because of the prize money Marussia are owed for Bianchi's Monaco performance. If the team is able to enter the 2015 season then they can claim the money as part of the recovery plan. But there is a potential barrier - because of the late nature of the plan Marussia - as Manor GP - won't have a complete 2015 car. Therefore Manor (whatever the name ends up being) will have to ask the other teams for special dispensation to use an older spec car while their newer one is developed. If the other teams decide to block the move there will be a dispute over who gets the prize money. In theory it shouldn't be reallocated to prevent other teams in a display of ever increasing greed to push Manor away. The whole money thing centres around the issue of whether Manor GP counts as a separate entry to Marussia even though the team is essentially the same. If they do make the grid in Australia it will be a miracle, but a 2014 car, even with a new engine will be woefully off the pace and will struggle to make the 107% cut-off time. Many people have commented that if the car is going to be that slow and with no-one to compete against, what is the point... I think it would be wonderful for them to return, more cars on the grid the better, if the team want to come back, let them.
As for Caterham, the situation there looks far less promising, not that a Manor GP recovery is a certainty. Most recent updates suggest that team assets are being sold off and any sign of a recovery looks increasingly unlikely. In 2016 the empty space they'll leave behind will be populated by Haas GP, a team that purchased a lot of things from Marussia's asset auction - so maybe they'll be buying up some of the remains of the Caterham team. In the end the demise of Caterham ended a terrible year for former owner Tony Fernandes who after being involved with various arguments with the Kolles and the buyers of the failing team, saw his airline suffer one of the multiple Asian plane crash tragedies over the winter. Caterham started off as the most successful of the three teams that arrived in 2010, and even in 2014 were on form with Marussia as Kobayashi and Bianchi fought for top spot - and then Ericsson joined in once Caterham sorted the steering system out. It would be nice to see them return, to fight alongside Manor GP/Marussia but it is looking very, very unlikely sadly.
No comments:
Post a Comment