Formula 1: The 2010 generation.

[Ferry_vO]

11 Out of 13 teams have revealed their cars for the 2010 season, only Campos meta 1 and US F1 have not yet shown anything.
New rules for this year include a ban on refuelling, so all cars now need a much larger fuel tank (Approx. 230 liters now compared to 90 liters last year). Front tyres are less wide, and a new points system is introduced: 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1. All qualifying sessions can now be driven with low fuel levels, but the first ten on the grid will have to start the race on the same tyres they've qualified on. Only eleven sets of tyres will be available for each car; last year that number was 14.

This years' teams and drivers:

McLaren-Mercedes:

1:Jenson Button
2:Lewis Hamilton

Car: MP4/25

Mercedes GP:

3: Michael Schumacher
4: Nico Rosberg

Car:GPW01

Red Bull Racing-Renault

5: Sebastian Vettel
6: Mark Webber

Car: RB6

Ferrari

7:Felipe Massa
8: Fernando Alonso

Car: F10

Williams-Cosworth

9: Rubens Barrichello
10: Nico Hulkenberg

Car: FW32

 

[Ferry_vO]

Renault.

11: Robert Kubica
12: Vitaly Petrov

Car: R30

Force India-Mercedes

14: Adrian Sutil
15: Vitantonio Liuzzi

Car: VJM03

Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari

16: Sebastien Buemi
17: Jaime Alguersuari

Car: STR5

Lotus-Cosworth

18: Jarno Trulli
19: Heikki Kovalainen

Car: T127

Campos Meta 1-Cosworth

20: Bruno Senna
21: TBA

Car: TBA

Team US F1-Cosworth

22: Jose Maria Lopez
23: TBA

Car: TBA

Virgin Racing-Cosworth

24: Timo Glock
25: Lucas Di Grassi

Car: VR1

BMW-Sauber-Ferrari

26: Kamui Kobayashi
27: Pedro de la Rosa

Car:C29

 

[Ferry_vO]

This years' calendar:


<TABLE style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #cccccc 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #cccccc 1px solid; WIDTH: 100%; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; BORDER-TOP: #cccccc 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: #cccccc 1px solid" border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6><TBODY><TR><TD>Mar 14</TD><TD>Bahrain, Sakhir</TD><TD></TD></TR><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f8"><TD>Mar 28</TD><TD>Australia, Melbourne</TD><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD>Apr 04</TD><TD>Malaysia, Kuala Lumpar</TD><TD></TD></TR><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f8"><TD>Apr 18</TD><TD>China, Shanghai</TD><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD>May 09</TD><TD>Spain, Catalunya</TD><TD></TD></TR><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f8"><TD>May 16</TD><TD>Monaco, Monte Carlo</TD><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD>May 30</TD><TD>Turkey, Istanbul</TD><TD></TD></TR><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f8"><TD>Jun 13</TD><TD>Canada, Montreal</TD><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD>Jun 27</TD><TD>Europe, Valencia</TD><TD></TD></TR><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f8"><TD>Jul 11</TD><TD>Britain, Silverstone</TD><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD>Jul 25</TD><TD>Germany, Hockenheim</TD><TD></TD></TR><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f8"><TD>Aug 01</TD><TD>Hungary, Budapest</TD><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD>Aug 29</TD><TD>Belgium, Spa-Francorchamps</TD><TD></TD></TR><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f8"><TD>Sep 12</TD><TD>Italy, Monza</TD><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD>Sep 26</TD><TD>Singapore, Singapore</TD><TD></TD></TR><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f8"><TD>Oct 10</TD><TD>Japan, Suzuka</TD><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD>Oct 24</TD><TD>Korea, Yeongam</TD><TD></TD></TR><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f8"><TD>Nov 07</TD><TD>Brazil, Sao Paulo</TD><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD>Nov 14</TD><TD>Abu Dhabi, Yas Marina Circuit</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

[Wing_Z]

Good compilation - thanks!
(Unfortunate framing of Ross Brawn, he looks like the Michelin Man :d)
Poor old Nick Heidfeld doesn't get a look in it seems.
Ah well, I''ll stop beating his drum then.

I'm quite looking forward to this season - lots of experienced drivers, and the great unknown of all the new teams.

 

[Tako_Kichi]

As a Brit it's nice to see 'British Racing Green' on the grid again and I wish Lotus well. Could be an interesting year with all the changes and new teams.

 

[Ferry_vO]

Now that teating is well underway we can take a closer look at the 2010 cars because now the teams will try out the new parts that are not mounted when the car is revealed.

We'll start with the Vrigin VR1, the first F1 car designed entirely on a computer using CFD. The car features a very long nose with a very basic front wing. No frills, just two planes and simple end plates. Plenty of space to add more layers should they require more downforce.

Note the bump in the floor pan just below the word 'Oxigen': Most likely ballast weight to bring the car up to the mandatory 605 kilo's. To enhance the centre of gravity you want this placed low.

The Lotus T127 is a very conventional design, with the square and high side pods and narrow and high nose this looks like a car from a few years ago. The front wing looks messy compared to the VR1. Apparently Lotus (Mike Gascoyne) didn't have any engine specs when they started design on this car hence the conventional looks, but other teams are using the same engine..

The Williams FW32 has an interesting second air intake behind the first one, maybe for the gear box?
KERS will not be used this year, but Williams is working with Porsche to make a hybrid 911 GT3 that will use Williams' KERS system to power an additional electric engine on the front wheels, hence the logo on the car.

Force India's car is an evolution of last years' car, but here we also see two extra intakes on the air box?
The black cross on top of the car is a testing device. Like RBR, STR McLaren and Sauber Force India adopted the 'Anvil wing' or 'Shark fin'.

 

[Ferry_vO]

More tomorrow; my computer just crashed just as I was almost ready with part 2...

 

[wombat666]

Odds on that idiotic front wing on the Faux Lotus making it through many first turns???
Given that they will be at the back of the grid it is highly likely it will be very messy.
And according to scuttlebutt it seems as if USF1 is all but dead and buried.
:isadizzy:

 

[Ferry_vO]

The Renault R30 has a rear wing with two big curves in the lower plane, almost like an 'M', and the wing has a central support beam. The rest of the car looks like an evolution of last years' car. I do like the retro 70's colourscheme though! The front wing end plates are very simple compared to some of the other cars.

The Ferrari F10 is an elegant and clean design, with relatively big and rounded side pods.

The double diffusor design is clearly visible in this shot, just below the tail light. Ferrari also uses a central support for their rear wing.

The STR5 is Scuderia Toro Rosso's first car, but it is pretty much an evolution of last years' car (Which was a copy of the RBR). They have the biggest shark fin with a large exhaust at the base. The engine exhausts are placed very low in the body and aimed at the lower part of the rear wing to increase air flow there.

The RBR car is not all that different, with the same exhaust at the back. They have opted for a two-part double diffusor (On both sides of the tail light) and still use a pull rod rear suspension, in stead of a more conventional push rod. It's clearly visible that the STR car features the same suspension type now!

 

[Ferry_vO]

BMW-Sauber Ferrari (Apparently they forgot to change the teams' name to just 'Sauber' for this year..) are of course using BMW's design for 2010 which looks like a radical change from last season which was of course a disaster for the team. The nose is very wide and high, the front wing has some interesting curves, there's a 'semi shark fin' and two vanes between the side pod and the rear view mirrors.

The Mercedes looks like an evolution of the Brawn car at the front, but the rear looks different. It's very compact compared to other cars. The air box looks a bit odd because it appears to be lower than allowed. There's a grey part between the intake and the camera to reach the mandatory height of 95 centimeters.
This seems a bit strange; the airflow into the intake should be as clean as possible, and the drivers' helmet can be a big influence on this airflow because it is moving part.
Other areas of interest: The guide vanes on the sides of the nose (Just below the two cameras) and the little wing mounted on top of the tail light! Only a rudimentary real shark fin here.

The McLaren MP4/25 is the most interesting car I've seen this year (So far).
In this photo you can see a small intake on top of the nose that's mounted left of the center line, and what looks to be a second air intake below the engine intake. The intakes in the side pods for the engine cooling are very small.

The side pods drop down steeply and end on the floor of the car just in front of the rear wheels.

The nose is the most complex I've seen; lots of little tunnels to guide the air. These days a front wing doesn't just generate dwon force, it also helps to guide the air towards the brake ducts, side pods, past the front wheels and even underneath the car! Note that the top planes are wider than the lower ones and even extend over the wing end plates. Most cars have a single 'keel' under the car that splits the air left and right and guides it towrds the back of the car. If you look at the Mac you can see a second keel just behind the front wing mounts which probably helps with the air flow towards the side pods. Williams had a similar concept last year, but on a smaller scale.
For this year the wheel covers on the outise are no longer allowed, but McLaren have extended the brake ducts on the inside to the front of the wheels and it even wraps around the tyre a bit, to get a clean air flow to the ducts.

 

[Ferry_vO]

Every time the Mac entered the pit, the mechanics were quick to cover up the rear end of the car, but fortunately the photographers are quicker with their cameras..
The red smears you see on the inside of the rear wing is a red dye used to make the air flow visible, a sort of live wind tunnel testing!:

This shot is even better and shows what the team wants to hide: A very complex diffusor and it appears they have extended the body so far towards the rear wing that it forms what looks like another diffusor! There appear to be two 'channels' inside of this box as well.
On the inside of the rear wheels there are two wings that guide the air up.

 

[Ferry_vO]

An update on US F1: http://www.worldcarfans.com/110021924668/we-are-not-gone--usf1

 

[Wing_Z]

An update on US F1: http://www.worldcarfans.com/110021924668/we-are-not-gone--usf1

Forgotten, but not gone?
Hope they can put something together...

Interesting the top teams' cars look much more organic - lots of complex curves.

OT: to get my F1 fix I watched the movie Grand Prix on TCM; made in 1966.
Amazing to see the likes of Phil Hill, Graham Hill, Juan-Manuel Fangio, Jim Clark, Jochen Rindt and Jack Brabham. Richie Ginther and Bruce McLaren, too.
Open cars, balls-out driving.