1381 replies to this topic

[Redliner]

5$ says Emo ends up at BrawnGP along with santander and telefonica next season.

[_R_]

5$ says Emo ends up at BrawnGP along with santander and telefonica next season.

when's he scheduled to go to Ferrari? 2011?

[F1]

they couldn't afford it.. the gain in reputation and PR was not that significant during this tough time anyways. think about it, how many sports cars does honda have in its entire lineup right now. they have more important issues to deal with right now without being involved in F1.

plus maybe it was the honda engine that sucked all along.. _{i doubt it...}

Rubens Barrichello stunned everyone by dipping under 1 min 19secs today. Massa told reporters that his Ferrari would not have been able to do that lap time. The car is very sound aerodynamically and voices around the team are saying that the Mercedes engine is as much as 70bhp up on last year’s Honda.

[Dr. Jimmmah!]

so much for an engine freeze eh?

[DrDickAction]

when's he scheduled to go to Ferrari? 2011?

rumored...yeah...kimi and massa committed through '10.

[DrDickAction]

so much for an engine freeze eh?

engines are frozen (with the renault exception)....honda's was just frozen with shit performance.

[_R_]

engines are frozen (with the renault exception)....honda's was just frozen with shit performance.

remember their 1000+ hp Suzuka specials?

[Nacho]

engines are frozen (with the renault exception)....honda's was just frozen with shit performance.

Renault and Honda both got caught out by the engine freeze.

Honda's just not around again to 'standardize' their engine.

[Nacho]

so much for an engine freeze eh?

Wasn't it common knowledge that teams like Ferrari had gained up to 50 bhp with 'reliability' mods?

[yonson]

to BrawnGP!!!!!!!!111one

[MrHahn]

This is me thinking out loud.

If this engine freeze went on for say 5 more years +

Couldn't Honda technically come back in when it has more money and have developed an engine thats mega-mundo and effectively by-pass the engine freeze?

I honestly find it hard to believe that BrawnGP is so far out in front - simply for the fact that its really never been done before. If I were to take a guess at where they'd be at Melbourne I'd say around where RBR was last year

[Dr. Jimmmah!]

This is me thinking out loud.

If this engine freeze went on for say 5 more years +

Couldn't Honda technically come back in when it has more money and have developed an engine thats mega-mundo and effectively by-pass the engine freeze?

I honestly find it hard to believe that BrawnGP is so far out in front - simply for the fact that its really never been done before. If I were to take a guess at where they'd be at Melbourne I'd say around where RBR was last year

though i don't doubt their pace with and without fuel right now, i'd find it harder to believe that the top team guys aren't sandbagging too, so really that leaves us in the dark about relative performance. i'll fully believe their competitiveness when i see it on raceday, but i'm ready to jump on the bandwagon

[F1]

Quotes I've seen so far:

Massa: Today we're where we thought we would be before the season start at Melbourne. As far as the performance is concerned I'm really satisfied with our competitiveness compared to all the others, except obviously Brawn GP, who were unreachable for all of us. Right now we're not the fastest car on the track

Sam Michael (Williams): "If they can repeat these laptimes in Melbourne which were set by Button on Wednesday morning during his long stint, Button and Barrichello will win the Australian Grand Prix by one lap advantage."

Flav: - The diffusor design of the BGP001 is a special one, it's even a bit more radical than those from Toyota and Williams. When underdogs set great laptimes then the established teams thinks something wrong. That, among other things, is why Charlie Whiting came to Barcelona to have a look at certain cars. It's about the way the air is guided towards the second diffusor.

Symonds: ''There are different interpretations as to what is allowed and what isn't.'' The engineers would like to have a clarification (I thought they already asked for that a few weeks ago, now it's too late anyway - AFCA) to know whether it's worth to copy the tricks from Brawn GP and Toyota.

Brawn wins Australia and signs Honda as its title sponsor

[vietlol]

Wubens finally wins WDC?

[mads]

wuebens for WDC
then he'll never leave F1

[AErrorist]

Do they check the cars for legality in testing?


Think about it, F1 cars are all under weight, then they add ballast, what if BGP just didn't put the ballast in? 50-75kg advantage?

[_R_]

Do they check the cars for legality in testing?
Think about it, F1 cars are all under weight, then they add ballast, what if BGP just didn't put the ballast in? 50-75kg advantage?

ibextrahiddenfuelcell

[tefnut]

whoa ex-Honda-no-longer-failboat out of nowhere

btw how do this year's laptimes compare to previous years?

[Shi]

whoa ex-Honda-no-longer-failboat out of nowhere

btw how do this year's laptimes compare to previous years?

fastest lap at the new layout Barcelona is probably the 1:20.5 by Massa in last year's Q2

1:18.9 seems pretty phenomenal - Barcelona is a pretty aero dependant track... so much for cutting downforce by 50%

[Dr. Jimmmah!]

fastest lap at the new layout Barcelona is probably the 1:20.5 by Massa in last year's Q2

1:18.9 seems pretty phenomenal - Barcelona is a pretty aero dependant track... so much for cutting downforce by 50%

slicks + KERS + adjustable front wing

[Dr. Jimmmah!]

McLaren says new car not fast enough

By Pablo Elizalde Friday, March 13th 2009, 10:11 GMT

McLaren's Martin Whitmarsh has openly admitted the MP4-24 is not as competitive as the team was hoping it would be at this point of the pre-season.

The team has failed to be close to the top of the timesheets in testing, with both Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen failing to make an impression, leading to suggestions that the team had problems with the car.

On Friday, Whitmarsh confirmed that was the case, admitting the team has found a performance shortfall that it is working hard to rectify.

"Initial testing of MP4-24, which first ran with an interim aero package, went in accordance with our early developmental expectations," said Whitmarsh.

"This week the car has run in Barcelona with an updated aero package, as we had always planned it would, and a performance shortfall has been identified that we are now working hard to resolve."

When asked if the car was fast enough at the moment, he added: "Not at the moment - and certainly not by our team's extremely high standards.

"But Lewis is the reigning world champion, and he became world champion in one of our cars.

"So anything less than success at that level is naturally regarded as unsatisfactory by us, by our partners, by the media and by the fans. Having said that, McLaren has started 648 grands prix. We have won 162 of them and have recorded 431 podium finishes.

"We are proud of our record and have faith in our engineers' ability to work hard to get MP4-24 into a position to add to that record. They are already engaged in doing exactly that."

Mercedes-Benz motorsport boss Norbert Haug said the problems will need time before they are solved.

"We are definitely not where we want to be. We will continue our test programme next week at Jerez for another four days. But it will take time to improve," Haug said.

Whitmarsh, however, said the team will be working flat out to rectify the situation and he is convinced the problems are fixable.

"It is a combination of factors," said Whitmarsh of the car's problems. "Our Mercedes-Benz engine is strong - we saw that last year - so MP4-24's performance shortfall is clearly chassis-centric.

"Inevitably, in 21st-century Formula 1, it is a car's aero aspect that confers the greatest pluses and minuses to its overall performance package, and that would appear to be the case with MP4-24. But Formula 1 engineers can do great things when the pressure is on.

"Speaking to them today, I was struck by their resolute determination to address MP4-24's issues in record time. In fact, it is that kind of resolute determination, coupled with expertise and experience of ultra-high technology and the ability to work accurately and quickly under pressure, that makes Formula 1 the great sport and the tremendous engineering challenge it is."

He added: "Many times in Formula 1 history have successful teams started off with a car that was not working as well as they had hoped it would, and many times have those successful teams engineered their way back to the front of the grid in impressively short order. That is what we aim to do. In fact, that is what we are already doing."

http://www.autosport...rt.php/id/73695

ruh-oh [/scoobydoo]

[Robert]

Felipe Massa Q&A: Brawn threat is genuine

Ferrari have looked quick and consistent throughout winter testing and Felipe Massa is going into the new season with high hopes that 2009 could be his year. According to the Brazilian, the F60’s KERS system is working well and the car should be competitive. His only fear is that a new team led by a certain former Ferrari technical director could be quicker still…

Q: Felipe, it’s two weeks to the first race, are you ready reliability and performance wise?
Felipe Massa: Well, I am ready, we are ready with our preparations. I think we did everything we wanted to do and brought everything that we wanted to bring in terms of development of the car, so I would say that we are pretty prepared for the start of the season. Before this test in Barcelona it was looking a little bit better than after Barcelona - that new Brawn has surprised everybody! Before Barcelona we were maybe one of the quickest cars on the track, or maybe very competitive in the front, and now we are still competitive, behind the Brawn.

Q: The Brawn clocked a fantastic time. Would you be able to do something similar when going for a qualifying lap?
FM: No. And I think nobody can do.

Q: Do you think this time was genuine, or were they running on low fuel?
FM: Many people were running on a low fuel load, not just them. I think their lap time is just much quicker than everybody else can do.

[Nacho]

Kubica agrees.

If BMW Sauber’s 2009 season goes to plan, Robert Kubica will be challenging for the title at the end of it. A maiden victory last year gave the Pole a brief taste of being a championship contender and now he’s eager for another bite of the cherry. Speaking exclusively to Formula1.com, he talks testing, weight savings, and KERS - and reveals why he believes Ross Brawn’s new team could be BMW’s biggest rivals…

Q: Robert, how do you feel about the car? You’ve done enough mileage now to give some kind of verdict…
Robert Kubica: Ah, what a question! But, I agree, it’s the most important thing at this very moment. Well, overall I am pretty happy with the balance and how it feels to drive. Of course, the grip is never too much. Whatever we’ve tried to do, our focus was also clearly to improve the grip. I am quite satisfied with how the car responds to the set-up changes, so overall I can say that the feeling is good.

Q: According to BMW Sauber’s schedule, the ’09 season is to be the year you fight for the championship. Is the team ready?
RK: We will see. Of course the ambitions are high and our target is the highest that we could set for ourselves. To run for the championship means that you’re running against all the other teams and the competition is very high, as we have seen from the very close times at the last test. To go where we want to go, you have to be on top of everything. If you want to win you have to be the quickest. Normally you had to be at least better in some areas of the car - now it seems that you have to be better everywhere.

Q: The last test before Melbourne, are you satisfied with the team’s preparations? The winter weather hasn’t allowed for as much running as you’d have liked with an all-new car…
RK: I would probably be more comfortable if we hadn’t had those two test days in Bahrain, where a sandstorm inhibited running. That left some questions marks which I would like to know the answers to. To drive in Jerez in the wet was quite good, as last year we had, I guess, four races in the wet and we haven’t tested that before. So it was good to test different aerodynamics with the ’09 configuration car. So overall we are pretty satisfied with the programme that we did.

Q: What was your main focus for this last test?
RK: To get answers to the last remaining issues. One of them for sure is the KERS system. I am a pretty heavy driver so it is not so easy to really know which direction to go. And there are many more set-up changes compared to last year. So they will be very busy in the workshop over the next two weeks to evaluate as many things as possible and choose the best package for the first races, because in reality we are talking about four races - Australia, Malaysia, China and Bahrain.

Q: Reliability is more important than ever with an engine that effectively has to last three races. How satisfied are you with this aspect? Have you encountered any problems during testing?
RK: With reliability it’s a funny thing. If it is good you don’t think about it. You only start to think about it when it is bad. And so far, there hasn’t been any real necessity to start thinking about it. Of course we had some problems during the winter but there wasn’t one real issue that caused me to worry. Last year we had a great level of reliability and that shows that we are able to build a reliable car. So basically we just have to keep that level.

Q: You have not been too happy about KERS. Have you made peace with this new technology?
RK: I’ve never been against it. That was never my point. My point was that all the heavy drivers will never be really happy about it. To add a system that weighs around 30 or 40 kilos to a Formula One car and not putting the minimum weight up creates a clear disadvantage for taller and heavier drivers. In Formula One you always have some sort of disadvantage, but never one that is so big. Being 1m 84cm tall and weighting 72 kilos isn’t an advantage - in fact it’s the opposite.

Q: Would it help guys like you to raise the overall weight of the car?
RK: For sure it will never be the same for light and heavier drivers, but raising the overall weight would be a bit less of a disadvantage. I think that should be the way to go.

Q: You’ve slimmed down quite a bit…
RK: Well, there was a moment last year when I was really light - four kilos lighter than now. But that was too much of a weight loss, as I felt it had an unfavourable effect on my physical constitution. If I try to lose weight that is okay, but if I hear that Nick (Heidfeld) is also trying to lose weight, then there is something going in the wrong direction, because F1 drivers have to be fit, as they have to last through a race distance. It is very difficult to keep up your fitness level and lose weight because in the end muscle weighs quite a lot - and we don’t want to see drivers fainting in their cars.

Q: Having now seen all your rivals on the track, who do you think will be your biggest challenger?
RK: On one hand I feel surprised, and on the other I feel happy to see it is Brawn Grand Prix. They are performing really well. There is speculation that they are running very light, but I don’t think that it is a fuel issue. They simply look very competitive. But testing can always mislead you, give you wrong information. In two weeks all speculation will stop, all the ‘blah blah blah’ will stop. Qualifying will show who is on top and who is not.

Q: You have always made it clear that your goal is to be world champion. How close do you think you can come to this ambition?
RK: I hope really close. I felt that last year we probably didn’t have the opportunity, but we were leading the championship at one point, and I said then that you never know when you’ll get another chance. Now I hope that we’ll get another chance!

[kngrsll]

wow, miss a week and miss alot! looks great!! im so ready for a great season

[Skyliner]

If Brawn does really well, I hope they do REALLY well and beat most everyone, and not just the 4th or 5th teams like Toyota.