2018 cars

Lusankya

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Several out now. What are peoples thoughts? Barge boards look interesting and the halo is gopping.
 
It appears the regulations regarding the halo are fairly restrictive, causing them all (so far) to be very similar i.e. they sit quite proud of the chassis and the touch down points don't allow for any aesthetic sympathy. The hope was they'd be allowed to integrate them into the overall lines of the car to lessen the visual impact.

I dearly hope Force 1 still have a pink car and are brave enough to have a tiger skin pattern halo for the full thong effect...

The Sauber's quite pretty, and the Renault looks tidy. Red Bull will likely turn up with a regular satin blue / yellow livery at testing, the digital cammo was something different though.

Actual design wise, they're beginning to sprout wings upon wings and turning vanes in more and more places a la 2008. Red Bull seem to be saying they expect Mercedes to be even further away this year, I'm not so sure. Ferrari have been very quiet over the winter and just seem to be getting on with it and might play some games in testing so as to not show their hand. The teaser video they released showing the first fire-up was quite ominous, the little 6 banger sounded like it was set on kill.

I'm told the McLaren will be a return to a proper orange colour scheme instead of the RAC recovery truck livery of last year :thumbsup:.
 
I had read that they could do what they wanted in terms of aero on the Halo but as you say it seems quite conservative so far.

Loving the Force 1 idea.
 
It wasn't funny that Daniel Ricciardo crashed the Red Bull on its first outing. Not at all. I'm sure none of the other drivers had a chortle about that either.
 
I had read that they could do what they wanted in terms of aero on the Halo but as you say it seems quite conservative so far.

They are allowed to put 20mm aerofoils/ "wings" on the halo and thats all. The monstrosity itself is the same on every car, FIA only approved a single design from a single supplier for it.
 
The McLaren looks awful! They’ve combined a perfectly nice orange with a hideous dark blue. And the lack of sponsorship just makes it look unfinished. Truly awful, McLaren. Then again, I’m sure McLaren fans won’t mind too much if it’s quick. Hopefully the Renault engine will help in that regard.

Edit - Finding it hard to see past Mercedes again, to be honest, but it’ll be a lot more exciting if others can compete. I’m a life-long Ferrari fan. The car looks good and I agree that first start up video was ominous. That engine sounds downright angry.

I think Red Bull could really spice things up this year. We don’t know exactly how much input Adrian Newey has had on the design, but I’d imagine quite a lot given their overall performance last season. If Renault have produced a very strong and reliable engine then I think Red Bull will be right up there.

I’m really not a fan of the halo. Yes, I’m all for driver safety, but the teams should’ve been given greater freedom to come up with their own solutions.
 
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The orange is almost period correct for the cars Bruce raced, not sure on the blue - it's very similar to the 2017 Andretti Indy car in terms of overall colour. The Renault mention is a bit on the small side. I expected a more overt 'look at our new engine supplier' gesture :D.

It looks quite basic around the barge board area, much like the Red Bull did this time last year; more to come on the aero front perhaps. For Fernando's sake, I hope it's a decent platform for a title challenge or just some race wins.
 
Nobody likes the halo cars are required to have now. At the very least, try to blend it in? McLaren have made their halo black, in total contrast to the orange surrounding it. C’mon, McLaren. . . I thought you were better than that. Shocking decision.
 
I was'nt sure about Mcalrens choice of Orange for this year. But the car look better on track, still want them to go back to the day glow orange they had during the 80s.

2018 Mclaren f1 car launch.jpg
 
Where's best to get coverage of testing? I checked Sky earlier but they were repeating bits from last season, no mention of anything from Barcelona.
 
I expected there to be a Ted's notebook, either on the Sky F1 channel, or straight onto YouTube. It wouldn't be til later this evening though if at all.
 
I expected there to be a Ted's notebook, either on the Sky F1 channel, or straight onto YouTube. It wouldn't be til later this evening though if at all.
Thanks, I'll check again in the morning.
 
9pm tonight through to Wednesday (Paddock Uncut) and Ted's Notebook at 9.15pm according to Sky's online schedule. Presumably they'll be generous and upload to YouTube for us peasants (no internet access at home for a week or so :().
 
I’m really not a fan of the halo. Yes, I’m all for driver safety, but the teams should’ve been given greater freedom to come up with their own solutions.

Halo is nothing to do with safety, its all about the toad and his ambitions as well as the small matter of a court case with the Bianchi family. It didn't matter what went on the cars, just as long as they did something

As usual the FIA just plod on in their own incompetent way with no consideration or care for the sport. They are just out for themselves and they don't care in any way about motorsport, its their cash cow and nothing more.

Their attitude and incompetence is the main reason that I'm finding is really difficult to keep any interest in the sport.
 
Honda managed the second highest amount of laps today. Good going after the last two years.
 
Yes, after the first day I'm slightly optimistic that 2018 will be less blighted by engine failures and penalties than 2017, which would be a good thing. Very good to see that all teams appear to have had at least a reasonable first day, Alonso's problem notwithstanding.
 
As much as McLaren have been the butt of many jokes for years, I had a hunch this year would be the turning point, not just for them, but for Honda now they're seen as the unloved relative. The laughing would stop the minute Fernando sticks it on the front row. Unlikely to be early on in the season, but I sense it's coming.

Likewise at Torro Rosso, the preconception was they're going to have a nightmare of a year and be overtaken by Sauber now that some money's being thrown their way. On a long enough timeline, Honda will sort themselves out; they've spent too much to pull out now, so are likely to see it through - who knows, this time next year Red Bull might be sporting Honda engines and all thoughts of Aston Martin joining the fray are a distant memory.

It's far too cold in Barcelona to judge lap times, but given how the teams have the most part got some decent running in, it bodes well for the season and hopefully no one team go to Melbourne having clocked up menial mileage.
 
Honda have more freedom now they are away from Mclaren and can supply more than just one team.
 
Honda confirmed for no longer using gp2.

2018 f1 test speeds.png
 
It seems likely, but always difficult to tell at this stage. Given how cold it is over there, it's become more about getting mileage on the cars than anything else. On an apples and apples comparison basis though, the Ferrari seems to be a little bit more sure footed when pressing on; the Merc appears to be a handful - traits from last year continuing perhaps.

Elsewhere, encouraging signs at Torro Rosso, not so much at Sauber, I expected a bit more in the way of track time for them, if not an immediate increase in speed with a current spec Ferrari lump in the back.
 
Looking at what happened last week, I suspect that Mercedes has plenty in reserve and is going to be at least a second quicker than anybody else at the start of the season. They've only used the Medium tyres and they still topped the timing lists, and it's common knowledge (or suspicion, at least) that they usually don't run the engines at full blast during the tests.

The big question is whether Lewis Hamilton will start the season strongly, or if he will take a few races to get his brain in gear, as has happened before. I wouldn't be surprised if Bottas wins the first race or two.
 
It may seem that way on the face of it, but the conditions were so far away from what the cars are designed to run in, that I'd say any and all stats from the first test should be taken with a pinch of salt (or a shovel if the track needs gritting again [emoji38]).

Temperature makes such a difference to engine, aero and tyre performance that running in such cold conditions may have hindered some cars, but favoured others. It may even explain why the Honda engine was so reliable. It always struggled with cooling, so the very cold temps may have made the difference there. It was also suggested that the medium tyre may have been the optimum choice due to its thermal operating range.

I'm looking forward to getting a more realistic view of the performance differentials in the second test. Hopefully the temperatures will be closer to the "norm" this week.
 

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