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so we’ll have a black merc, and an orange merc and one presumes a green and pink merc
F1 was pretty good when almost everyone used the Cosworth DFV.
BTW, is it just me or does everyone else suspect that this William Storey bloke has personal hygiene issues that could curdle milk?
Funny, I think he's the other way - one of those preening, hyper-toiletried blokes who has beard wax, hair mousse, moisturiser, 400 different beard trimmer attachments and smells of Brut - but a stupidly expensive alternative called Spillâge or something.
F1 was pretty good when almost everyone used the Cosworth DFV.
wasn't referring to the engine.....
For 2021, we're going to have four Merc powered teams (Merc, Aston, McLaren, Williams), three Ferrari powered teams (Ferrari, Alfa, Haas), two with Honda (Red Bull and Alpha Tauri) and only Alpine with er, Renault.
I wonder if a comparative lack of testing and race mileage will hurt Alpine/Renault's development over the next couple of seasons?
Do engine upgrades have to be applied across the board? Say Ferrari come up with something, could they only upgrade Alpha's engine for instance, test it there and then introduce it and the next upgrade together to Ferrari, who then have only had one upgraded engine rather than two and so can have a further one later in the season?
andrewh
Free MemberDo engine upgrades have to be applied across the board? Say Ferrari come up with something, could they only upgrade Alpha’s engine for instance, test it there and then introduce it and the next upgrade together to Ferrari, who then have only had one upgraded engine rather than two and so can have a further one later in the season?
Customers have to have the same power units available as the main team. I think a team that's a powertrain supplier could do what you suggest for the two different cars in their own cars, by just giving the updates to the drivers alternately, but those updates would have to be made available for example to AlfaRomeo & Haas as soon as Ferrari ran them.
I don't believe the customers must use the same parts as the engine supplier makes available in certain areas (software is one), so there is potentially a grey area there?
I presume RB could do the same over their two and AlphaTauri's two cars, but I'm not 100% sure. Moot point considering they're not doing any dev (apparently).
Do engine upgrades have to be applied across the board? Say Ferrari come up with something, could they only upgrade Alpha’s engine for instance, test it there and then introduce it and the next upgrade together to Ferrari
Good question, TBH I don't know. We do know that Ferrari's 2020 engine was down on power due to some unspecified FIA sanction, which meant that the car didn't operate in it's expected performance window, thus drag was more of a factor than anticipated. I don't know whether Alfa Romeo and Haas will be using 2020 spec engines, or if they'll be using 21 spec Ferrari power.
AFAIK, teams always get the latest upgrade unless there are reliability concerns. They don't run customer spec engines that are a step behind anymore. The lead times on the major components are quite long so they need to have everything scheduled months ahead. I think Merc have decided to just do an upgrade for the start of the season and run that spec for the whole year.
One careful owner? https://www.planetf1.com/news/sebastian-vettel-supercars-sale/
One careful owner?
Does the traction control have a "Vettel Mode" that sets off random spins for the amusement of onlookers?
getting rid before Mr Ferrari asks for them back ?
getting rid before Mr Ferrari asks for them back ?
Probably selling to recoup some of the costs of buying this!
As he didnt want to pay this much for this!!!!!
https://uk.motor1.com/news/443836/vettel-ferrari-f2004-too-expensive/
Well at least they have got it rolling. Fingers crossed it helps get them even closer to the top this season.
I really do wish McLaren well for 2021. They're in a far better place than they were in 2018, even without Alonso. Will be interesting to see how they perform in testing at Bahrain next to Aston, Alpine and Ferrari.
Someone please correct me if I'm wrong but I'm sure that Ricciardo has been propelled by Renault power ever since the start of the hybrid era, so there will be some acclimatisation for him getting used to the Merc engine.
And it would be really, really nice if F1 cars didn't have to have a wheelbase of 137 metres.
Are we doing that fantasy F1 thingy on GridRival again this year?
I’m sure that Ricciardo has been propelled by Renault power ever since the start of the hybrid era, so there will be some acclimatisation for him getting used to the Merc engine.
You mean like not bursting into flames after two race distances?
Just noticed that the "new" redbull has been launched. How many teams have sacked off the whole launching thing this year and will just roll the car out into the pit lane at the first test session - unless you've got particularly picky sponsors I can't see much wrong with that approach this time.
I'm sure another reorg will sort out what's been holding them back for the last 15 years.
https://twitter.com/wearetherace/status/1364907361777967105
I’m sure another reorg will sort out what’s been holding them back
Rearrange to form a well known phrase or saying;
Titanic the deckchairs the on rearranging
Interesting article on Planet F1 saying Ferrari's punishment for cheating in 2019 was that they weren't allowed to use as much fuel in 2020, but the engine would be permitted full power/fuel in 2021...Testing is going to be interesting.
My prediction is that the 2022 F1 thread will start some time in November
This is supposed to be an F1 thread, I'm sure there are others for deluded, attention seeking fatasists...
oomidamon
Full MemberThis is supposed to be an F1 thread, I’m sure there are others for deluded, attention seeking fatasists…
Okay, just for my future reference where are you drawing the line? At around the Bernie-mark or closer to EJ?
Scary thing with the RE thing, is that it is going to be much cheaper for an independant to join for this season as the joining fees have effectively been waived.. There's been rumours of 1-2 new joiners floating around. That said, i cant see who it will be, they will need a major fuel and lubriant sponsor as well as someone to supply the PU, which can only be Renault or Ferrari..
There’s been rumours of 1-2 new joiners floating around.
A small F1 team has 200 or more employees. The top technical staff need to have experience running an F1 team and designing F1 cars. Plus they need access to a wind tunnel and a factory, not to mention an engine supply. To set up a team for the 2022 season, they would have to have the design team in place now and working in the wind tunnel, which means they would need an engine supply contract already signed. If they were that far advanced, everybody would already know. There might be people exploring the possibility, but they won't be on the grid before 2023 at the very earliest. Not to mention, it's probably cheaper to buy Haas or Sauber than to start from scratch.
Perez starting to subtly turn the screw on verstappen
https://www.planetf1.com/news/sergio-perez-red-bull-driver-struggles/
I did wonder about that.
If Max likes a weird car set up, which doesn't suit Gasly or Albon, were RB thinking 'well it works for Max, and did for Ricardo, these guys are just making excuses?' Possible, given their lack of experience.
Checo might have an advantage here in that they may think 'he does know what he's talking about so if he asks us to make more like this and less like that maybe it's worth a try'
How different can you make the two cars? Can Max have a weird front end and the other driver a more normal feeling one or will set up changes only go so far, would they/could they use totally different components, say front wings or suspension or whatever makes it feel like that?
mercedes car reveal in...
woah the sidepods look tiny!
(obviously could be decoy from whatever other tasty stuff they've stuck on)
If F1 car wheelbases get any longer, we'll see cars covering a race distance as soon as the rear wheels cross the start line.
One of the most interesting things I think about "Mercedes" at the moment is that the team is only 1/3 owned by Mercedes
Surely you mean "Mmmmmmeeeeerrrrrrrccceeeeeddddddeeeeesssss", not "Mercedes"?
Okay, just for my future reference where are you drawing the line? At around the Bernie-mark or closer to EJ?
I certainly wouldn't describe either of those as fantasists (or fatasists!) but they are both prone to bouts of attention seeking. However, both have far more rights to be talked about in terms of F1 than a shady bloke who didn't pay his sponsership deal but still claims to be coming back to F1, like he said he was buying Sunderland FC. Talk is cheap.
The Alpine looks nice.
Indeed it does. Just to recap the potted history of the team over the last forty years:
1981-1985: Toleman
1986-2001: Benetton
2002-2010: Renault
2011-2015: Lotus
2016-2020: Renault
2021- : Alpine
The Mercedes is a bit meh - don't think the black background helps show much though.
Love the livery on the Alpine.
Airbox looks huge in this pic
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eta; closeup image nabbed from f1technical, comparing to the macca
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Too much green on the merc for me (I especially hate the green wheel rings). The alpine livery looks so much better.
The massive airbox is where Alonso keeps his dummies - he needs to throw at least one out every lap. I heard there's a direct auto-dispenser feed to the cockpit!
[i]I especially hate the green wheel rings[/i]
I am not totally up on F1 tech but aren't they there to stop them kerbing the rims when they park?
Covers are off the AMR21:
Some interesting nose designs this year - whether they are 'final' is yet to be seen though.
Can someone post a pic of last year's merc from the same angle as that Aston Martin photo above. Just want to make sure 😉
Well it's got last years Mercedes rear end. Nose is different though - more pinched in.
https://twitter.com/ScarbsTech/status/1367130704182657029