…and I feel a bit giddy with excitement – like a kid on Christmas eve!

Does anyone know if any websites will be streaming the testing next week, or showing highlights?

BBC might do. Formula1.com usually has live timing though.

Lotus (the green/yellow one) are doing their launch online so yes..

other than that, I’d expect BBC to.

Generally there’s no video streaming from testing – best source for photos & updates will be the various Twitter feeds from teams, journos etc.

Can I be the first?

F1 is boring, motorbikes are better, its a procession, there’s no overtaking, what’s F1?
😉

Motogp has been getting a bit like that too. Moto2 and the 125’s more fun to watch.

BTW, I can’t wait for the new season to start. Makes my Sundays watching the races – and it is also a herald to the new spring and the forthcoming summer 🙂

Are they going to attempt to make the cars even more ugly than they have been for the last few years?

Whats the latest buzz technology that is going to make F1 Sooo exciting but turns out to make it even more boring?

Looking forward to HD coverage too after watching IndyCar racing and LeMans in HD last year. I cant see the benefit of HD in some cases but it seems to make a massive difference in motor sport.

F1 should get those moveable cameras they have on the roll-hoops of IndyCars. Some of the side-by-side shots on ovals take your breath away at times.

Not a F1 fan, but isn’t the car-launch a bit like football teams presenting their new signings? i.e. pointless until you’ve seen them in action?

Depends how much of a geek you are. Seeing the car often shows details that give an idea of any clever ideas lurking in the design – eg McLaren’s f-duct last year or the DDD, etc.

Not a F1 fan, but isn’t the car-launch a bit like football teams presenting their new signings? i.e. pointless until you’ve seen them in action?

Nah, not to me – its always exciting to see who’s come up with what, and to see if anyone’s found a grey area in the rules. Anyway they will be in action – next Tuesday!

@mogrim – this year lots of the teams are launching the cars at Valencia just before the first test next week, so it’ll be more like the new signing being unveiled just before kick off. If you’re a proper F1 geek (puts hand up) then the technical dissection of the new cars is fascinating – for anyone on Twitter ScarbsF1 is worth following for that.

i’ll be off to valencia on monday, so probably see some of the cars that afternoon. should be fun!

I love the launch/test season – I love the armchair aerodynamics, the endless banter about bloody overtaking (which I merely roll my eyes at), the pointless speculation… Most of all I love the desperate optimism of the McLaren fans – who are already on the back foot with no new car for the first test.

Most of all I love the desperate optimism of the McLaren fans – who are already on the back foot with no new car for the first test.

And the denial on the faces of Ferrari fans when confronted by another year of trying, very unsucessfully, to not cheat through a season.

Cheat? What are you talking about?

All teams push the limits technically.

You mean like breaking the team order rules?

Oh, that’s what you’re on about. So no other team broke them? Not McLaren? Not Red Bull? Why do you think they’ve been overturned, by all the teams’ consent?

Think you might have your blinkers on.

Most of all I love the desperate optimism of the McLaren fans – who are already on the back foot with no new car for the first test.

Missing the first test with the new car was planned months ago, they aren’t late.

Hispania on the other hand! I can’t see them even starting the season.

@mogrim – this year lots of the teams are launching the cars at Valencia just before the first test next week, so it’ll be more like the new signing being unveiled just before kick off. If you’re a proper F1 geek (puts hand up) then the technical dissection of the new cars is fascinating – for anyone on Twitter ScarbsF1 is worth following for that.

Fair enough if they’re going to be put into action shortly after, otherwise it still seems a little pointless. Despite a degree in Aeronautics, if someone showed me two cars, one with an f-duct and the other without, until I’d actually seen them in action any comments I could make would be purely speculation.

That said, I’m not knocking the fun that can be had speculating about this kind of thing, and I can clearly see the (admittedly geeky) appeal of talking about it!

Ferrari teaser

You mean this ???

Nothing much showing really, evolution not revolution.

But there’s no guarantee that this is how it’ll actually appear on track of course.

front view.

I’d love to have a go in that!

evolution not revolution.

…and that could be Ferrari’s downfall this season.

They were a good way behind Red Bull to start with, and we all know how Adrian Newey loves a new set of rules! Mclaren have promised an innovative car as well.

I don’t think they were all that far adrift of Red Bull. Certainly, they were second best car, and without the reliability problems (and I think a little bad luck) Alonso would be WDC right now. I think Red Bull still have an edge, because they have Newey and momentum on their side, but Ferrari are def second favourite.

To believe that McLaren always wanted to miss the first test is a bit, er, swallowing the spin whole! No way was that always their intention – it might not be such a big deal, but I don’t believe it is ideal.

To believe that McLaren always wanted to miss the first test is a bit, er, swallowing the spin whole!

Well seeing as they’re launching their car on the 4th I’d say it was planned. If they were desperate to be at the first test I’m pretty sure a team with Mclaren’s resources could have easily had it ready for the 1st instead.

We’ll see, I guess.

I’d bet on Ferrari and Red Bull ahead, McLaren just behind. I also think Renault will continue to improve, whatever they’re going to be called.

Kers and driver adjustable front and rear wings should be interesting for 2011.

Front wings aren’t adjustable this season.

Front wings aren’t adjustable this season.

just looked at the changes and yep removed!

Not sure where the evolution statement comes from. They’ve got a completely new rear suspension for a start. Plus have promised loads of stuff on the car by the time Bahrain comes round.

I saw a new bus outside the bus station this morning.

@glenp – this analysis comes down pretty well on the side of progressive evolution rather than any radical re-thinking. The ‘new rear suspension’ is still pushrod but probably has a more advanced version of the linked front & rear suspension they were rumoured to have last year (wonder if Bionicon are watching…) and the fact it’s still got last year’s wing either means they’ve got something super-secret to stick on it later or else they’ve not finished making this year’s yet. I expect there will be other mods to the engine cover & sidepod area, and the diffuser will probably be a decoy/dummy at the moment too.

Hadn’t got round to looking at scarbs this morning. Car launch season – even less work gets done!

Well seeing as they’re launching their car on the 4th I’d say it was planned. If they were desperate to be at the first test I’m pretty sure a team with Mclaren’s resources could have easily had it ready for the 1st instead.

you’re making a big assumption that they haven’t had to pull out all the stops just to get ready for the 4th!

Lotus (as in the green ones) have done well, at first glance. Much more tightly packaged and swoopy than their first effort.

I think the retro JPS black and gold of the Renault is just daft, personally.

Sauber – hmm. Can’t see much to get excited about there.

Really, we’re all just waiting for the Red Bull tomorrow, and for all the other teams to go “doh!”.

+1 on the renault – a botched livery job. Maybe it’ll look better on TV than in photos, but it lacks the subtlety of the original JPS Lotus. Intriguing questions on their exhaust routing though – possibly some diffuser controversy before the testing even starts.

Lotus (the green ones) – some nice ideas and an engine/gearbox step for them this year so should have some promise. Looks like the pullrod rear is picking up some other cues from another team who they’re borrowing from.

Sauber – looks typically Swiss (is that race-ist?). Efficient but dull midfield machine.

Roll on RBR, see what Newey’s come up with this time. And then the Woking crew claim to have something up their sleeve for the end of the week, by which time we’ll have seen some stellar laps from teams who still need some sponsorship for next year and some cagey laps from those who think they’re in with a shout.

If its true that Renault exhaust system sounds very interesting…

http://hopkinsonf1.wordpress.com/2011/01/31/renaults-exhaust-blown-front-diffuser/

…doesn’t mean it will make it any faster of course!