Looks pretty mean to me. Love the livery, best in years. Sidepods look small. Looks like a pretty nice package to me honestly. Yes the merc looks like a world beater. They will win 18-20 races. This is F1 now.
+1 +1, finally some people that agree with me that it's a pretty good looking car. Sure, they're not F2001s or 412T2's, but from what they can do it's a good looking thing. Merc likely to win it I agree, I just hope Red Bull/Newey have got something epic up their sleeve...
Agree. I hope the Ferrari goes better then it looks. Ferrari have traded airflow over the sidepod to under and around the sidepod, which is more turbulent. Airflow atop the sidepod was also traded by Mercedes in their design, as such airflow is sort of an artifact of when beam wings were around. I'm sure Ferrari's data shows the air stays more attached to the floor with this configuration feeding the top of the diffuser more efficiently. Ferrari also integrated the side crash structure into something useable, although it remains questionable how much. This all said, I like that Ferrari is doing their own thing because they are not going to out-Mercedes, Mercedes, or out-Red Bull, Red Bull. At Mercedes, their engine was further revised and Andy confirmed it is making well over 900bhp and this new unit will be able to operate at full-bananas for a significant time longer than the previous units, which had different mappings purposed for preservation. The McLaren has some interesting things going on here and there. Their sidepod openings are very small which I hope works for them. Their engine is said to mimic the Mercedes unit so I hope they make a dent in the mid-pack but I'm not holding my breath until at least mid-season. We will see a lot of new bits at testing this year. Can't wait.
I can't judge the cars until we start to see results. Not a fan of the noses and the front wings are far too busy (actually, all of the designs look wind tunnel and CAD focused) but we'll see what the results say. I don't get the obsession with the thumb nose. Merc has never used it and they seem to do well without it. Regarding Ferrari's aggressive take; RBR has used it effectively in the past, but their aero design kept the rear nailed to the tarmac. Hopefully Ferrari has accounted for that (Ionly question because of the complaint about Merc and RBR's suspensions)
Agree! I'm hopeful that a challenged Ferrari found a way to do what Enzo did...make a powerful engine that's supported by a car. That's the challenge this year. Aero will obviously play a role in keeping the car planted, but if it's down on hp, it will see the back of the Merc all season
Yes. I just hope there was some scientific justification to be different and not simply for the sake of being different.
2017 Ferrari F1 SF70H First Shakedown & Engine Sound! (VIDEO 2min 27sec) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxCfyXAhiBo for those that have'nt seen this....if its posted please disregard.
I hated the fins on LMP cars and I'll hate them here... That said, if it's faster, I'll accept it. I'm seeing a lot of comments about it not being as pretty, but is that the point? In competitive racing shouldn't performance and results come above all else? That said, if we have another years like the last few... well then maybe it's all for naught haha.
I wish the turbo engine at least sounded more like the Lotus 98t and cars from that era. It just sounds so flimsy on the top end (even though the cars would absolutely destroy anything from that era around the track).
lol. I'ts an engineering championship pure and simple; these F1 clowns needed to keep things simple to improve the show (think MotoGP) and its more aero bs run amok. Cars are ugly, the MB the least so thus far. Funny how MotoGP bikes started fooling around with aero winglets on the sides and they were quickly banned....
You're still living in 2015. McLaren have been a solid midfield team in 2016, with Alonso having two 5th place finishes at Monaco and United States. Far from being at the back at the field like in 2015. Maybe so, but remember when Button went over to Macca and the same was said? Button held his own against Elton. Bottas has done some impressive driving before in the inferior Williams, so I hope he brings the fight to Hamilton now that he's gonna be in the same car. Wasn't it Ducati that started using the winglets first? They were ridiculously huge in relation to the bike with their maximum downforce configuration.
Bottas doesn't stand a chance. Anyone thinks otherwise is just drowning in their own Ham hate. He's there to keep the seat warm for Vettel or Alonso.
We'll see. Like I said, look at 2010 when Button moved to McLaren. Regarding that seat, IF Bottas doesn't deliver a respectable performance, I do hope Alonso goes to Mercedes in 2018.
Button is a WDC. I wouldn't bet against him. If the new Ferrari doesn't deliver respectable performance, I do hope Vettel swaps seats with Hamilton
As Andreas said before, Bottas' benchmark was a waning Massa and the results were hardly stellar. It's a shame three car teams aren't allowed. Hamilton, Vettel and Alonso driving the same car would be a championship to behold. At that point I could care less if MB was dominating. I think Ham's contract is only up in 2019 so Bottas is the only one getting booted at the end of the year.
3 car teams would be great! I don't know if any/most tracks could accommodate that many cars in the pits, but if not, I'd welcome the extra challenge for the teams to shuffle around their cars for pit stops and garage work. Plus it would allow for more drivers to bet into F1. Imagine 30+ cars duking it out.
