2019 Pre Season thread: Developments, News etc

What happens with De Ferran then ?

 

De Ferran-->Sporting Director

Andreas Seidl-->Managing Director

 

And Zak Brown? Still CEO I presume.

McLaren is facing an uphill struggle to get out of that rut.

I am not too optimistic with this new drivers line up.

Andreas Seidl is a brave man to take on that job !

 

He can be as good as he likes, with a customer engine the best they can do is come second. They better start looking at Formula E before they completely fall into oblivion.

 

So is this paper suggesting Domenicali might make a come back?????

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Read that. Domenicali and Binotto are friends and climbed the ranks of Maranello together. Camilleri is doing absolutely nothing it seems but in his interview Piero Ferrari said he still has full support.

 

Beautiful but a waste of money IMO. If F1 wants to cut costs introduce a spec wheel for all entrants, it would have zero effect on the racing spectacle.

 

Honda respond to claims of partner split

Honda have issued a statement saying there has been a “misunderstanding” over a reported split with a technical partner.

Auto Bild recently reported that Red Bull’s motorsport advisor, Dr Helmut Marko, was also quoted by the German publication saying that the situation has been “resolved”.

However, Honda have said that the resolution has played out differently to what was initially reported and did not end their contract with AVL because there was not even a deal in place.

“It is not a fact that we cancelled our partner contract with AVL because we have not signed a partner agreement with AVL in the first place,” a Honda spokesperson told Auto Sport Web.

“It is true that Honda was talking to work together with AVL, but there is a gap between what Honda is seeking and what they can do and we have not concluded.

“There must have been a misunderstanding.”

The buzz around Red Bull-Honda continues to build after Marko also recently revealed that the Japanese manufacturers will be giving Red Bull a ‘party mode’ to play with in Q3 sessions.

https://www.planetf1.com/news/honda-respond-to-claims-of-partner-split/

 

Max Verstappen will attend this weekend's Marrakech FE race as part of his public service for Ocon BrazilianGP altercation.

 

I don't get how that is public service? He could do PSAs or some kind of community service.

 

If it meets FIA regs then so be it.

 

Community service is supposed to be a punishment, making someone watch a FE race definately falls into the category of punishment. In my opinion, it should count as double hours, just imagine how lame it will be for him to be forced to watch a giant scalectrix set being played with, badly, and have to pretend to be impressed with the size of someone’s batteries

 

LOL

 

Perhaps Max will demonstrate the use of an electric razor?

 

Max at the FE event at Marrakech. Caption anyone???

"Well I'm here. How long do I have to stay?" What??? I have to talk to people like I'm enjoying myself???

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Max Verstappen seen at Marrakesh with his probation officers.

 

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https://www.planetf1.com/news/max-on-interesting-public-service-bird-not-impressed/

After spending a day with the stewards at the Marrakesh E-Prix, Max Verstappen says he understands that while decisions may not always be nice, “you have to follow the rules.”

The Dutchman attended Saturday’s Formula E race at the Circuit International Automobile Moulay El Hassan to honour his public service order handed to him by the FIA.

Verstappen was slapped with order after getting physical with Esteban Ocon following their crash at last year’s Brazilian Grand Prix.

And, at least according to his website, Verstappen says he learned something.

“It’s interesting to see it from the other side. Normally you can’t spend an entire day with the stewards!” he said.

“Everybody does their own job during the weekend, and it’s good to really see what it takes to make these important decisions.

“Sometimes a decision might not be nice for a certain person but it has to be taken and you have to follow the rules.

“I think it’s good to experience different things in racing rather than just sitting in the car.

“To be here and do this kind of work has been a constructive thing for me.”

It was the Red Bull driver’s first up close experience of Formula E with Verstappen hailing the “cool” racing.

“I’ve of course followed Formula E a bit on TV but I’ve never been in the paddock, and I really enjoyed the day.

“First of all it was a really exciting race.

“The championship is clearly growing and there are a lot of manufacturers here, so I think it’s a cool series.”

However, not everyone was happy with the FIA’s decision to use the Formula E weekend to teach Verstappen a lesson.

Virgin driver Sam Bird told RaceFans: “I mean, to call coming to Formula E race ‘community service’ I think does Formula E a bit of an injustice.

“It shouldn’t be a punishment to come here.

“I hope he enjoyed it and I hope he will give good feedback to some of his colleagues.”

 

That says it all.

 

Hehehe. We are all thinking what you are stating Sammy. Enjoy playing with your slot car


Forza Ferrari..... the only racing team and car marque that matters. Italia forever It’s easier to apologise than it is to ask permission

 

[Italian Motorsport] Mick Schumacher MIGHT, I STRESS MIGHT, shake down "project 670" during testing.

 

The case: the new aerodynamic rules penalize the Rake and favor the Mercedes!

The simplification of the front wing, designed to encourage overtaking, heavily penalizes the Red Bull and a little 'Ferrari because with the loss of front load the angle of the Rake will be less. So, the new rules end up helping the Mercedes that is dominating?

Adrian Newey has certainly not been one of the proponents of the new aerodynamic rules. According to Red Bull, the simplification of the front wing will not be limited to reducing the effects of excessive load loss when one car is in the wake of another, with the intent to encourage overtaking in the 2019 season.

What is emerging is increasingly evident that the new front wing will probably have little effect in improving the show, but, at least at the beginning of the season, could have a major impact on the configuration of the cars, forcing teams to bear huge costs for adapt the cars.

So much so that some cars that we will see in the two winter test sessions in Barcelona could be quite different from those that will then face the season and the development plans seem to have been anticipated compared to the timing that had characterized 2018.

Why? In the Red Bull factories, Racing Point (Force India), Renault but also Ferrari there is a lot of agitation because the front load loss (around 20%) can not be properly balanced in the rear axle, so the cars that had exaggerated the Rake attitude, they must revise their angles of inclination of the fund with respect to the track seems to be sensitively.

Here is the ranking of the Rake corner in 2018

Pos. Team Rake
1. Red Bull Racing 1.90 °
1. Racing Point 1.90 °
3. McLaren 1.75 °
4. Renault 1.70 °
5. Ferrari 1.53 °
5. Haas 1.53 °
7. Willams 1.50 °
7. Sauber 1.50 °
9. Mercedes 1.25 °
10. Toro Rosso 1.10 °

The tendency of these teams in the last few years has been to increase the Rake trim by proceeding to lower the front and keeping the rear high in order to increase the diffuser capacity and thus obtain a greater vertical thrust.

As the load increases, the rear axle is lowered due to rather soft springs in the rear, significantly reducing the incidence of the wing and the drag resistance to aim for higher speeds.

And then, to get the most benefit from the new aerodynamic rules will be the Mercedes that has always followed a path of development different from the others: the silver arrows, in fact, in recent years have sought a constant set-up, with the minimum height from the ground with the intent to produce the load with the largest surface given by the longest step of all: 3,726 mm. The Ferrari SF71 was 3,621 mm, while Red Bull was the F1 with the shortest wheelbase of just 3,550 mm.

With the increase in the capacity of the petrol tank (from 105 to 110 kg) it is conceivable an increase in the pace of the machines (from 30 to 50 mm), with the exception of the Mercedes that could slightly shorten the spacer between engine and transmission to keep the same measure for the third year in a row.

It becomes evident, then, as the desire to create a show with overtaking, actually games in favor of the team that dominates the F1 since the beginning of the hybrid era. Is it possible that the working group launched by Ross Brawn to revise the rules that were then developed by the FIA technicians did not realize that the new rules, at least on paper, could favor the Mercedes?

In Brackley they have never exasperated the Rake set-up and they are very experienced in building a very long-seater that is able to stay within the limits of the weight: more pieces, more mass. In order not to go beyond the minimum value it is essential to lighten every component of the car, with a significant increase in costs that goes in sharp contrast with the intentions of the legislators. In short, you look for a goal (legitimate that of overtaking) and you get the results that, according to the simulations, will go to privilege who the world is dominating him.

So let's wait for machines that could be "redone" in the race as soon as it is clear what will be the right trend to develop. This year in the winter tests we should not see too many pre-tactics, but each team will try to field its resources to understand what the actual potential will have achieved ...

https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=it&u=https://it.motorsport.com/f1/news/il-caso-le-nuove-regole-aerodinamiche-penalizzano-il-rake-e-favoriscono-la-mercedes/4323720/&prev=search

 

34 days and counting till testing and this...............

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and a heads up on launch dates

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errari is planning to give its 2019 Formula 1 challenger its on-track debut the day before the start of pre-season testing.

Like last year, the Italian team intends to utilise one of its two permitted promotional events to shake down its car before the first of two tests at the Barcelona circuit.

Ferrari's 2019 car, known as the '670' internally, will be officially launched at the team's Maranello headquarters on February 15.

The plan is to run the car for the first time on-track two days later in Spain, before the first four-day test begins at the same circuit on February 18.

Should Ferrari face any delays to its planned promotional work on the morning of February 17, it is expected to postpone the filming day until after the first test is completed.

Teams are allowed to conduct two promotional events per season.


F1 regulations state that these days must take place "purely for marketing or promotional purposes", with a maximum of 100km of running and using special demonstration-specification Pirelli tyres.

However, they are also a useful way of checking for any teething problems or potential setbacks before the start of testing that would jeapordise crucial pre-season mileage.

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/141030/ferrari-plans-to-run-new-car-before-first-test

 

Trying to get my brain around rake, reduced front wing downforce, effect on overall downforce, potential effect on lap times/speeds...and most importantly how it all interacts with those damn Merc rear wheels and tire cooling (j/k).

I'm curious to see the net effect on overall speeds (and of course the passing). I'm sure all Merc fans are salivating at the prospect of the silver arrows gaining an edge here.