and here you go first this is the front nose as spotted at the launch. It is a little different that the F2003-GA nose but not much.
And here is a version of the front wing that they ran at the first tests. Notice that this wing has 3 elements instead of the 2 fitted at the launch. Also note that the rear wing is unpainted. so more than likely a different design from the launch.
I think I read that they were testing with the old three element wing and hence the times were not really that telling and meaningful. Obviously the point of the two vs three element wing is less downforce, which is why we'll see at lot of the teams use full rear wings even at the high speed tracks (I wonder what they will do at say Monaco? Just crash and burn?). And this is also why the top teams are trying to regain that lost downforce with drastic aero designs. Which is why the Renault looks so wild for example. That also means, that teams who just picked up last year's design (e.g. Jaguar and Sauber), will not have much luck. Their cars were designed for different wings and they'll lack downforce on the slow tracks. Just my 2 nickels.
Andreas; McLaren has also been seen running a 3 element front wing on the MP4/19 this year. I think the reason that they are testing them is the fact that the teams have to run such a large barn door at the back of the car. The high angle of attack creates a lot of drag. If the team can get as much down force off of a 3 element wing as a 2 element wing with out the drag penalty, it can be an advantage over the teams running 2 elements. Also take a look at the leading edge as it is more sculpted than the 2 element wing. I have a new CFD package on its way that can solve 3D flow problems that i hope to get a chance to see the results in a few weeks Rob
Mark; I seriously doubt that Ferrari is behind the 8 ball this year. In terms of engine reliability they are way ahead of the other teams in the fact that the motors were already rock solid. Plus the fact that they have not only there car but also the Saubers to perform the trackside reliability testing, this is a plus for SF. The new chassis is doing outstanding lap times and lots of distances without any reliability issues. The F2003-GA came out started having problems right away. They had several failures of the engines and suspension systems the caused the team to lose valuable track time correcting the issues. By then the team had to make the descision to run the new car or the F2002. The main issues was that neither car was set up or adaptable for the new qualifing system and this was hurting the team. Also the bridgestone tires last season truly stunk, That was another weak point. It would seem that Ferrari had done all of there homework and learned from all of there mistakes of last season. Bridgestone has also donw some homework and now seems to have tires that work much better now. All in All i feel that the F2004 will make the F2003-GA look more like something that Minardi would have run. Rob
