Well, it's not precisely a soap box derby racer, is it? As bad as it was/is, there's still some real engineering in it. It completed 11 laps in one session last I heard! I am interested in seeing what SAF1 rolls out for the European races
You're right of course. The difference from an Arrows 2002 to the title winning Ferrari was a lot smaller than between say a Brabham from the eighties to a Zakspeed. But other than that Team Aguri is cannon fodder. Their job will be to make Minardi, err Rosso look good. And they will accomplish that. I only wonder what Sato is going to do: The guy is a kamikaze in a regular car. But what will he try in a car where he knows won't last the distance? Hmm...
Right. Have to get used to the new order of things in F1: Rosso will be good for surprises this year and Midland will duke it out with Aguri over who comes last. Remember there was a time where a Midland actually won a race and even had a chance at the title? Come to think of it: There was a time when a Midland ended up on the US podium. But let's not go there again...
9 seconds now, per http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_news_item.php?fes_art_id=27169. And 43 laps, so it's starting to look like a real racecar
Wow, seems like a big waste of money. How can that car even meet current FIA rules/regs? So will there be a minimum of 22 cars on the grid now or will 22 cars have to qualify for 20 spots?
The aero doesn't meet specs, but they'll have a new package by the first race. The chassis was actually extensively redesigned (they claim) to meet 2006 crash standards and to fit the Honda V8. All this, just so Sato can stay in F1. He must be HUGE in Japan. All the teams will be on the grid in 2006. SAF1 makes 11 teams, I think there's still 1 open team slot in F1
Once the team starts making apparel, they'll sell out in Japan and raise enough money to make a new car by midseason. That's probably the only way they could afford a new car Edit: Is this the first time a new team started out in F1 using an old, former team's, chassis? Just seems really strange. I never would've even thought of something like this.
All snickering aside I am glad to see F1 expand rather than shrink in number of teams. I hate to admit this, but that's partly due because of Mad Max' rule changes to make F1 more "affordable". In my book 22 cars is a lot better than 18. 26 would be really nice.
I heard that its a 2" thick peice of allow that fits the tub forwards of the engine, and the engine on the other side. The old Arrows design for the rear suspension has been replaced with the 2k5 Honda design, and the front wishbones etc are up to the latest crash requirements, in other words its a bit of a 'bitsa' design, bits of honda, bitso of Arrows, bits of ripped off Ferrari design I think they may surprise a few people by the end of the year though, Sato is a way better driver than the current car, and has been known for his excellent technical feedback. Early season - back of the grid - late season - mid pack
A few things of note that I have not seen mentioned here on FC about the Super Aguri team. The time last week was posted by, IIRC, their other driver (Ide, I think his name is), doesn't have his SuperLicense yet, so he isn't running full tilt on the car. It was also in the rain, and the car is still in full 2002 specs. The 2006 (actually the SA2005, which is the 'interim' car with up-to-date safety stuff put on the AE23) aero will debut at Silverstone next week. The SA2006, which is the full-blown brand new 2006 chassis will debut in the Euro races. This was also simply a "systems check" to make sure the electronics and engine work alright. They are making sure the mechanical stuff works first, then they will go after the downforce on the 2006 spec aero. Super Aguri Technical Director Mark Preston said this on the aero setup testing this week. Sato took to the track the next day, and dropped the gap to only about 2.2 seconds off the Midland time, which is a full 2006 spec car, while the SA is only a 2002 spec car. Also, I saw this on another forum: This was last years qualifying in Barcelona: 2005: 1 Raikkonen McLaren M 1:16.602 16 Friesacher Minardi B 1:22.453 gap = 5.851 Barcelona today: 1 J. Button Honda 01:13.935 14 T. Sato Super Aguri 01:19.787 gap = 5.852 Not too bad for the third F1 test in the existence of the team, huh? Button was supposedly on full qualifying tilt when he set that time, so I think the Super Aguri guys were probably ecstatic about the time it put up. I wholeheartedly wish them the best. I think when their SA2006 car debuts in Europe later this season, they will jump over the Midland team for sure, and possibly be right up there with the SRT (Red Bull Lite) team. I've always thought that Sato has a load of driving talent, he just gets too wreckless with it. He tries to win the race on lap 10, and either destroys the car, or the engine. If he can calm himself down and be patient behind the wheel, he can be a pretty good race car driver. Is he the next Shumi or Kimi? Heck no. But he's definitaly better than some of the other "bought" drivers in recent years. And either way, I'd much rather have 22 cars on grid than 18, even though they aren't all teams that can win every week. Just the sheer fact the F1 grid is expanding, not retracting, is awesome. Hopefully by 2007 or 2008 we can get closer to 26 or 28 cars on the grid.
