http://www.motorsport-aktuell.com/automobil/berger-warum-brawn-kein-newey-ist-3569996.html A few highlights translated from the interview: - Vettel will be hard to beat with this car. - Alonso is currently the best driver. He has reached the zenith. Sebastian is not the best yet because he is younger and less experienced. He lacks the technical experience of Alonso. - Brawn is a technical manager, not a designer like Adrian Newey or John Barnard or Rory Byrne. Back then Byrne developed innovatively Schumacher's Ferrari, adapted the car to his driving style and won championships that way. This person today is missing at Ferrari, at Mercedes and at most other teams. That is why Red Bull is so strong. - Schumacher's statements after the Barcelona tests were clear, they would be going after Red Bull. (Melbourne's) results were disappointing. They lack the artist who designs the car and has a vision. - Malaysia is aerodinamically even more challenging and therein lies the strength of Red Bull. Therefore they will be even more dominant. And they haven't even used KERS - they still have reserves. I found the part about Byrne vs Brawn fascinating. And I agree that a Nick Fry is no Byrne or Newey. Ferrari is facing a very similar problem.
I totally agree regarding the Alonso statement. He is amazing. RB may have their wings clipped shortly as their car is going under heavy review due to the aggregious flexing. That would certainly change things. As for RB and Sepang, this track needs a lot of everything and is hugely intensive. RB would lose without kers IMO. Thanks for posting the article!
We can only hope so or this will be like 2004 all over again. I don't mind Vettel getting his second title and RB definitely deserves it, but it looks like the race for the title might be over before it begun. And I'm sure the FIA and Bernie are thinking the same thing, so I wouldn't be surprised if they came down heavy handed on RB to clip those wings a bit (I like your metapher).
Damn that part re RB getting stronger is scary if its true, but that's why they race (and copy RB lol.) A maturing Vettel will only make them stronger.
Interesting to note; in the past 19 years; newey & brawn have been part of 16 of those championships. Alonso 2 of them.......(kimi in 2007 was the exception) Not a good idea to count any of those 3 out at any time.....
I agree with most points. I don't believe the gap will be bigger in Malayasia though. I do think the major teams will keep the gap steady in Malayasia - if only because they've seen RBR's car in anger. I didn't realize that anyone even compared Brawn to Newey. Brawn has never been a car designer to me - always the strategist and nuts/bolts guy. Not the high level innovator in the wind tunnel.
Good point; I never thought of brawn as a designer either. Rory Byrne was always the designer at Ferrari in that era, and was righthly credited so.
IMO if RB don't get there wings clipped they will be copied, Hamilton has already stated as much in the article in the other thread. And if you have a closer look at the results in the Aussie GP it reveals that the domination is not perhaps as complete as it seems. Ferrari will also welcome higher temps in Malaysia.
Who says this besides you? I haven't heard anything about this besides from you and a few people on planet-f1.
Apparently Lewis made a big stink about it to Mclaren. No public word regarding their actions on the issue. See the other thread for details on the how/why http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=318559
Actually a lot of people on here (just search for the common phrase "Brawn - dismiss him at your own risk") as well as in the press compared Brawn to the Newey's of this world. Particularly when it came to the success of the 2009 car. Quite frankly I was a bit puzzled myself: I always knew Brawn as the strategist behind Ferrari, yet when the 2009 car came out with the super diffuser, it was Brawn who got all the credit. Later I learned that Nick Fry was the designer of that car and the subsequent Mercedes cars, yet apparently he is not a real designer either (which would explain some of the harsh criticism he got in e.g. "F1 Business"): So who is the designer behind the Mercedes? BTW: I find the situation at Ferrari equally confusing. I always thought Byrne was in charge, but that's no longer true. From what I gather it is actually more like a group designing the cars than one "Newie".
McLaren is pissed 'cause they can't copy RB's front wing as well as they copied its rear end-but all the teams will be copying RB sooner than later-no different than everyone copying Chapman's excellent '78 Lotus back in the day. The excellent photos show RB with crazy front wing flex, so the FIA have completely lost the plot with their silly test. Red Bull is using something akin to Ferrari's flexi-floor at Australia '07. RB is the bogey and they are all chasing the Bull.... Steve-Fred already said the temps had nothing to do with their poor performance so either the car stinks, or they had a set-up issue like MB is now claiming. Me thinks both MB and SF will show if not in Malaysia then by China with RB "wings" lol.
Aldo Costa is Ferrari's chief designer; he's from Parma, same town as my in-laws, so he needs to go ASAP lol.... No idea who the technical brain is behind MB....
Aldo Nova!!! Lol; I'm sure very few get that reference.....btw - without looking it up, you'll never believe what he's doing now...
Yes I read that thread, and I can't find any actual evidence that the FIA is looking into the RedBull.
Rory Byrne has not been head of design since 2006, but he did stay on in a consultant role until early 2009. But since the end of 2006 he has spent most of his time in Phuket Thailand, where he has a Scuba diving school.
you better not be dissin' my man Nova. he was my childhood music idol! i still listen to his music frequently today!
Good thing his name is Dini, not Dino, otherwise people would say that any car designed by a Dino is not a real Ferrari!