BrawnGP

[Shi Ruan]

Doe's it mean anything?

A puff of smoke from the back of Button's car didn't stop him being the first man to go below 1:37.00 in final practice

A similar plume of smoke from Barrichello, who has also had a gearbox change and receives a five-place grid penalty

Quite strange :]

They were running maximum level of oil. The team said it was normal.

Looks kinda' like they're running in an earth-sized windtunnel .

[myurr]

Looks kinda' like they're running in an earth-sized windtunnel .

Heh.

I'm sure it's quite normal. They, like most other teams, are running brand new engines in this race so it would be a spectacular failure if a long life engine were to fail before it even completed a single race distance.

[roost89]

Looks kinda' like they're running in an earth-sized windtunnel .

Heh.

I'm sure it's quite normal. They, like most other teams, are running brand new engines in this race so it would be a spectacular failure if a long life engine were to fail before it even completed a single race distance.

At least the race engines won't be too stressed now! Half race and some in the wet.

[Jersey Tom]

[alelanza]

I liked this pic:

do you have the original hi res pic of this? or a link?

thanks

Afraid not but i did figure out the hi res path to mx tifosi nice contribution:

[Giblet]

Regarding the Virgin decal on top of the monocoque, I think it should be be facing the airbox camera, so that you can read it during on board shots. What's the point of having it face forward?

The same reason the ones on the sides are not upside down, so they photograph for promo shots and in the race.

The in car is a pretty low percentage for brand exposure, and it is about branding.

Virgin have done their job. Branding Successful.

[sticky667]

Regarding the Virgin decal on top of the monocoque, I think it should be be facing the airbox camera, so that you can read it during on board shots. What's the point of having it face forward?

The same reason the ones on the sides are not upside down, so they photograph for promo shots and in the race.

The in car is a pretty low percentage for brand exposure, and it is about branding.

Virgin have done their job. Branding Successful.

actually I think Ross has succeeded more than Virgin. He completed both races with both cars and accrued a small sum of money from them. He proved the pace to other potential sponsors without sealing a title sponsor deal. He also only had to put relatively small decals on the car. I didn't see the drivers wearing any other Virgin paraphernalia except on their visors. No hats, no patches on the overalls or anything.

I believe the doors are still wide open for any other major sponsor to fulfill that spot.

Excellent job by Brawn GP.

[wesley123]

Doe's it mean anything?

A puff of smoke from the back of Button's car didn't stop him being the first man to go below 1:37.00 in final practice


A similar plume of smoke from Barrichello, who has also had a gearbox change and receives a five-place grid penalty

Quite strange :]

that isnt a problem, mercedes engines have this alot, you see this many times at mclaren.

If you see one small puff you know the engine is running well :p

[modbaraban]

I was watching the practice when it happened. Rubens expressed his concern to Jock Clear, who answered something like it's ok, we're running very high on oil.

[PNSD]

I saw it, then thought, 'oh god, not this!' then next thing I know the shot changes to Button who has the same blue smoke, though not as heavy. Then we hear the radio transmission. It does seem like these Mercedes like their oil! We've seen this alot with Mclarens of the past. Sometimes I even thought they did it just to get us worried, then as the race started we watched Mika blast off into the distance :p. Later on of course with Kimi it simply became blast off in the engine! lol

[wrcsti]

That thing smokes more than my 239K mile BMW!
I don't think it's a problem but what intrigues me is having that much oil going between the block and piston rings has to mean something more than just high on oil.

[PlatinumZealot]

I don't remember if the smoke came from one or the two exhaust pipes.

But Overall this must mean that oil is gets into the chambers.

Some posters said that the Mercedes engines are run with excessive oil.
Now is it on purpose?
And why did it happen in Malaysia to the Two Brawn Cars and not Force India Or McLaren?

[wrcsti]

Another reason could be due to the 8 engine rule they are trying to make them last longer by having them run more oil. This would rob a bit of power on the downside.

[xpensive]

Same thing with the McLaren-Honda V10s and V12s of the early 90s, cars behind them were often sprayed with engine-oil.

As I can remember, it was explained with over-filling the engine with lubricant. A Honda legacy perhaps?

[Cyco]

The external oil pre-heaters are also used to pre pressurise the oil. There is not an exact measurement for how much goes in and out.

If the overflow is going to be burnt then I'd always take a slight over fill. As with any dry sump system the block will run at a vacuum, so no issues with windage losses.