Marussia MR03 Ferrari

[LotusF1]

they reckon this marussia will be in q2. def better than the caterhams...

[SectorOne]

Interesting engine inlet shape, it´s all one big piece instead of how other teams do that area.

[FrukostScones]

technically this car looks kind of promising, but I cannot understand how some people find the looks and the livery of this car eyepleasing. maybe it's the oldschool air intake....

[PhillipM]

It looks a good base, but all the detail work is very undeveloped, I hope they've got the money to make some good upgrades through the seasons in the development race, but I suspect not.

[Matt Somers]

A solid car from Marussia with some neat tricks employed, certainly a great base to start working from and they're being aggressive from the outset in certain aspects too. My thoughts including shots of their driver cooling mounted under the chassis and RBR-esque Diffuser Scroll: http://somersf1.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/ ... lysis.html

[ecapox]

Solid entry from Marussia. Here is to hoping they score a few points this season.

[diemaster]

thanks Matt, good analysis

[Blackout]

With a beam wing

[Rikhart]

This car is in another dimension of (apparent) refinement compared to the caterham...

[Blackout]

The Caterham has many refinements and interesting details.

[el-Magico]

The Caterham has many refinements and interesting details.

Like a lift generating vanity panel?

[bill shoe]

Weight is important to the Caterham vs Marussia battle. We keep hearing things about how even mega-dollar (and mega-engineering talent) teams like Mercedes are not quite down to minimum weight. This is traditionally an area where low-budget teams are very weak, so I would assume both Caterham and Marussia are overweight. But who is less overweight?

Remember a page or two ago when someone noticed the 2014 Marussia wasn't running a DRS even though they had it last year? I'd bet anything that's to reduce another kg of weight.

The Caterham does have a certain simple look to it, but they could have decided to simply optimize weight more than Marussia. I think weight will be the deciding factor for the backmarkers (not "new teams" anymore?) once they're both running reliably. Of course if Marussia gets some good finishes in the first 2 or 3 races (11th, 12, 13th place would be nice) while the Renault teams are struggling to do any serious running, then the season is already over for Caterham.

[piast9]

Do you really think that someone in Marussia concluded that they hardly overtake anyone so they may ditch the DRS actuator to save weight? I doubt that. They would compromise their qualifying as well. Probably new actuator wasn't ready so they skipped it. Even without it they were "late" for testing in Jerez.

[WillerZ]

Do you really think that someone in Marussia concluded that they hardly overtake anyone so they may ditch the DRS actuator to save weight? I doubt that. They would compromise their qualifying as well. Probably new actuator wasn't ready so they skipped it. Even without it they were "late" for testing in Jerez.

Depending on how heavy the system is they could save more lap time by shedding the weight than by having it, even in qualifying. Remember the cost is not just the actuator piston, it also needs at least: an incompressible hydraulic line filled with hydraulic fluid, another 'piston' equivalent at the other end of the line, control circuitry to connect it to the button on the steering wheel, and a non-structural aerodynamic cover which prevents it causing more drag than it sheds.

And the cost is not only weight, all of that has to be designed and packaged: with Marussia's resources it might easily be that there are other ways to spend their limited budget that gain the same (or more) lap time and which work every lap rather than just in qualifying.

[Yurasyk]

Guys, I guess it's simplified version of the car just for first run. And in Bahrain we'll see a rear wing with DRS. I really doubt that FIA allows deinstallation of such "unified" system. And don't forget that it gives some tenths in qualifing lap.