2008 Barcelona Testing Thread (17 Nov - 19 Nov)

[djos]

I only just noticed this, look at the top of the sidepod on the left, I see gills. I thought they were banned too or is it just chimneys?

[Sawtooth-spike]

they are hybrids. 2008 chassis with 2009 areo test peices. So some legacy cooling like gills and other stuff will still be on these test cars, as they will be resolved in the 2009 cars

[Birel99]

http://motorsport.com/photos/popup.asp? ... .251:87766

You can see here that on the drivers right sidepod, their is some sort of screen, with some of it tapped off. Much like a radiator and the tape is used to cover it up and build some heat. on the main page of this site it says that Magnetti use a water cooled Kers so maybe this is the radiator for the kers. Much like ferrari have with their funny frankenstein radiator?

I must say the new cars are growing on me

[djos]

they are hybrids. 2008 chassis with 2009 areo test peices. So some legacy cooling like gills and other stuff will still be on these test cars, as they will be resolved in the 2009 cars

Thanks, I suspected that was the case.

[smirkoff]

I'm amazed of how bulky is the engine cover of the BMW around the exhausts, just the opposite as the regular F1.08. Seems that the packaging of the KERS will be such a task for the aero staff...

[vasia]

I'm amazed of how bulky is the engine cover of the BMW around the exhausts, just the opposite as the regular F1.08. Seems that the packaging of the KERS will be such a task for the aero staff...

Yes, along with cooling becoming an issue with KERS tighly integrated near the engine or exhaust, due to the rules banning cooling gills and slits. With a KERS-equipped car, I suspect some teams will have to change the design of the sidepods, the engine cover, or likely both in order to package the system. Also the issue of balance arises since the front tires now have more grip with slicks, and favor a more forward weight distribution. KERS will add more weight to the rear, reducing front-end traction and grip. Plus the weight of KERS itself will limit how much ballast can be on the car. Some teams will likely try to compensate by making their cars lighter, but that will be a risky game they are playing as that can also make the cars weaker and more fragile.

The criticisms and drawbacks of using KERS seem to be increasing every day. At best, the system will only provide 0.2-0.3 seconds improvement per lap. That does not take into account the effect KERS can and will have on balance, braking stability, reliability, and likely aerodynamics.

Soon enough we will see how effective KERS is on the track, if it all. It will be very interesting to see how non-KERS cars compete with KERS-equipped cars.

[shotzski]

I am puzzled as to why would the FIA ban the use of gills and slits, considering that the KERS unit (I think) is hot. Banning extra gills for me would increase the likelihood of cars' poor reliability. And FIA keeps on saying to cut cost. But now the teams would have to do extra work to find a loophole/workaround to resolve this issue.

[donskar]

WTF?!?!?!?! although i was prepared for the 09 aero spec' i am still amazed...

So this is the result of cost-cutting: BMW has laid off all its aerodynamicists and shut down their wind tunnel . . . .

[akbar21881]

So far, most cars with 2009 packages look freakingly hideous.

I wonder what is it with front wing? Apart from the increased wing span to almost same width of the car, why the central section has to be empty like that? Is it governed by regulation? Might as well chopped off the centre section and connect the flaps right to the central two bridge that come down from the nose cone.....

What do you think the solution the team is using in order to change the wing angle? The bulge at Honda endplate indicates there's something in there. A motorised mechanism to change angle? There must be a more elegant solution....

[Birel99]

The BMW front wing looks very very similar to the Benneton B195!

http://b.f1-facts.com/ul/a/4970

[Michiba]

that BMW nose very much resembles the williams walrus nose to me.

[modbaraban]

[shir0]

wha...? new team? Pro-Drive?

whatever team is running this...i definitely like their take on the "moveable (rotating) aero-flap device" on the front wing

[andartop]

Well, appearances are a matter of taste, right? I could not speak for 2 hours after I saw the first pics of BMW and Honda, as I was afraid what might come off from my mouth if I opened it. Then I went back to my old video games collection, thinking they must have copied their cars from something really cheap out of the 16 bit era. Then I went online looking for pics of highway snowblowers, then for pics of scorpions. No matter what you compare that look with, it just looks wrong for an F1 car, doesn't it? I finally decided not to post anything yesterday because it wouldn't have been me talking but the evil that dwells in the secret lonely labyrinths of the human soul. At least tomorrow I 'll be prepared, I thought. Little did I know. No man can ever be prepared for such hideousness! I shrieked, I cried, I begged, but still the monster was there, right in front of my eyes, filling my whole existence with a primeval dread never before experienced by civilized man. Shock and awe.
Plus, the 2009 Ferrari will be unreliable, you can tell just by the looks!
Then again, man is just an animal that can get used to anything. We got used to grooved tires. We got used to injustice, poverty, famine and war. Hell, we even got used to G.W.Bush. I guess by March we 'll all be used to it, and only a few of us will still insist moaning about the looks... (I can imagine it, when the first grid of the new season is ready to set off, the odd moaner among us will just be posting "the cars look horrible!" instead of "Oh my god, here they go!!!")

[timbo]

I am puzzled as to why would the FIA ban the use of gills and slits, considering that the KERS unit (I think) is hot. Banning extra gills for me would increase the likelihood of cars' poor reliability. And FIA keeps on saying to cut cost. But now the teams would have to do extra work to find a loophole/workaround to resolve this issue.

There was a comment from Rory Byrne I believe, where he said that teams asked for cleaner bodywork between axles, so that sponsors would be happy. On their own fins had minor contribution to the problems of overtaking, I believe gills are banned from the same logic...