BrawnGP

[Shaddock]

Alonso was very free with the information about how many "upgrades" the frozen Merc engine had in 2007.

It looks like it is paying huge dividends for Brawn right now. And I also read that BGP had the choice of Merc or Ferrari engines, but took the Merc because it was very similar in layout to the Honda engine that this car was designed around.

And it looks like the cooling may have helped clean up the drag a bit as well!

When was the last time that a throw-together, Frankenstein car was on the grid, let alone challenging for pole?

I thought that Ferrari shut the door in his face, and Merc saved his bacon.

[Scotracer]

Alonso was very free with the information about how many "upgrades" the frozen Merc engine had in 2007.

It looks like it is paying huge dividends for Brawn right now. And I also read that BGP had the choice of Merc or Ferrari engines, but took the Merc because it was very similar in layout to the Honda engine that this car was designed around.

And it looks like the cooling may have helped clean up the drag a bit as well!

When was the last time that a throw-together, Frankenstein car was on the grid, let alone challenging for pole?

I'm just wondering how much they could do to the engines with a rev limit. Generally increasing revs is the only real way to improve power output (i.e. increasing the RPM at which peak torque is produced) but if you have a limit, you are just squeezing yourself into a corner.

The cars at the end of 2006 were kicking out about 790BHP at over 19,000rpm...so I suppose it's possible to get the same output at a lower RPM if you can improve the torque curve.

[jamsbong]

I just remembered back in 2006 when Schumi announced his retirement, Brawn was seeking for the top seat which is Jean Todt's position. Todt did go away after that but Brawn never got the spot he wanted. So may be in Brawn's mind, he want to show Ferrari what big mistake they had made. who knows..

If changing the honda engine to a Merc engine made so much difference then it shows how weak Honda engine really is.
What I can understand is this, Honda's engine philosophy has always been peak performance. With the rev limit restriction of 19k or 18k, that may be below Honda engines peak power.
Where as with Ferrari and Mercedes, they chosen to optimize a wide band of torque, which makes it possible not to loose much power at lower revv.

[jamsbong]

There is something that do not make sense, BrawnGP seem to have a flawless test session. compared with Ferrari with KERS overheating, Renault and Mclaren slowish times, etcs...

Alonso claims that Honda had been working on this 2009 cars since 2007. did the teams knew about these rules of no body aero in 2007?

checking the database reveals that the last fastest laps in Barcelona is in 2008 by Massa 1:18.33 versus Barachello 1:18.926. Thats unbelievable.

[andartop]

Maybe Brawn and Schumi are in this together! Maybe Schumi deliberately withdrew all his investments at some point last year, which meant a worldwide shortage of capital sufficient to draw the global economy into recession in the first place! Brawn knew from inside sources that if there was an economic crisis, Honda would consider pulling the plug, and when it happened he convinced them to actually do so, presenting PR managers with false data that the car was going to be crap while at the same time leaking the opposite information to the press (since no one would believe that based on Honda's performance since then)! He also knew that in this climate not many serious offers for a buyout would fall on the table, so he waited and waited and got the Team for a bargain price. Then he brought back Rubens, who also wanted revenge on Ferrari! We should expect Schumi to go public soon, and say he is moving to Brawn GP: see, he also wants to get back at Montezemolo for forcing him to retire when he could easily have taken another 2 championships. And then Stepney and Coughlan will come in to - remember which team they went to first to seek a job? It all makes sense now... Wow! What do you think about that Xpensive???

[WhiteBlue]

lovely conspiracy - could be from Ciro

[WhiteBlue]

I hate theese double posts - no idea why they happen

[jshaw]

There is something that do not make sense, BrawnGP seem to have a flawless test session. compared with Ferrari with KERS overheating, Renault and Mclaren slowish times, etcs...

Well Brawn wont be getting any KERS trouble thats for sure.

[andartop]

According to The Man, the Team was focused on RELIABILITY this week!!! So, how fast are they going to be when they focus on speed???

[tk421]

I'd imagine right now those Honda execs that made the decision to drop the F1 team are getting fired. Atleast I bloody hope so, see how they like it!

I think someone else touched on it, but...Honda had to be just as aware of the potential of the car as Ross. Honda and their F1 team had been working on it together for 12 or 14 months (around there anyway) before Honda made their announcement to withdraw. IMO their decision was completely auto-industry driven. That doesn't mean they can't kick themselves though Who knows, maybe they are happy for BGP.
Something I found funny/interesting: in one of Alono's recent comments about BGP's pace, he didn't say 'they are two tenths ahead of us' but instead he said 'they are two and a half months ahead of us' (paraphrase). He was speaking of how the at-the-time Honda team scrapped 08 and started 09 early and how they are much further ahead (now in the BGP guise) with their developments. In the RB5 thread, people marvelled at the developments. With BGP we're all going crazy!

[coreybaxter]

Its amazing what a brillant guy (Ross Brawn), a top engine, and simple aero can do for a team....this season is going to be the most unpredictable ever!

[bosanac1]

According to The Man, the Team was focused on RELIABILITY this week!!! So, how fast are they going to be when they focus on speed???

k I may be reading through the lines here but that sounds to me like they are trying to get sponsors by playing down their pace...like saying we weren't even trying to blitz the field apart by running under 1:19.


Whats even scary with the time is that 2008 massa tested slicks in april at barcelona and he ran 1:18.339 with 19,000 rpm and 2008 aero..

and a car with less then ~35% downforce from last year and 18,000 rpm runs only 0.6 behind a 2008 car is very fishy.

like the other teams are saying whats going to happen in melbourne they are going to lap the field if they show this kind of pace.

[RacingManiac]

According to The Man, the Team was focused on RELIABILITY this week!!! So, how fast are they going to be when they focus on speed???

What I am reading from that is "we are focusing on reliability, proper running conditon need not apply". More reason to go for glory lap as opposed to properly developed race setup....

[Scotracer]

According to The Man, the Team was focused on RELIABILITY this week!!! So, how fast are they going to be when they focus on speed???

k I may be reading through the lines here but that sounds to me like they are trying to get sponsors by playing down their pace...like saying we weren't even trying to blitz the field apart by running under 1:19.


Whats even scary with the time is that 2008 massa tested slicks in april at barcelona and he ran 1:18.339 with 19,000 rpm and 2008 aero..

and a car with less then ~35% downforce from last year and 18,000 rpm runs only 0.6 behind a 2008 car is very fishy.

like the other teams are saying whats going to happen in melbourne they are going to lap the field if they show this kind of pace.

Three words: Tyre Load Sensitivity.

[Afterburner]

When i watch BGP001, especially that nose, makes me think of his weight distribution, maybe it's their biggest advantadge.