ali623 wrote: ↑14 Jun 2023, 14:50
diffuser wrote: ↑14 Jun 2023, 14:41
stealthmode wrote: ↑14 Jun 2023, 08:51
Does anyone else see a concern with the limited wind tunnel testing restriction (ATR), that's going to hit us from next month?
Considering AM had been the closest challenger to RB on average, it seems a bit unfair that we may be being punished for doing too well...from 7th to 2nd/3rd in WCC. It certainly increases the challenge to close the gap to RB this year, while not dropping the ball next year...While Ferrari may be in a nice cosy position for this year and next...(if they can capitalize)...
Seems to me that the original plan to revise 2/3 of the car, will be kept aside for now to focus on next year's car as soon as possible. You need to give enough wind tunnel time, right now when you have it, to establish your developement path for next year.
While Canada is touted as a major update, i suppose the budget for this year also will probably be diverted to next year's car (maybe an early attempt to make our own gearbox casing like AR did ??). We may have some few critical updates in Silverstone too...but my guess is only minor ones thereafter...
Budget wise, i presume that Merc and Ferrari will have consumed quite a bit already with their major packages and floors...
So i'm guessing we hold an advantage budget wise, but disadvantage ATR wise.
Will be interesting to see how both are balanced.
Punished? Them the rules bud.
Arguably, we haven't seen any aero updates from AMR on this year's car. How would we notice the drop in wind tunnel time? The race specific rear wings were likely designed before the season and build in season.
I don't put any stock in the "get started early on next year's car" ...Why? I mean it makes sense if there is something fundamentally wrong with this year's car but next year's car is just an evolution of this year's.
“We definitely want to start next’s year car as early as we possibly can. The game really for us is to make sure that we don’t sacrifice this year’s car,” he (Dan Fallows) said, as per RaceFans.
“Inevitably it will be a form of evolution of this year’s car. So everything we can do to get data, to get updates on this year’s car will certainly inform it. But yes, we will be looking to start as early as possible.”
The Project management of F1 is mostly the same year after year, IMHO. There is always a cut off of work on the current year's car. From that point on everyone is flat out on the new car. Very early on in the new season, sometime after launch, a new project is started for the next years car. At first, very few people are in that project, the deeper we get into the season, the more people are transitioned to the new project until we reach the cut off again. The movement of people between projects will vary from year to year depending on what's in the design changes and if you're in contention. Generally all design for the current year vehicle ends right around the summer break. What you get after the summer break is the manufacturing of those last changes.
So when he says "“We definitely want to start next’s year car as early as we possibly can." he isn't lying but it isn't saying much. Yep in March they placed 4 people and a cat to start working on the 2024 challenger.