FORUMula1.com - F1 Forum

[welshie]

Jesus H Crist . . . those cars are gorgeous!

[Jabberwocky]

why are Mclaren doing that, have they really lost there way that much

[Denthúl]

why are Mclaren doing that, have they really lost there way that much

Circumventing the restriction on wind tunnel usage?

[7UpJordan]

why are Mclaren doing that, have they really lost there way that much

(What used to be) Honda tried to steal one of their cars and had started to paint it before Ron banged some heads and got the car back, but they didn't have time to clean off the paint.

[welshie]

Those wheel covers on the McLaren are pretty odd, they are moulded right to the front edge of the tyre!

[scotty]

Those wheel covers on the McLaren are pretty odd, they are moulded right to the front edge of the tyre!

Does anyone know whether they are actually legal and purposeful or are they just being used for gathering extra data?

[Jabberwocky]

I would of thought that it would be classed as movable aerodynamics, plus I would of thought that the lateral movement of the tyre on the rim would of hit them. But I supposes someone would of worked the maths out to prove me wrong.

[Ferrari man 009]

why are Mclaren doing that, have they really lost there way that much

(What used to be) Honda tried to steal one of their cars and had started to paint it before Ron banged some heads and got the car back, but they didn't have time to clean off the paint.

Maybe Honda got sued by mclaren and could not enter after they had stole and painted their car

[bud]

http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090211110041.shtml

I guess they are trying to determine airflow.. Its a visual queue..

people dont like links here it seems

There was a little head-scratching here at ESPN Racing-Live as we looked at the picture of Heikki Kovalainen putting the new McLaren Mercedes MP4-24 through its paces yesterday in Spain.

Was the green liquid splattered over the surface of the car due to a brake fluid overfill, had the Bridgestone staff found a new colour to paint the Potenza rubber - with unexpected results - or was it something to do with McLaren's ongoing aero-programme?

Naturally we were completely wrong on the first two counts but not too far out on the third. McLaren explained to us what in fact they were doing at Jerez yesterday...

"This is what we call a 'flow vis' (visualisation) - where we take a paraffin-based light solution and apply it to the car," the team told us.

"The solution is light enough to flow over the car, drying quickly to determine the airflow over the bodywork."

McLaren explained this is a routine operation. "This is a common occurrence when testing new cars and is used to confirm the wind tunnel readouts."

Also, whats up with McLaren running the 08 rear wing again

they didnt have a high downforce 09 spec wing to test.

[Rivelution]

Piquet being Piquet

Thats a wonderful shot of the Renault.

[bud]

well i dont rekn they will be running this ugly nose

Just two weeks after the initial tests, Renault has already introduced a modified nose cone, building upon the foundations that were laid out at the launch. The tip of the nose is now a little more rounded to reduce drag.
The underside however now sports 'side skirts' all along the sides of the nose, in between the front wheels and extending to the splitter. The new design will help even more to benefit from the low pressure area underneath the nose.

Although interesting, Renault is clearly experimenting different solutions, and this one is unlikely to make it to Melbourne, simply because it is not valid in the current rules. Article 3.11.2 states: With the exception of brake cooling air ducts, in side view, there must be no bodywork in the area formed by two vertical lines, one 325mm behind the front wheel centre line, one 450mm ahead of the front wheel centre line, one diagonal line intersecting the vertical lines at 100mm and 200mm above the reference plane respectively, and one horizontal line on the reference plane.

[darwin dali]

Piquet being Piquet

Thats a wonderful shot of the Renault.

Um, the sidepod looks like it was banged up by a deer or somtin'

[McLaren Fan]

I thought it looked as though it was made from plaster or something. It truly is an ugly car.

[darwin dali]

I thought it looked as though it was made from plaster or something. It truly is an ugly car.

Yup, the fugliest among all the fuglies

[EwanM]

Hamilton sets 2009 cars pace at Jerez

By Pablo Elizalde Thursday, February 12th 2009, 17:11 GMT


World champion Lewis Hamilton was the fastest driver in 2009 machinery on the penultimate day of testing at the Jerez circuit.

But the Briton was shadowed by Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, who finished just 0.001 seconds behind in the RB5, as the car continued to show its potential in only its fourth day of running.

Toro Rosso's Sebastien Bourdais, in his first test since he was confirmed for the 2009 season, posted the quickest time of the day in the 2008-spec car, finishing over two seconds ahead of Hamilton.

The McLaren driver, taking over from teammate Heikki Kovalainen, managed 93 laps at the wheel of the MP4-24 and was left pleased with his day's work.

"Today's test gave me the first opportunity to drive MP4-24 in warm, dry conditions - and I'm very encouraged by what I felt," he said.

"The car feels strong, very similar to last year's car, in fact. It doesn't take long to get used to the new buttons in the cockpit [KERS & front-wing flaps] but the real test for everyone now is to understand the slick tyres ahead of the first race in Melbourne next month."

Vettel completed just one lap less than the Briton as he continued with the development of the new Red Bull.

He finished ahead of Williams driver Kazuki Nakajima and Fernando Alonso in the Renault, the Spaniard the busiest man today with 133 laps.

"Today was all about getting mileage on the car, especially with the new KERS system," said Alonso.

"It was my first full dry day in the car and so I was able to learn a lot. We completed lots of laps, which is encouraging and now we will start working on the set-up of the car so that I can get more comfortable with it."

Today's times:

Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:18.493 128
2. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:20.737 93
3. Vettel Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:20.738 92
4. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:20.898 92
5. Alonso Renault (B) 1:21.307 133

All Timing Unofficial

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/73253