FORUMula1.com

[iPod]

I do hate those McLaren wheel covers, i hope they don't continue to grow and become more unsightly... on the other hand, the way the exhausts have been incorporated into the bodywork on the car is quite beautiful! (have just been looking at this month's F1 Racing...)

Yeah, they don't look great. At least Ferrari try and disguise theirs somewhat by painting/sticking the image of spokes etc. on them.

McLaren might do something with them come race time? Seems silly to leave them blank when they could whack a sponsors name on there...

I'm pretty sure I've heard that those wheel covers are only for there to recover data (my guess would be heat/wear - but i don't know for certain. It could be anything). They are illegal anyway, if I'm not mistaken.

I'm only going from what happened last year when they tested with these wheel covers. They might have changed the rules from last year, though.

[lucky]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwikAPz1GjY" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14_Abigs0bg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwSzVkOb6K4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnJHvuADvlE" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sQIonvh6yY" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyhYSEdaMzM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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[scotty]

Does anyone know when the first major test is? i.e. one that is going to have all/a lot of the teams present with the new cars...

[EwanM]

Feb 09 Red Bull Launch
Feb 10 Jerez
Feb 11 Jerez
Feb 12 Jerez
Mar 02 Jerez
Mar 03 Jerez
Mar 04 Jerez

They are the only confirmed test dates so far, so I'd guess those 2 three day tests will be them.
Unless Ferrari go to Mugello again.

[Lib]

Feb 09 Red Bull Launch
Feb 10 Jerez
Feb 11 Jerez
Feb 12 Jerez
Mar 02 Jerez
Mar 03 Jerez
Mar 04 Jerez

They are the only confirmed test dates so far, so I'd guess those 2 three day tests will be them.
Unless Ferrari go to Mugello again.

There are public tests in weeks 7, 8, 10 and 11. Which if I remember my calendar correctly are Jerez (T07), Barce (T08), Jerez (T10), Barca (T11)... Some people may well not attend those though. Like BMW doing private at Valencia this week and Ferrari using their private track if the weather looks dodgy. If anyone's feeling especially flush then they might nip off to Bahrain for warm weather testing too.

[AKR]

Less than 2 months to go before the 2009 season kicks off. Great. Just hope this stupid heatwave goes for good. It is like been over 40 degrees 3 days in a row and the day before it all started was like 38 and after this 40 degree spell ends it will still be over 30 like everyday. This is bad. It would be even worse for F1 cars if it were the case in March this year and it isn't impossible during that time of the year. I am sufferring a lot, imagine the poor F1 drivers in their cockpits. Imagine poor Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa trying to battle it out if it were still this hot then.......

[Gaz]

Feb 09 Red Bull Launch
Feb 10 Jerez
Feb 11 Jerez
Feb 12 Jerez
Mar 02 Jerez
Mar 03 Jerez
Mar 04 Jerez

They are the only confirmed test dates so far, so I'd guess those 2 three day tests will be them.
Unless Ferrari go to Mugello again.

There are public tests in weeks 7, 8, 10 and 11. Which if I remember my calendar correctly are Jerez (T07), Barce (T08), Jerez (T10), Barca (T11)... Some people may well not attend those though. Like BMW doing private at Valencia this week and Ferrari using their private track if the weather looks dodgy. If anyone's feeling especially flush then they might nip off to Bahrain for warm weather testing too.

do you get to attend the tests as part of your role within RF1?

[headless]

Working for an F1 team, most fans would say would be brilliant.
Lik being a sports photogrpaher or a ball boy at a football match.

[Lib]

There are public tests in weeks 7, 8, 10 and 11. Which if I remember my calendar correctly are Jerez (T07), Barce (T08), Jerez (T10), Barca (T11)... Some people may well not attend those though. Like BMW doing private at Valencia this week and Ferrari using their private track if the weather looks dodgy. If anyone's feeling especially flush then they might nip off to Bahrain for warm weather testing too.

do you get to attend the tests as part of your role within RF1?

Nope, I'm factory based only. But I live with Nelson's race engineer, so I got the gossip on Portimao without all the boredom of waiting for the rain to stop!

[texasmr2]

There are public tests in weeks 7, 8, 10 and 11. Which if I remember my calendar correctly are Jerez (T07), Barce (T08), Jerez (T10), Barca (T11)... Some people may well not attend those though. Like BMW doing private at Valencia this week and Ferrari using their private track if the weather looks dodgy. If anyone's feeling especially flush then they might nip off to Bahrain for warm weather testing too.

do you get to attend the tests as part of your role within RF1?

Nope, I'm factory based only. But I live with Nelson's race engineer, so I got the gossip on Portimao without all the boredom of waiting for the rain to stop!

Sweet job position and roomy situation you have Lib. Your insider input will be great in '09.

tex

[McLaren Fan]

From F1 Live:

Ferrari, albeit a fierce critic of Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS), worked on an innovative solution for its 2009 system.

The Swiss publication Motorsport Aktuell reports that, parallel to a more conventional in-house project, engineers at Maranello devised a system whereby the KERS batteries were located in the front nose of the F60.

The solution would have negated one of the teams' main concerns about deploying KERS in 2009: that the location of unwanted ballast in the centre of the car disrupts the ideal weight distribution towards the front.

During initial testing of the new Ferrari, reports indicated that one of the problems encountered was in the area of the front wing.

The front nose solution for KERS would also have resulted in the need for high-voltage cables to run through the cockpit.

The saga goes some way to explaining Ferrari's negative attitude about the entire KERS deployment, given the vast sums of money spent already by the team.

Ferrari's initial KERS project, developed by Magneti-Marelli, also struck technical trouble, and the more conventional third solution tested recently at Mugello reportedly delivered a questionable performance benefit.

Toyota has already announced that KERS will not be fitted to its TF109 in Melbourne, and with two months to go until the season opener, most other teams are undecided.

Toyota's chassis boss Pascal Vasselon told ITV: "At the moment our estimation is that KERS will be detrimental on almost all circuits, because of the weight and the difficulty to manage braking."

E.A, Source: GMM
© CAPSIS International

I always had my doubts that Ferrari were struggling. They are the past masters at sandbagging etc.

[Lib]

Three different systems? That's a hella load of cash!

That nose idea is intriguing though. Would've thought packaging that along with the bits for the wing actuator would be quite interesting! Although I guess on the nose change front it wouldn't have added any time relative to other teams because they'd all have the same connection issues with their actuators even if everyone else had KERS in the back...

Is that article implying that Ferrari's system which is currently being tested is nothing to do with Marelli?

[AKR]

From F1 Live:

Ferrari, albeit a fierce critic of Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS), worked on an innovative solution for its 2009 system.

The Swiss publication Motorsport Aktuell reports that, parallel to a more conventional in-house project, engineers at Maranello devised a system whereby the KERS batteries were located in the front nose of the F60.

The solution would have negated one of the teams' main concerns about deploying KERS in 2009: that the location of unwanted ballast in the centre of the car disrupts the ideal weight distribution towards the front.

During initial testing of the new Ferrari, reports indicated that one of the problems encountered was in the area of the front wing.

The front nose solution for KERS would also have resulted in the need for high-voltage cables to run through the cockpit.

The saga goes some way to explaining Ferrari's negative attitude about the entire KERS deployment, given the vast sums of money spent already by the team.

Ferrari's initial KERS project, developed by Magneti-Marelli, also struck technical trouble, and the more conventional third solution tested recently at Mugello reportedly delivered a questionable performance benefit.

Toyota has already announced that KERS will not be fitted to its TF109 in Melbourne, and with two months to go until the season opener, most other teams are undecided.

Toyota's chassis boss Pascal Vasselon told ITV: "At the moment our estimation is that KERS will be detrimental on almost all circuits, because of the weight and the difficulty to manage braking."

E.A, Source: GMM
© CAPSIS International

I always had my doubts that Ferrari were struggling. They are the past masters at sandbagging etc.

I don't belive Ferrari are struggling with KERS. Well they would have the same problems everyone else is having, but not being far worse than them. All a media stunt to try and convince the world they are struggling and hope the other teams think they have the edge on Ferrari when they don't. Sandbagging tactics no doubt.

[headless]

Sandbagging.
Luring the opponents into a false sense of security.

[EwanM]

Webber's recovery ahead of schedule

By Jonathan Noble Tuesday, February 3rd 2009, 12:16 GMT


Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber thinks he is now ahead of schedule with the recovery from his broken leg - as he says there are no doubts he will be fully ready for the start of the season.

The Australian has been out of action since breaking his leg in a cycling accident at the end of last year - but is set to get back into the cockpit during Red Bull's first test with their RB5 at Jerez in Spain next week.

And after employing some unconventional cryogenic treatment to help his recovery, Webber is upbeat about the progress he is making.

"The results over the last few weeks have been incredible," Webber told Red Bull Racing's official website. "We had a really good week last week, so we're really positive... dare I say it, we're probably a little bit ahead of schedule."

Webber's treatment sees him use cold chambers for three minutes at a time - something which he thinks helps his overall well-being too.

"I've been doing it for three weeks now," he explained. "You go from a normal, ambient room temperature into a chamber of -50°C for about 30 seconds and then for another three minutes into -130°C.

"It's very good for your general well-being, your immune system and apparently it's good for cellulite. Not much of a worry for me...but it's very good for the whole body."

Webber admits that he will be unable to gauge how well his recovery has got him back in shape for driving until he actually gets in the cockpit - although says there are no doubts he will be sorted for the season opener in Australia.

"Driving is not like playing tennis. A tennis player can practice before actually playing a game. I need to get in the car and go and do it to find out about things like the vibration jolts. Although I may do some karting beforehand."

He added: "I've really worked hard to get in this position. There's been some stuff in the press that I won't be 100% fit for Melbourne which pissed me off. I will be 100% ready to do my job."

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/73109" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Webber's already started his grumps. Excellent, feels like inseason already