2009 F1 Car Launches

It's the love of the sport :p. We can't help but love them even if they are butt ugly :).

The thing is, though, as seasons go on, the differences that will increase the efficiency of these cars will be a lot harder to see, I think. After a few years of trial and error, people will figure out whose solutions worked and whose didn't at which point we will start seeing more homogeneity between the teams regarding the look of cars. This being the first year of the regs treats us to radically different approaches to design adapting to the new formula. We should consider ourselves lucky, in this sense!
 
i like the new cars.... im a very big fan of clean design, these new cars (apart from the odd proportions of the wings) just look so much classier and elegant. they make the old cars look fussy and over worked.

no doubt all the winglets and vents were functional, in clean air, but they sure as hell disguised the basic shape of the car by embellishing it and draping it in aero pieces, especially the BMW with that concorde looking device on the front.

hopefully this leads to better overtaking, because all that aero work definately didnt help.

i was starting to get a bit upset with the FIA moving the goal posts all the time, but actually i kinda do like it because i like to see what solutions the team come up with each time. its like being given a new design project every year and then you gotta race against time to come up with the best ideas.
 
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otispunkmeyer said:
no doubt all the winglets and vents were functional, in clean air, but they sure as hell disguised the basic shape of the car by embellishing it and draping it in aero pieces, especially the BMW with that concorde looking device on the front.
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Thing is, for me, with a huge interest in aerodynamics, I could stare for hours at each car, figuring out what each little winglet did, and it was beautiful to me. Now, sure they look cleaner, but once you've seen the car, you've seen the carand that's the end of it. Even after Brasil 08 Top Gear magazine pubished images of parts of the Mp4-23 I'd never seen. But now I already know every inch of the Mp4-24 and the season hasn't even started...
 
THE REAL STIG said:
Thing is, for me, with a huge interest in aerodynamics, I could stare for hours at each car, figuring out what each little winglet did, and it was beautiful to me. Now, sure they look cleaner, but once you've seen the car, you've seen the carand that's the end of it. Even after Brasil 08 Top Gear magazine pubished images of parts of the Mp4-23 I'd never seen. But now I already know every inch of the Mp4-24 and the season hasn't even started...
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i'm missing that too
and i imagine the BMW fans will be missing it more, because in the comparison shots its astonishing to see the simplicity of the new car in relation to the other new cars, let alone the old one

what ive done though is put the Mp4-24 as my wallpaper so now the side proportions are looking normal to me
 
It seems as if the 2009 cars look better and better with each passing day... We all thought of them as freakish when we saw the interim BMW, but now most of them look actually very good.


By the time they'll be filling the grid in Melbourne, they'll be beautiful things. :lol:
 
vikiradTG2007 said:
It seems as if the 2009 cars look better and better with each passing day... We all thought of them as freakish when we saw the interim BMW, but now most of them look actually very good.


By the time they'll be filling the grid in Melbourne, they'll be beautiful things. :lol:
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Are you saying this because you dont have a choice in how the styling would go ?

I still maintain they all look hideous till now.

All I wanna see is Monza 08 with 09 cars.
 
Well, on video they don't look too bad, because the odds of getting a dead on front view are next to none. But when you DO see them dead on front, it is impossible to find them pretty....
 
THE REAL STIG said:
Thing is, for me, with a huge interest in aerodynamics, I could stare for hours at each car, figuring out what each little winglet did, and it was beautiful to me. Now, sure they look cleaner, but once you've seen the car, you've seen the carand that's the end of it. Even after Brasil 08 Top Gear magazine pubished images of parts of the Mp4-23 I'd never seen. But now I already know every inch of the Mp4-24 and the season hasn't even started...
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I dunno. I think that aspect is even more fascinating now since each piece now has to be a thousand times more efficient. It's a measure of quality over quantity now.
 
Just found on Formula1.com that they have some technical comparisons between the 2008 and 2009 cars, as well as analysis on some of the new '09 regulations.

And while I was there I noticed this...

https://pic.armedcats.net/a/an/anonymous/2009/01/29/Exhaust.jpg

F1.com said:
Ferrari F60 - revised exhaust exits

28 January 2009

Ferrari have had to modify the exhaust exits on the side pods of the F60, as seen at its launch at Mugello earlier this month (left diagram). In testing the length of the tailpipes has already been reduced (right diagram). Under the original text of the 2009 technical regulations the Ferrari solution was legal. That changed following a later meeting of the Technical Working Group and FIA technical delegate Charlie Whiting, in which it was it was decided that exhaust tailpipes are considered part of the bodywork. With most aerodynamic appendages outlawed for 2009, the fear was that without the change teams may come up with tailpipe shapes designed specifically to have aerodynamic benefits. This has been seen (legally) on cars in the past - for example, the Ferrari F2003 GA had tall, thin tailpipes which acted as fins to better direct airflow towards the back of the car.
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Lol...well they had to...

There's also some confucion about the diffusers:

FIA aware of rear diffuser issue

By Jonathan Noble Thursday, January 29th 2009, 17:35 GMT

Toyota TF109 rear diffuser detailThe FIA is aware of teams exploiting diffuser regulations after approving a design related to the intrigue surrounding Williams and Toyota, autosport.com has learned, but the governing body has drawn short of confirming whether both teams' cars are okay.

As autosport.com reported last night, a number of teams are set to seek clarification from the FIA about the way that the diffusers on the Williams and Toyota cars appear, through clever use of the rear crash structures, to exceed the maximum height of 175 mm.

Renault executive director of engineering Pat Symonds told Autosport: "They (the diffusers) are certainly interesting, although I don't think I can comment on their legality.

"That's something for the FIA to comment on. We will be asking the FIA about it, but we haven't yet."

The Williams diffuser has a low centre section, well below the 175mm height limit, before a higher steeper element further back creates a second section around the rear crash structure.

The extra area of the Toyota diffuser is based in a 15 centimetre wide zone at the centre of the car where teams are allowed to fit extra bodywork. This has created a longer centre tunnel for air.

Although Williams and Toyota have not commented officially on the designs, sources from both teams suggest they are confident their designs are legal.

It is not clear when rival teams will contact the FIA about the Toyota and Williams designs, but a high level source at the governing body has confirmed that it is aware of the situation.

The source also said that approval for one diffuser design had been granted - although would not state whether it was a design that currently featured on any of the cars.

The source told autosport.com: "The FIA has had some correspondence with Toyota about diffusers but hasn't actually seen what they've been testing.

"One design has been approved by the FIA but we cannot confirm that it is the design in question."

Should the FIA confirm to rival teams that the design concepts of the Williams and Toyota cars are legal, then it may force a number of outfits to redesign the rear of their cars prior to the start of the season.
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http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/73058
 
Howabout instead of bitching about whether it's legal or not (and presumably it is...sorta, despite it pushing the envelope) they go back and redesign their own solutions.

Its what I love about F1 though. You could have a supposedly black and white ruling, but the teams will still find a way to 'reinterpret' the wording and find themselves a grey area.
 
Vettel to debut RB5, Webber to return 11 February

05 February 2009

Sebastian Vettel will get the honour to complete the first laps in Red Bull Racing's 2009 contender: the RB5. On Monday the team will present its new car to the media at Jerez followed by its first official day of testing. Red Bull furthermore told GPUpdate.net Mark Webber will return in the car for the first time since he broke his leg on 11 February.

After a stunning year at Scuderia Toro Rosso Sebastian Vettel joined Red Bull Racing this winter. The young German will complete the first day of testing for Red Bull Racing at Jerez next week where the team will complete a three-day test.

Mark Webber will be back behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car for the first time since November's Brazilian Grand Prix. In November Webber broke his leg in a mountain bike accident but the Australian has worked hard to be fully recovered in time for the 2009 Formula 1 season.

"Mark Webber will drive the car for the first time on Wednesday 11 February," a Red Bull spokesperson confirmed to GPUpdate.net. It will be an important day for the team as Vettel had to work complete most of the work this winter at Red Bull Racing while an experienced driver as Mark Webber is extremely welcome with the number of rule changes introduced this year.
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Source
 
Although we don't know if this is the actual car, but RedBUll released a teaser video.


http://img25.imageshack.**/my.php?image=image9gk1.jpg
http://img7.imageshack.**/my.php?image=image10xl0.jpp
http://img4.imageshack.**/my.php?image=image11mo0.jpg



Adrian Newey at it again? I have to say it looks impressive, and very nice let's see how it fairs on the track!
 
That is in AWESOME VIDEO! The Red Bull is a looker too, thanks for sharing.
 
Wow! Those front wings are the best of all of them! I love the shapes and the curves

and that video is sweeeeet. I love how they explained the new rules graphically, it really shows how much has changed
 
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That video is very cool, it did a very good job of demonstrating the rule changes for 2009. The car looks pretty good as well, looking forward to seeing photos of the real thing.
 
I remember they did that great Singapore GP preview in that style as well. Actually, I think it was more or less the same background
 
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