Obviously no cars yet but we do have the first launch date of a 2018 model:
Williams - 15th February
Ferrari - 22nd Feb
Mercedes - 22nd Feb
McLaren - 23rd Feb
Two more months
One and a bit to go
19 days and counting....
Rumours about what kind of cars are being developed:
Ferrari will run a car with a longer wheelbase, similar to what Mercedes featured in 2017, but hopefully managing to maintain the advantage they held over the Mercs last year, namely a car that was easier to set up.
Mercedes, meanwhile, are supposedly going the Red Bull route and opting for a car designed around a high rake setup.
Unexpected move by Ferrari given the strength of last year's car - shorter wheelbase definitely an advantage at certain tracks/types of corner so clearly convinced that the negatives (such as poorer high speed stability) outweigh any such gains. Hope they can pull it off.
Williams to launch car (not off a ramp) on 15th Feb: https://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2018/01/26/williams-announces-earliest-2018-car-launch-date-yet/
Launching the car of a ramp would produce some headlines in the news though. Might not be a bad idea.
Could the McLaren go from orange to yellow this year? Maybe.
https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/motorsport/673030/F1-News-New-McLaren-car-Fernando-Alonso-YELLOW-Formula-One-Lewis-Hamilton
The Daily Star might have a factually accurate story (bound to happen eventually) but my computer refuses to visit the site on grounds of taste and decency....
The Williams has landed:
(https://www.racefans.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/DWGU9mHXUAMFZgS.jpg)
If I hold a finger over the halo the car looks great; and if I ignore who'll be in the cockpit I can daydream about Williams having a strong season.
I'm already beginning to accept the halo. Embrace it, no, but after FP1 in Australia I will not think about it much at all.
The blacker bottom part is possibly a way to cover some of their clever sidepod solutions. Perhaps this car will be whiter in Australia.
The aesthetics I can likely ignore, what I'm waiting to see is whether helmets are obscured to the point of making identifying drivers difficult. That will piss me right off.
I fully expect the halo to do just that which you mention. And perhaps after 2-3 races there will be a mandatory identification on the halo itself. You know, the three letters or something.
I'd really like it if a team painted the halo in the colours of the driver helmet. That'd actually be rather neat. Surely FIA would stop that on the basis that "cars need to look alike!"
Launch week is here. Red Bull first to go. We'll basically get a car or two every day this week.
No word on whether this paint job is an interim testing livery or the actual one they plan to use this year. My vote is on the former, although I expect the arrival of Aston Martin to affect the livery to a certain extent.
(https://www.racefans.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/red-bull-rb14-2.jpg)
Visually, the halo is a turd that can't even be polished.
Quote from: Chrill on February 17, 2018, 07:49:37 AM
... perhaps after 2-3 races there will be a mandatory identification on the halo itself. You know, the three letters or something.
I've never found the large numbers on the cars useful for identifying drivers; a flash of colour from the helmet is so much easier to spot on a fast moving object.
Quote from: Chrill on February 17, 2018, 07:49:37 AMI'd really like it if a team painted the halo in the colours of the driver helmet. That'd actually be rather neat. Surely FIA would stop that on the basis that "cars need to look alike!"
Yes, that would be a neat way to show us who's in the car; and yes, of course the FIA would never allow it....
Sidepod (well, just in front of) detail - someone's been working overtime at the carbon fibre machine:
(https://s18.postimg.org/hcggxsy95/2018_Red_Bull_side_pod.jpg)
Sauber Alfa Romeo thingy. Some good aero detail.
(https://s9.postimg.org/t68l3t6z3/2018_Sauber.jpg)
Crazy barge boards is what I spotted first. If they openly show that this early, what else is up their sleeves? Oh, I don't know, maybe nostrils up front? Very unlike what Force India or Red Bull has used on their nostrils. There are some actual intriguing and new designs on that Sauber. I'm impressed.
The livery is fresh, but still a bit of a letdown. That halo looks a lot larger than it did on the other cars we've seen. I'd really prefer it, as we said, if the halo was colored like the driver helmets.
Yeah, it's never going to blend in with the cars so may as well paint it up as an identifier.
2018 Renault - base model without optional aero kit:
(https://s14.postimg.org/cs1i0r24x/2018_Renault.jpg)
Assume more detailed pieces of bodywork will appear before Melbourne.
I like the livery on the Renault. From the side, it's black with yellow lines. From the front, it's a full-on Jordan car. Be on Edge. Bitten Heroes. Buzzin Hornets.
At least now we have our answer to the age-old question of whether an F1 car can look appealing with a lump of scaffolding bolted on:
(https://www.racefans.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/toro-rosso-str13.jpg)
That photo is clearly photoshopped. They're using Honda engines, it can't possibly run.
:) Not sure if we're meant to be impressed that they had no engine issues during yesterday's very limited running. Actually, Honda reliability wasn't too bad by the end of 2017, they were just painfully slow down those long stretches of tarmac.
At long last McLaren has rustled up a big old can of orange paint. Loving the colour scheme though as always it's a shame about the halo's dominating presence; actually, viewed from anything other than head-on I can tolerate them (except for loss of driver's helmet which is a different issue), but looked at from the front they are just about the ugliest cars I've ever seen - and I don't mean F1 cars, I mean any car ever created by mankind.
(https://www.racefans.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/alon-mcla.jpg)
I really don't find it that bad at all. I mean, I definitely don't like the halo. It's clumsy looking and does not at all feel aerodynamic or suited to sit on an F1 car. Still, it's a rather small part of an otherwise impressive piece of vehicle.
Agree with Chrill on this one. They do not look good, but I often do not notice them when looking at the cars.
As I said, viewing angle heavily influences just how much I dislike the things, but unfortunately I am yet to look at a 2018 car and not instantly have my eyes drawn to this bulky lump of rollcage. Hopefully one day soon it will happen for me... until then, here's 'It is I' making use of Sauber's halo sun visor:
(https://www.racefans.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/sauber-c37-2018-6-1.jpg)
That Alfa Sauber is growing on me. I really like nose of the car, there is some intricate air flow optimisation going on there.
I present to you the 2018 Force India, Toro Rosso, and Haas:
(https://s13.postimg.org/6aoc72aiv/2018_Force_India.jpg)
(https://s13.postimg.org/7zxffdavb/2018_Toro_Rosso.jpg)
(https://s13.postimg.org/e2525nwon/2018_Haas.jpg)
... and the Ferrari, Red Bull (in race livery), and Mercedes:
(https://s13.postimg.org/ld0khmkqv/2018_Ferrari.jpg)
(https://s13.postimg.org/ol51utrmv/2018_Red_Bull.jpg)
(https://s13.postimg.org/tl2i2qmyv/2018_Mercedes.jpg)
And whilst I'm at it, you may as well have a pic of the McLaren, Williams, and Renault:
(https://s13.postimg.org/wljcjhgc7/2018_Mc_Laren.jpg)
(https://s13.postimg.org/vknp84rbb/2018_Williams.jpg)
(https://s13.postimg.org/fmezi3k9j/2018_Renault_02.jpg)
McLaren appears to be running quite a high rake.
Glad that Haas did not print in greyscale this season.
OK, livery ratings of 2018.
Mercedes: 6/10 - it's a splash of blue stripy stuff on the side, so that's neat.
Ferrari: 5/10 - you know what, the increased red and the lack of sponsorship is rather dull. It's just too plain.
Red Bull: 7/10 - the matte is sexy, but I was hoping for a nod to British Racing Green with Aston Martin onboard.
Force India: 6/10 - pretty much like last year but extra grey/silver. That's a step down.
Williams: 7/10 - it's a handsome paintjob in its own right but it's overdue for a revamp, is it not? Classic colours and all that though.
Renault: 9/10 - really liking this one. From one angle, it's a black car with yellow stripes. From another angle, it's full-on Eddie Jordan Benson&Hedges yellow. It's a good looking car.
Toro Rosso: 4/10 - really a mediocre livery, and little to no change either. There's room to be exciting here, Red Bull, so use it.
Haas: 6/10 - kinda neat, but it's really more of the same here too. As Matty pointed out, glad it's not all black-white.
McLaren: 9/10 - Papaya speaks to me. A lack of sponsors is painful, but I guess that makes more room for Alonso's Kimoa brand to fill other spaces down the road. Rumours put new sponsors on the car before Australia.
Sauber: 8/10 - Extra point awarded for simply being new. Other than that, a step down from that blue-gold of last year which I really liked. The wine red of Alfa Romeo is a sexy colour though.
Or to rank them:
1. Renault
2. McLaren
3. Sauber
4. Red Bull
5. Williams
6. Mercedes
7. Force India
8. Haas
9. Ferrari
10. Toro Rosso
On another note, there's quite the impressive rake on the McLaren. The Mercedes car in contrast looks to be running less rake than most.
Yes, I noticed the hefty McLaren rake. Not a surprising direction of travel given their chief aero guy's years of service alongside Newey. As for the Merc, it does seem far less 'rakey' than most - and that is something of a surprise when earlier comments suggested they'd be leaning more towards the Red Bull philosophy.
Been waiting years for McLaren to run papaya orange and it shoots them straight to the top of my livery rankings. Last year's orange/black combo was quite attractive, but for about twenty years before that they'd been as dull as Ron Dennis.
Slidey tool to compare cars with one another: https://www.racefans.net/2018/03/16/interactive-compare-all-10-f1-cars-on-the-2018-grid-side-by-side/
Very well done. Should provide minutes of entertainment.
McLaren has put a sponsor on their halo. They make flippy floppies.
Makin' flippy floppy
Tryin' to do my best
Lock the door
We kill the beast
Kill it!
McLaren's Oz upgrade package was a partial affair, remainder will be bolted on over next few races: https://www.racefans.net/2018/03/29/mclaren-postponed-melbourne-upgrades-alonso/
Williams praying Barcelona upgrade reduces crappiness of car: https://www.racefans.net/2018/03/29/williams-plans-major-barcelona-upgrade-to-address-fw41-weaknesses/
Quote from: Penfold on March 30, 2018, 02:16:32 AMWilliams praying Barcelona upgrade reduces crappiness of car: https://www.racefans.net/2018/03/29/williams-plans-major-barcelona-upgrade-to-address-fw41-weaknesses/
Luckily all other teams are happy with their cars and have opted not to bring updates to Barcelona.
That's a spot of good fortune for Williams....
Not that they need, considering that they have one of the strongest driver pairings on the grid. At least in the top 10.
THE 2018 HAAS IS A COPY OF THE 2017 FERRARI!!
Or is it? No it isn't:
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/the-evidence-that-dismisses-haas-ferrari-critics-1021561/
As in, Haas sure got inspiration from Ferrari but pretty much every team would take inspiration from one of the two strongest cars of the previous season.
The car McLaren should've had in Australia will finally arrive for Barcelona: http://classic.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/135446
What's that... six weeks late? I suppose that's not bad going for a young team with severely limited resources....
Quote from: Penfold on April 23, 2018, 04:32:56 AMI suppose that's not bad going for a young team with severely limited resources....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marussia_MR03#Marussia_MR03B
That's a harsh comparison... I always felt Manor did a solid job given their budget. :)
McLaren's funky new front wing:
(https://s31.postimg.cc/y3g2lakaj/2018_Mc_Laren_-_New_Wing_01.jpg)
(https://s31.postimg.cc/hfokiuf97/2018_Mc_Laren_-_New_Wing_02.jpg)
Ferrari adds eyes and eyebrows to its halo:
(https://s31.postimg.cc/cyw7jz64b/2018_Ferrari_-_Halo_Eyes.jpg)
FIA bans the above: https://www.racefans.net/2018/05/14/fia-explains-why-ferraris-halo-mirrors-will-be-banned/
The eyes (mirrors) are okay but the eyebrow/winglet is being viewed as an aero device rather than purely part of the wing mirror mount. Make it less aero-ey. Perhaps more twirl-ey instead. That's one for aficionados of British chocolate bars.