Well, all that happened about three months ago, and since it is now 2009, the many teams making up Formula 1 are unveiling their contenders for the upcoming season.
The new aerodynamic regulation (check the link, we discussed this ever so briefly a while back) package goes into effect this year, and the differences between the cars of 2008 and the entries of 2009 in vast. The front wing is wider, covering the entire distance from the outside of the right tyre to the outside of th left tyre. The rear wing has been shrunk to minute proportions in comparison to the 2008 model and has been raised up to the same height as the top of the intake. Also returning are slick tyres, something not seen in Formula 1 since the 1990s. Most cars, in fact, probably all of them, will run the Bridgestone Potenza slicks.
First out of the gate was Ferrari, who on January 12 revealed the F60, marking their 60th year of competition in Formula 1. Sadly, the F60 is uglier than a war wound (to quote Jeremy Clarkson).
The car is not pretty compared to last year's model, which I really liked, even though I wasn't a fan of those driving. I am curious about seeing the boys race on slick tyres once again, considering the only F1 experience I have is with the grooved tyre variety.Ferrari unveiled their car at their Mugello test track, and Championship runner-up Felipe Massa was the first to take it for a spin. Massa, who has a propensity to hit everything in sight and spin out at incredibly unreasonable times, drove the car around Mugello, then back into the pits, where he claimed that it was crap and they had to start all over again. Honestly, I'm not sure if he actually said that, but Ferrari did come out rather quickly after the test drive and say that major overhauls were needed to certain aspects of the car.
The front wing (seen above, left) looks more like a snowplow than an aerodynamic addendum to a car. The standard red livery is still in place, and since the new regulations state that teams can no longer place aerodynamic doo-dads all over the car (that's right FIA regulation 2009 Code, Aero-Regs, Subsection C actually states that "aerodynamic doo-dads are right out") Ferrari appaerntly thought that meant any attempt to make an aesthetically pleasing automobile was right out as well. In discussions with Robert, the consensus was formed that Ferrari's biggest aesthetic mistake on the F60 was leaving the exhaust just dangling out the way they did. The car would be much prettier if they'd fixed that little problem. But who knows, they may fix it in the major overhauling they have to do.
Ferrari's team in 2009 will once again consist of Felipe Massa, who will, I think, again compete for the Title. Like it or not, he's actually a pretty good driver in dry conditions with no traffick in front of him. The other driver will be Mumbles himself, Kimi Raikkonen, who went missing for a time this off-season, but was found at his home three weeks ago, installing a swimming pool full of vodka.
The second team to launch their new design was Toyota. The 2009 roster for Toyota is the same as last season, Timo Glock and Jarno Trulli will once again man the battle stations on the track, and reserve/test driver Kamui Kobayashi. Toyota took a different route to unveil their car for 2009, incorporating the internet and making a pseudo-movie trailer to reveal the TF109. Kobayashi himself makes a cameo in the trailer at the :50 second mark. The problem with Toyota's movie trailer is that the action shots of the car, most notably at the :57 second mark, are using the 2008 model, not the TF109. This mistake is glaringly noted when you see that the front wing is the double-foil design from last season.
Toyota's new car features a better looking front wing design than the F60 of Ferrari. Toyota's front wing actually looks like it will make an aerodyanmic difference during the race. Ferrari's design looks like they will be called out to clean the track after an accident.
The biggest similarity between the F60 and TF109 is the nose design. I only say it is a similarity between Toyota and Ferrari because McLaren remedied the design, as will be seen if you keep reading. The front end design on the F60 and the TF109 is very flat and actually, even though the front is rounded-off, looks like it would allow air to get under the front end of the car and create lift.
The back wing design appears to be a more simplistic version of the F60, with fewer aerodynamic attachments molded in. The team gives an entire list of specs on their web page. The 8-cylinder engine will be capable of 18,000 rpm, the limit enforced by the FIA, and will generate upwards of 740 bhp. The TF109 dims out at just over 15 feet long, just under 6 feet wide, and a whopping 37" tall.
To paraphrase Jeremy Clarkson, Toyota's 2009 contender is not uglier than a war wound. Some might argue that it does slightly resemble a smashed buttock, but I disagree. Given a choice between the F60 and the TF109, I would rather take Toyota's new ride for a spin. I mean, if Felipe Massa says a car is no good, you know you have problems.
In 2008 Lewis Hamilton battled valiantly to the last corner of the last lap of the last race to win the Driver's Championship. He did so in the McLaren Mercedes MP4-23. Well, wait no more, Mr. Hamilton, the MP4-24 was unveiled to much fanfare at the McLaren headquarters in Woking.
Of the three cars unveiled thus far, the McLaren MP4-24 is by far the most elegant, stunning, beautiful, nay sexy car to be revealed. The standard Vodafone McLaren livery is back, a nice reflective metallic silver and orange. The front wing design is the best of the three to bee seen yet. It retains some of the elegance of the double-foil design of 2008, without overly flaunting the limits that McLaren pushed in the 2009 aerodynamic regulation package.
Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen were on hand to unveil the car. Amidst the fanfare, McLaren announced some changes. The driver line-up will remain the same, as Hamilton and Kovalainen worked very well together last year. Team prinicpal Ron Dennis, who has guided McLaren for years, stepped down, turning over the reins to Martin Whitmarsh, who has served as McLaren's Formula 1 CEO for some time.
The internal changes at McLaren give the team an appearance of at least temporary instability, but Whitmarsh and Dennis have been working together for a long enough time that the change shouldn't exactly be earth-shattering. And like we said, the driver line-up is not changing, so there is still stability in the paddock.
Back to the car, though. The MP4-24, as stated earlier, escaped the ugly nose design curse that befell Ferrari and Toyota and created a sleek machine with a nose that actually looks like it was built for aerodynamic purposes. The nose actually curves downward toward the front-wing. The rear wing looks very similar to the TF109, and thus different from the F60, if you follow. McLaren also sculpted the body of the MP4-24 to incorporate the exhaust, seemingly learning from Ferrari's mistake.
If I had to rank the three cars that have been revealed thus far, the rankings would be simple:
1. McLaren Mercedes MP4-24
2. Toyota TF109
3. Ferrari F60
Ferrari is already overhauling their design. Toyota and McLaren will also likely change their set-ups as well.
Williams and Renault are set to launch their 2009 contenders on January 19th, and BMW Sauber will unveil their new machine on January 20th. After that, we'll take a bit of a break, as Team Red Bull doesn't unveil until February 9th. Starting today, January 17, we have about 70 days until the opening race of 2009 in Melbourne.
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