The Official 2017 F1 Pre-Season Thread

[lee_fr200]

The mclaren sounds lovely exiting the garage and driving into track

[swisstoni]

Cars look a lot better. Thought there were going to be bigger diameter rims (18" or so) as well?

[glazbagun]

Are Merc the only ones who haven't gone for a full length sail to the spoiler, or is that the kind of detail that can be slapped on at the last minute?

[MockingJay]

I think it looks better on track than it did on the launch photo's.

[ajprice]

glazbagun said:

Are Merc the only ones who haven't gone for a full length sail to the spoiler, or is that the kind of detail that can be slapped on at the last minute?

They'll probably have one to try out in testing and compare fin to no fin to T-wing

[LaurasOtherHalf]

Whats with the RB13's intake in the nose? I shudder to think what Ted will whip out of his pants in order to try and explain what Newey is doing with it

[glazbagun]

What is the Aston link to Red Bull again? Are they the engine supplier of the Tag Heuer engines made by Renault?

[HustleRussell]

LaurasOtherHalf said:

Whats with the RB13's intake in the nose? I shudder to think what Ted will whip out of his pants in order to try and explain what Newey is doing with it

A number of cars have a similar little air intake on the tip of the nose. I believe it channels air from a high pressure area on the leading edge of the car and it emerges from a little letterbox ahead of the cockpit where it is used to do something clever... deflects air up and over the driver or something.

[PhillipM]

It's usually on the underside of the nose, that one looks like it's venting behind the pillars.

[HustleRussell]

This is good news

http://www.f1technical.net/news/21170?sid=b92b803a...

[TheInternet]

This is bad news

Russia GP: Sochi race deal extended to 2025

[CoolHands]

So simple question: with downforce up to 30% more than last year, is overtaking going to be easier or harder? More or less?

[MartG]

CoolHands said:

So simple question: with downforce up to 30% more than last year, is overtaking going to be easier or harder? More or less?

Probably harder - more downforce lost when following another car

[HustleRussell]

CoolHands said:

So simple question: with downforce up to 30% more than last year, is overtaking going to be easier or harder? More or less?

IIRC 2016 set a new record for most overtakes in an F1 season- and yet it was hardly a classic. It makes me wonder whether I even care about the number of overtakes or whether their quality is more important. DRS has a lot to answer for.

In answer to your question though, overtaking will be harder this season.

[r11co]

So, with Ferrari managing a lap time within .25 seconds of the Mercedes on a harder compound tyre and matching them for reliability, are we going to see a closer-run championship this year?

I bloody hope so.

[HustleRussell]

r11co said:

So, with Ferrari managing a lap time within .25 seconds of the Mercedes on a harder compound tyre and matching them for reliability, are we going to see a closer-run championship this year?

I bloody hope so.

Unfortunately, probably not. Ferrari have looked quick and reliable in pre-season testing for the past three seasons. It always turns out that Mercedes had more in the bag.

[Rich_W]

MockingJay said:

I think it looks better on track than it did on the launch photo's.

Its not the "right" Papaya Orange though. It's too dark, not "yellow" enough

[F1GTRUeno]

It was never gonna be Papaya Orange though.

I don't know why they've gone for that livery but it's terrible on just about every level, looks like when you're given a choice of liveries on a video game and it's the one left at the end that nobody ever uses. So cheap.

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

I'm colourblind, so maybe not the best judge , but reminds me of

[LaurasOtherHalf]

I'm puzzled as to why they've painted it that shade of orange that just looks red on TV

I can think of no other reason other than they're clueless at everything they do.