F1 2017
- Thread starter spitfire
- Start date
1%er
Well-Known Member
Manor F1 cease trading
Manor's parent company Just Racing Services has ceased trading according to administrators FRP Advisory. All staff have been paid for January but have now been sent home and the company is closed. Tavo Hellmund had made a 22 million pounds (UK) bid but says this was turned down by Stephen Fitzpatrick who wanted more money for the team. Hellmund has been involved in Formula One as a promoter and an organizer but not as a team owner. He put together the 2010 deal to build the Circuit of the Americas track in Austin and place the U.S. Grand Prix there, after he split with his partners in that project, he was instrumental in reviving the Mexican Grand Prix.
It is a shame that no buyer could be found as it seems there were many parties wanting to buy the team. There was a management team bid, Indonesian Kentucky Fried Chicken magnate Ricardo Gelael, former McLaren chairman Ron Dennis and a group of Asian investors, also representatives from Andretti Autosport were spotted touring Manor’s facilities in Banbury.
A statement issued by FRP Advisory said "With no sustainable operational or financial structure in place to maintain the Group as a going concern, the joint administrators have now ceased trading JRSL and unfortunately have had to send all staff home".
Manor's parent company Just Racing Services has ceased trading according to administrators FRP Advisory. All staff have been paid for January but have now been sent home and the company is closed. Tavo Hellmund had made a 22 million pounds (UK) bid but says this was turned down by Stephen Fitzpatrick who wanted more money for the team. Hellmund has been involved in Formula One as a promoter and an organizer but not as a team owner. He put together the 2010 deal to build the Circuit of the Americas track in Austin and place the U.S. Grand Prix there, after he split with his partners in that project, he was instrumental in reviving the Mexican Grand Prix.
It is a shame that no buyer could be found as it seems there were many parties wanting to buy the team. There was a management team bid, Indonesian Kentucky Fried Chicken magnate Ricardo Gelael, former McLaren chairman Ron Dennis and a group of Asian investors, also representatives from Andretti Autosport were spotted touring Manor’s facilities in Banbury.
A statement issued by FRP Advisory said "With no sustainable operational or financial structure in place to maintain the Group as a going concern, the joint administrators have now ceased trading JRSL and unfortunately have had to send all staff home".
1%er
Well-Known Member
It seems there are still divided views about overtaking in 2017 even by engineers from the same team. Red Bull’s chief technical officer Adrian Newey believes there will be less, but Red Bulls chief engineer Paul Monaghan believes there will be more. It will be hard to judge by numbers alone as Manor who were overtaken a lot will not be on the grid and it is expected that there will be fewer pit-stops.
It seems that it will depend if the 25% extra grip from the tyres will overcome the increased down-force, Pirelli also claim the tyres will be more durable so cars should be able to do far more laps than the tyres designed to degrade that we have had to suffer over the last few years. Also it must be remembered that more down-force means more drag, so if cars can manage to get into the slipstream of the car in front overtaking could be easier, but the larger tyres will reduce braking distance. There is also DRS, what effect will bigger wings have on DRS, it should give following cars even more speed. The cars should be faster so it is impossible to know if this will force drivers to make more mistakes.
Not long to go, I don't think we will learn much about overtaking from testing, I guess we will have to wait until Melbourne to see what effect the changes have in the real world, if Engineers and drivers differ on the issue, racing will be the only way to sort it out.
It seems that it will depend if the 25% extra grip from the tyres will overcome the increased down-force, Pirelli also claim the tyres will be more durable so cars should be able to do far more laps than the tyres designed to degrade that we have had to suffer over the last few years. Also it must be remembered that more down-force means more drag, so if cars can manage to get into the slipstream of the car in front overtaking could be easier, but the larger tyres will reduce braking distance. There is also DRS, what effect will bigger wings have on DRS, it should give following cars even more speed. The cars should be faster so it is impossible to know if this will force drivers to make more mistakes.
Not long to go, I don't think we will learn much about overtaking from testing, I guess we will have to wait until Melbourne to see what effect the changes have in the real world, if Engineers and drivers differ on the issue, racing will be the only way to sort it out.
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
I want Lewis to win. But by one point at the last race
weltweit
Well-Known Member
Why? I don't care really if Lewis wins, certainly in the dominant car he did but how much does that mean? how about they are all in equal cars so Lewis is properly against the likes of Vettel Alonso etc ..I want Lewis to win. But by one point at the last race
Don't get me wrong I know F1 is a team game and in the last few years Lewis and Merc have been the best of the class.
1%er
Well-Known Member
The new Mercedes looks good, these cars are not built to look "beautiful", F1 really is a case of Function over Form, if they want beautiful cars they need to get rid of Adrian Newey et al and employ Filippo Perini 
This was the new car out for a photo-shoot today
Interestingly, Bottas went out with the T-wing on his car, but Mercedes have said they will wait and see how it performs during testing at Barcelona before deciding to use it in Melbourne, it is also unclear if the rear wing on the car now will in fact be the wing they run in the first race, there are rumors they are holding something back
This was the new car out for a photo-shoot today
Interestingly, Bottas went out with the T-wing on his car, but Mercedes have said they will wait and see how it performs during testing at Barcelona before deciding to use it in Melbourne, it is also unclear if the rear wing on the car now will in fact be the wing they run in the first race, there are rumors they are holding something back
1%er
Well-Known Member
Tyre pressures to be reduced
While this may seem a boring point, it does in fact make a lot of difference to the racing. Last season Pirelli mandated higher tyre pressures and the speed dropped off as grip was reduced. The contact patch is extremely important in F1 as it is the only part of the car that is in contact with the ground and produces the mechanical grip. In a press release Pirelli have said they intend to reduce the tyre pressures for the Barcelona test next week, front will be 22psi and rear will be 18psi, so the cars should have a "full" contact patch. Lets hope they keep to this for the racing
McLaren new car new livery new name MCL32
The 2017 Ferrari SF70H
While this may seem a boring point, it does in fact make a lot of difference to the racing. Last season Pirelli mandated higher tyre pressures and the speed dropped off as grip was reduced. The contact patch is extremely important in F1 as it is the only part of the car that is in contact with the ground and produces the mechanical grip. In a press release Pirelli have said they intend to reduce the tyre pressures for the Barcelona test next week, front will be 22psi and rear will be 18psi, so the cars should have a "full" contact patch. Lets hope they keep to this for the racing
McLaren new car new livery new name MCL32
The 2017 Ferrari SF70H
1%er
Well-Known Member
The more I have thought about this Tweet from Martin the more surprised I am that he sent it. I am reminded of a quote I heard or read from Ross Brawn (I think it was Ross but could have been someone else), "there are two types of Engineers/designers in F1, those who see a car and those who see a set of regulations, it is clear the latter win far more championships". F1 cars are built for one reason and one reason only, to complete a race of around 305 kilometers in the fastest time, I'm not really sure where "beautiful" enters the equation.
The Shark fin
The most striking difference between some cars so far appears to be what is being called the Shark fin (the extended engine cover), which is clearly visible on the McLaren and Ferrari above but not on the Mercedes, it will be interesting to see which team has got it right.
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Limejuice
Well-Known Member
Greetings!
As far as I can tell, testing's not on live UK TV.
However Sky Sports F1 are showing a Ted Kravitz Testing Notebook for each (I think) of the testing days, so there's that.
hipipol
Peckham Wry
That maclaren has a weird colour scheme that makes it look like a lot like an old Arrows....
Hope it doesn't drive the same ........
ETA maybe its that colour cos the new car is shit and they hope no one will realise its an maclaren and jus think that "thing " back is merely an arrows that had somehow strayed onto track having time warped into the race by mistake.....
Hope it doesn't drive the same ........
ETA maybe its that colour cos the new car is shit and they hope no one will realise its an maclaren and jus think that "thing " back is merely an arrows that had somehow strayed onto track having time warped into the race by mistake.....
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
So, the Mercedes is the only car so far not to have a stupid "shark fin".
So, they're either useless, Mercedes have made a mistake or Mercedes have something else clever that negates the need for it.
Whatever it is they still look shit.
So, they're either useless, Mercedes have made a mistake or Mercedes have something else clever that negates the need for it.
Whatever it is they still look shit.
hipipol
Peckham Wry
Not with full wets on, Slicks tho, well then yer talking...I know which one I'd rather have on my wall and it may not be the one I'd rather own
1%er
Well-Known Member
Here it is with the shark fin, they also claim that 90% of the engine parts will be new so it will be interesting to see how it performs. Yusuke Hasegawa from Honda says "the Honda power unit has progressed to the level of last year's Mercedes engine", well I'm not sure that will cut it, but we only have a few days to see how it compares to the 2017 power-units of the other cars.That maclaren has a weird colour scheme that makes it look like a lot like an old Arrows....
Hope it doesn't drive the same ........
Reading the press, it seem that most teams have an engine cover with the fin and without, I guess they will use both in testing and see how they perform, for sure Mercedes also have a fin (other than Bottas
)as they have said Bottas will run it during testing, it seems they want to see if the fin or T-wing works better, there are also reports they have something else to test that isn't on the car yet.
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weltweit
Well-Known Member
If the car is going straight surely all the fin can do is stop air overflowing the engine bay from one side to another. If the back gets out of line it might help to stabilise the back end. Just thoughts. Many of the top flight endurance racers have them though so perhaps there is some benefit.
Gromit
International Man of Misery
What I know about aerodynamics could fill a matchbox but some part of me is thinking that a shark fin will not interact with the current design of DRS wing as it should.
You either need a new style of wing (which may not be allowed) as well as the new fin to be optimised or you might as well not bother.
I could be wrong though.
You either need a new style of wing (which may not be allowed) as well as the new fin to be optimised or you might as well not bother.
I could be wrong though.
1%er
Well-Known Member
Other than adding more advertising space, it is claimed to have an aerodynamic advantage as the cars are expected to have much faster cornering speed and the fin will lesson the yaw (rear-end sliding) and also help under heavy braking as well as reducing turbulence from the engine air inlets.
The old engine covers caused a crisscross of airflow from one side of the cover to the other, the fin should reduce this considerably, thus straightening the airflow towards the rear wing, which should reduce turbulent air from the back of the air-box and therefore clean the air that enters the rear wing making the wing much more effective and improving the performance of the DRS.
As with almost everything in F1 engineers seem to be unable to reach agreement as to if the fin will have much benifit, this isn't the first time they have been used, Red Bull used a similar system back in 2008 so will have experience with this shark fin design, so it will be interesting to see what they decide to use.
