In this second preview edition of F1 Digest we take a look through the entry list, focusing on the teams and their new cars. How have they performed in testing? What features are on the new machines? Who has a strong lineup? All that and more will get you ready for the season to come.
The Teams
From the non-existant teams such as US F1 and Campos to those who are determined to challenge for another championship - Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes. In some teams, the drivers overshadow the cars, but we spend plenty of time discussing front wings, sidepods and shark fin engine covers.
There are new liveries to discuss, and how the teams managed their launches, plus the relationship between teammates - those who have new faces to get to know, and those who are continuing with their fellow driver from 2009.
We also take a quick look at the battle between Virgin Racing and Lotus, from testing, reliability issues, air stewardess outfits and launches. Everything is going to be different this year, and it's going to be great.
Mercedes GP today confirmed Nick Heidfeld will be the team's test/reserve driver for the 2010 season. Heidfeld replaces Anthony Davidson who filled the role for Brawn GP last year.
Nick drove for BMW Sauber last year, but has found himself without a competitive drive in 2010 despite the emergence of three new teams to the field.
Speaking of the change in role, Nick said:
"Whilst I would of course have preferred a seat as an active driver, I am really proud to be part of the new Silver Arrows team. I have seen how committed everyone at the team is and I feel the same. I will be doing my very best to support Michael and Nico this year."
Norbert Haug, Vice President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport added:
"We have known each other for many years and Nick was supported by our junior drivers programme from 1997. During his 10 years in Formula One, circumstances often made it difficult for him to achieve his breakthrough. However Nick is extremely capable, he will be an asset to our team and he will show this."
With Michael Schumacher yet to compete in a full Grand Prix weekend since 2006 and question marks remaining over recent injuries, the move by Mercedes to bring in a known quantity such as Heidfeld seems like sensible one.
I wrote earlier this week about my desire to attend pre-season testing this year, partly as a way of seeing some F1 action, and partly as a way to prove to Mr C that track testing is still relevant and interesting. Four days later and things could be going better.
Credit: Force India F1
Adrian Sutil tests the Force India in 2009
We narrowed the choices down to the sole Valencia test, and the price and the location were pretty appealing. We already knew that Red Bull weren't going to be attending the circuit for the first test of the year, and that was a sticking point. It was almost acceptable to miss out on seeing the new Red Bull, despite it likely setting the 2010 aero standard. US F1 are almost certain to remain in the States for their first test, and new team Virgin Racing have also confirmed they would delay their first taste of track time until a later Jerez test.
This is all understandable, and no one could put money on the new teams being ready in time for the beginning of February, although they are going to have to get a wriggle on because the start of the season is not far behind. Roll on the next news announcements, and cue both Sauber and Force India stating they are not planning on attending the Valencia test either. For what reason?
"It's to optimise the time in the wind tunnel as much as possible"
It seems as though on track testing is just no longer as valuable to teams as days spent in the factory, hours spent in the wind tunnel, and computing minutes spent on CFD analysis. Christian Horner proves this point for at least one of the absentee teams: "It's to optimise the time in the wind tunnel as much as possible."
From the real life experience of track time, the future now seems to be sitting behind a wall of screens. As big enthusiasts for shunning the real world, I don't suppose I can fault the logic behind these decisions. The real question, though, is what are they doing? The regulation changes for the 2009 season were so massive that I would have forgiven teams for turning round and saying: "Hold up, we need a year out for this." But the majority were raring to go as soon as the track time was presented to them. 12 months later, and you can't coax them out onto the tarmac.
Is it an attempt at keeping secrets? Surely teams are aware by now that it is almost an impossible task. Or perhaps they have learnt from the double diffuser debacle that there is the possibility of springing a surprise.
Perhaps it is simply that the track at Valencia is not particularly useful and they would rather wait until Barcelona - they can certainly reuse data collected at Circuit de Catalunya during the season, whereas maybe the Ricardo Tomo track is less useful to them. What would happen if Bahrain got their way and became one of the pre-season preferred testing tracks instead? Would the teams be more or less keen to head out there and stock up on some numbers?
It's certainly something you'd want to experience
We've seen a distinct lack of interest in testing recently, but does that mean fans are missing out? I know when we attended Silverstone for mid-season testing in 2008 it was full of excited fans, a really good day out, and although different to a GP atmosphere, it's certainly something you'd want to experience. Now it's all pre-season, more clinical, and less teams are bothered. It seems like everyone from fans to drivers to mechanics are missing out.
That being said, it wouldn't surprise me if the trend for testing is over. With cost cutting the first bullet point on everyone's agenda at the moment, extra track time, flights, cargo, fuel and tyres can't be an appealing option. If the fans aren't bothered about going, the teams would prefer to stay in the warmth of the factory, then perhaps testing really is dead. Could we get by without it altogether?
Either way, I'm going to have to admit that Mr C might be right. It looks like we're just going to have to settle for a regular old holiday. Where's the nearest wind tunnel?
For the best part of the season we have bemoaned the look that is a 2009 spec Formula One car. Heck, we were complaining about the fugly high rear wing and boxy lines from the moment the first Williams hit the test track a year ago. Things didn't improve when the likes of BMW followed suit.
After witnessing a whole season of modified bodywork in action, I'm still not sold on the revised profile. I'd prefer it if we could just pretend the changes didn't happen and roll back to something far sexier and dare I say, more "normal". It would of course have helped if the changes, introduced to solve the distinct lack of overtaking in modern F1, had achieved anything of note.
Flap Your Wings
My favourite regulation debut, has to be the concept of adjustable bodywork. Enjoy this prime example of such a device at work.
In case you missed the vital moment, you're watching Barrichello's front wing enter the main straight in Brazil, and six seconds into the video you might just catch he lowers his front flap, before raising it again four seconds later. Don't blink and don't be surprised if you can't see it, only Steven and Iaian spotted it at the time. I'm also pretty sure this was the only time anybody in the live comments saw a front flap move the whole season.
Once.
We watched 85 sessions this season, and that clip is about the sole difference it made to our enjoyment of F1.
It Gets Pushed Down, It Gets Pulled Up Again
Introduced with the aim of allowing cars to run closer together, to facilitate overtaking, adjustable bodywork could and should be considered a dismal failure. Did it improve the racing? Not in the slightest. Was it a waste of money and effort? Almost certainly.
Formula 1 went cost-cutting crazy this yet, yet managed to spend time and investment creating one of the most pointless developments the sport has seen in a long while. The majority of casual fans likely don't know about it, and even the drivers, who should feel the most benefit, don't appear that interested. In an interview with Maurice Hamilton, Alonso was brutally honest in his conclusions.
I never touch it! So far, nine races, I never use it. It's not useful at all. KERS, the aerodynamics, they are two new regulations that didn't work this year.
A rip roaring success all round then.
The salient points from the 2009 technical regulations define movable flap as:
3.18 Driver adjustable bodywork ... is allowed to change incidence while the vehicle is in motion within a maximum range of 6°, provided any such change maintains compliance with all of the bodywork dimensional regulations. ... a maximum of two adjustments may be made within any single lap of a circuit.
Therein lies the likely culprit for problems with this devices implementation. As seen in the above video, six degrees is a tiny amount of adjustment, how could it ever hope to make a significant difference to passing? Similarly, why mandate such a restriction as two adjustments per lap? In the above video Rubens was seen making and down and then an up selection. He used it at the first corner, and again at the last corner, during the rest of the lap it remained static. Additionally, there was no way of communicating the position of said flap to TV viewers or those in the grandstands.
What a complete waste of time.
All of a Flap
At best the motor mechanism enabling movement added some much needed weight to the front of the car, but this in turn raised further questions about the sense in situating tiny moving parts directly in front of a driver. Is that a wise thing to do given the likelihood of a head-on accident occurring at some point.
As Christine pointed out back in August, the Overtaking Working Group haven't been forthcoming with an apology for mistakes made in defining this years regulations. Taken at face value, and lacking any form of defence from teams, drivers, fans or the FIA, the adjustable front flap must be up there with the most pointless aerodynamic devices of all time.
Changes might be considered, improvements made, and in future we may think about the idea differently, however article 3.18 is still present and unchanged in the most up-to-date technical regulations available on the FIA website.
For me, adjustable bodywork was a waste of time, space and money this year. What do you think?
