Mercedes GP Petronas
Chassis: Mercedes MGP W01
Engine: Mercedes-Benz FO 108X
Drivers: Michael Schumacher (3), Nico Rosberg (4)
Yes, you read that correctly. 7 time world champion Michael Schumacher is back in F1, racing for the all German Mercedes GP team. As you all know, I’m not the biggest fan of MS, so I’m glad he’s back, so he can be finally challenged by the world’s best drivers in similar cars. Rosberg and Schumacher were neck and neck during testing, lapping times as one of the top 4 teams. Expect some surprised by the first race, as the team, even during week 4, was still using their 2009 diffuser. The 2010 aerodynamic package will be unveiled at the first 2010 F1 weekend. Unfortunately, we don’t know if this is due to running behind schedule, or if they’re hiding something revolutionary until the absolute last minute, so it’s really tough to figure out where they stand.
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
Chassis: McLaren MP4-25
Engine: Mercedes-Benz FO 108X
Drivers: Jenson Button (1), Lewis Hamilton (2)
Save the best preview for last. All the cards are in McLaren’s favor for 2010. A blown wing that’s raised questions amongst other F1 teams, the 2 most recent World Champions piloting the cars, and of course, winning the winter championships by clocking the fastest laps in 3 of 4 weeks of testing. McLaren spent their 4 weeks gathering tons of data, as they have a huge development program throughout the season. They proved last year that they are the best at mid season developments now that testing is banned, so they are in a good position to leapfrog other teams, even if they aren’t the fastest at Bahrain this weekend. But from testing, they look like they are about to lead the charge, with Lewis Hamilton on the final day of testing showing what the MP4-25 is capable of in a long run, with the tires in excellent shape after each stint. Go McLaren!
McLaren unveiled their 2010 Formula 1 contender this morning at Vodafone UK’s headquarters and heads are starting to turn. The MP4-25, which will be piloted by Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button in the 2010 championship features a very aggressive rear diffuser, shark fin engine covers, side exhausts, and a much longer wheelbase and sleeker shape than the outgoing MP4-24 which struggled against the competition in 2009.
McLaren’s engineering director Paddy Lowe has stated during the launch that the team went with a very aggressive diffuser approach that pushes the limits of the FIA’s interpretation of diffuser legality. “You will see we have produced a fairly extreme incarnation of that but we won’t be alone in that. We believe you will see some pretty extreme solutions on our competitors’ cars as well.”, said Lowe. “This is the first car in which we have had a clean sheet of paper to really exploit the interpretation that was developed last year for a design of floors.”
Recall that last year, the double diffuser concept pioneered by Brawn, Williams and Toyota were under heavy scrutiny during the first few races of 2009, where many teams complained and the FIA had to officially rule their legal status. The extreme diffusers was what led Brawn GP to dominate early season and run away with both drivers and constructors championships.
Ferrari has already voiced their displeasure at the competition’s new diffusers. “We were and still are convinced that the double diffuser concept was illegal. We feel there may still be interpretation over this, as the rules leave the door open to many possibilities. It’s up to the FIA to supervise, but we are rather worried.”, said Ferrari technical director Aldo Costa.
How will the new McLaren stack up against the competition? The team is confident with their radical design, but the same thing could be said last year during launch day, where the team found themselves 2.5s a lap slower than the top cars at the first race. Find out next week when winter testing officially kicks off!
source: Jamesallenonf1 on twitpic
source: Jamesallenonf1 on twitpic
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