Formula One 2015

[Adam]

Either way, I much preferred F1 10 years ago to now.

[Rich]

2005 was a good year

[Lineker]

Lotus has released images of the new Mercedes-powered E23 Formula 1 car that it hopes will get it back in the hunt for podiums.

On the back of a disappointing 2014 campaign, the Enstone-based outfit has switched engine manufacturers for this year.

It also spent much of last season consolidating its finances and restructuring its technical organisation so as to ensure that it returned to form this season.

The new car is most obviously different from its predecessor in featuring a more standard nose - after Lotus ran a now-outlawed twin-tusk concept in 2014.

Lotus has also done a lot of work in refining its suspension, after taking a big hit last year when FRIC (Front-to-Rear Inter-Connected) systems were banned.

The E23 is on course to get its first track running at Jerez in Spain from this weekend when the first official pre-season test kicks off.

Lotus CEO Matthew Carter told AUTOSPORT: "There is a huge push to get the car finished, but we are on course to be there.

"Like a few other teams, we will be doing some final finishing touches in Jerez - but so far things are looking good.

"The figures we are getting from the windtunnel are encouraging, and we already have upgrades to the nose and front wing that are in the pipeline for the start of the season."

Carter also said that new sponsors were due to be added to the car before the first race.

Lotus has the budget it needs to achieve its target of challenging Williams in Formula 1 this year, claims its CEO Matthew Carter.

Having spent last year consolidating its finances to cut dramatic losses, the team now has a much better handle over its budget.

After admitting that it had perhaps gone too far with staffing cutbacks last year, Carter says that it has responded.

"Without going in to too many details, in trying to sort out the finances - which we did - we laid off a number of people this time last year," he told AUTOSPORT.

"We possibly laid off a few too many so, during the course of the year, we got people back to the design office and aero office.

"We've also restructured the aero department and we are now seeing the fruits of that effort come off."

Although Lotus has lost some sponsors to Williams, and its car had some empty space in computer images released on Monday, Carter says that the money situation will be different by the time the 2015 season begins.

"Our budget for this year, although reduced compared to 2013, is similar to last season," he said.

"We have a couple of new sponsors that, although not featured on the car today, will be there for the first race.

"A lot of the back office work at the business is producing results, so financially we are looking good.

"And it is important to say that if we do get more money, then that will go straight on to improving car performance.

"In previous years such additions may have gone in to the black hole of debt, but now it can go straight on to the car."

The change from Renault to Mercedes engines has left Lotus hoping it can repeat what Williams did last year, when it jumped up the grid.

Carter believes that the steady financial situation, and staffing tweaks mean that it can achieve its ambition of threatening its Grove-based rival.

"We are hoping that we can challenge and get around where Williams are," said Carter, who revealed that windtunnel figures for the new E23 had been hugely encouraging.

"I don't want to be too optimistic, because it is important to be realistic, but finishing third or fourth in the constructors' championship is really our target.

"But that is largely dependent on how Red Bull cope with Renault, what Honda do with McLaren and where Ferrari get to."

[Lineker]

Elsewhere, Ferrari has announced that its new Formula 1 car will be called the SF15-T. The name of the 2015 challenger has been chosen by Maranello chiefs to pay homage to the team (S for Scuderia) and its turbo engine. It follows on from last year's F14 T - whose name was chosen by fans. The SF15-T is due to be unveiled in an online launch on Friday. Following the reveal, the new car will hit the track for the first time at Jerez on Sunday when new driver Sebastian Vettel has his first run with a contemporary Ferrari. So far his only running in an F1 car has been with a two-year old car at the team's Fiorano test track.

[Chris2K]

There was me thinking F14-T was chosen because it looked like "FIAT".

[hugobomb]

There was me thinking F14-T was chosen because it looked like "FIAT".

Which, now they don't have Alonso flattering it, now stands for Finish In About Tenth

[Lineker]

GP3 champion Alex Lynn has joined the Williams Formula 1 team as a development driver for 2015. The role will involve extensive simulator work and a day of on-track testing following the Spanish Grand Prix. Lynn will dovetail Williams duties with his already-announced deal to race for champion team DAMS in GP2.

Force India has now decided to skip entirely the first pre-season Formula 1 test at Jerez. The team had originally intended to use its 2014 car in Spain when the first winter test begins on Sunday. Its new car is not going to be ready until the second test at Barcelona, after the outfit elected to maximise the development time allowed on it.

Mercedes has provided a sneak glimpse of what its new Formula 1 car looks like, after shaking the W06 down at Silverstone on Thursday.

The team elected to run a systems check in Britain before sending it to the first test at Jerez in Spain this weekend, where it will be officially launched on Sunday.

Nico Rosberg was drafted in for driving duties.

Teaser videos posted by the team on Twitter offered the first look at the new car.

Although the images are far from clear, it is possible to ascertain some initial details.

The most obvious difference from its predecessor, which won 16 races on its way to a world championship double, is the nose and the way it blends in to the chassis. The very short nose tip is reminiscent of the 2015 Williams.

The packaging around the engine cover and rear of the car also seems far more refined.

The car appears to retain much of the DNA of the W05, including similar sidepods and the twin mounting pillars for the rear wing.

Rosberg is due to give the car its first official test at Jerez on Sunday, before handing the car over to Lewis Hamilton for the second day.

[Lineker]

McLaren has unveiled its new Formula 1 car as it enters a fresh era with Japanese engine manufacturer Honda.

Images of the new MP4-30 were released on Thursday, ahead of the car hitting the track for the first time at Jerez in Spain on Sunday.

The team hopes that progress in its design structure, as well as its new relationship with Honda, can help Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso in their push to get the team back to the front of the grid.

The MP4-30 has been heavily influenced by chief engineer Peter Prodromou, who arrived at McLaren from Red Bull last September.

The silver, red and black car features a long low nose without the thumb extension seen on the Williams - and a tightly packaged rear end around the new power unit. It also features a split roll-hoop inlet.

Honda is returning to F1 after a six-year absence, and is renewing a relationship with McLaren that delivered multiple wins and world titles from 1988 to 1992.

Honda's motorsport chief Yasuhira Arai said that the design of the new car was one of no-compromise as the Japanese manufacturer bid to make a success of its F1 return.

"As you can see with the new MP4-30, we've dedicated ourselves as one team with McLaren to creating a new car that compromises on nothing - either power or aerodynamics," he said.

"Yet, in the midst of the excitement, both myself and our engineers are 100 per cent focused in both Sakura and Milton Keynes to prepare for Jerez and beyond. We're confident that the technology is there, and I'm looking forward to see how it will perform.

"We're about to commence a long season, with numerous challenges, but Honda is determined to face them head-on. After all, we're here to drive Formula 1's technology forward and give our fans a thrilling ride."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoOT0NiydEA

Fernando Alonso says he and McLaren are ready to be patient over any early teething-troubles with its new Formula 1 car because he is confident success will come eventually.

McLaren released images of its new Honda-powered MP4-30 on Thursday, ahead of its first track running at Jerez in Spain on Sunday.

The car is the first McLaren-Honda F1 car since 1992, and Alonso will be the first man to drive it.

Having returned to McLaren with the sole intention of grabbing a title, Alonso says motivation is high, but he is equally realistic that there may be early difficulties to overcome first.

"Of course, we're prepared for a steep learning curve, but it's clear to see that inside McLaren-Honda there's total commitment, and a real change in feeling, as we start this new partnership," he explained.

"Our first target will be to learn the maximum from the car at the pre-season tests, understand the package, and extract as much performance as possible. That won't be easy or trouble-free, but we're ready for that.

"Why? Because our key focus will be on development. Historically, McLaren has already been characterised by its ability to bring updates to the car quickly, and develop a strong package."

Team-mate Jenson Button agreed that McLaren's renewed motivation amid Honda's return has not blinded it to the huge gap that still needs closing to the front of the grid.

"You can really sense a feeling of reignited optimism and positivity around the building," he said.

"I've never seen such motivation amongst the guys - we're all massively keen to get going in Jerez and to work hard on developing our new car.

"But we're under no illusion that it will be easy - there's a huge challenge ahead of us to try to pull back the gap to our rivals, but we're certainly up for it.

"We ended last season with great momentum and clear progress, and I'm determined to carry that forward into 2015."

Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button are set to benefit from an all-new Formula 1 design philosophy that McLaren has embraced for 2015.

With aerodynamic performance so critical in F1, McLaren traditionally chased peak downforce figures in its quest for success.

But while maximum downforce has its benefits, it can result in teams producing a car that, while showing good figures in the wind tunnel, cannot replicate them on track.

That can lead to a car that performs inconsistently, or that the downforce only exists within a very narrow operating window.

This is something McLaren has experience of, which is why its car has often run with very stiff settings in a bid to try to find performance that it feels is theoretically there.

The arrival of chief engineer Peter Prodromou from Red Bull last year has served as a force for change on this front, and his views on taking a new approach have been embraced by McLaren.

The priority is no longer in pursuing theoretical peak downforce figures - it is about achieving maximum useable downforce.

In simple terms, being able to use 100 per cent of 700kg of downforce is better than only being able to use 80 per cent of 750kg.

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier said after the unveiling of the new McLaren MP4-30 that chasing peak figures that cannot be replicated on track is now a thing of the past.

"This concept of driver friendly, it is maybe new - and part of this new philosophy," explained the Frenchman.

"We are trying to make sure we can give our drivers the ability to exploit the car to the limits, which means getting this performance package.

"If you have a performing car and a driver cannot drive it, then it is obviously a waste.

"We want to make sure our drivers can drive the car to the limit, which means we will exploit to the limit. And this is where the new philosophy is turning to."

As well as the philosophy overall, there have been further engineering revamps in terms of car packaging.

It's something that even Jenson Button has noticed as he embarks on his sixth season with the team.

"This year's car is very different to the last two years," he said.

"The mechanics say everything just fits, rather than different departments building different bits of the car and then putting it together."

Boullier added: "Some people on the shop floor are happy to say that this is one of the most exciting and best built cars from McLaren.

"But we have to stay obviously grounded. We need to see what is going to happen, what is our performance, and how successful we will be."

McLaren expects to bring upgrades to its MP4-30, which did not appear on the launch specification model, to the first test in Jerez this weekend.

There will also be another development step for the first race in Australia.

[Rich]

Needs more red

[MJB]

Hamilton also drove the W06 before it started to snow.

The Mercedes looks really tight at the rear and has a lovely new nose. Looks fast!

[Chris2K]

Snow. The F1 car's natural enemy.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Ahhh my favourite car is still Frenzten's Sauber back in the mid '90s.

Mostly because the lad overachieved driving it and even got a podium.

[Chris2K]

I did always like the late 90s/early 00s Jordans with their animal ensignias.

[Rainiac]

Best part of those old Jordan cars was the way they covered up the "Benson & Hedges" advertising in countries that didn't allow tobacco ads. "Buzzing Hornets", "Bitten & Hisses" and so on. Most of the other teams just covered the offending branding up

[Lineker]

Mercedes has completed the first shakedown of its 2015 Formula 1 car, the W06, and released the first proper images of the car with which it will defend its titles.

Both Nico Rosberg and world champion Lewis Hamilton tried the F1 W06 Hybrid during 18 laps of running at an icy Silverstone.

The session, which was classified as a promotional event under F1 testing restrictions, was brought to an early end when a blizzard set in.

Mercedes had earlier released teaser videos showing the car in action on its Twitter feed.

The car will be formally unveiled in the Jerez pitlane on Sunday morning, ahead of the start of the first 2015 F1 tests.

Mercedes dominated the 2014 season with the W06's predecessor, winning 16 races and the constructors' title, and finishing one-two in the drivers' points with Hamilton and Rosberg.

[Rich]

That's a really low nose

[Lineker]

Sauber has become the latest team to unveil its 2015 Formula 1 car, after publishing images of its new C34 on Friday.

On the back of a disappointing 2014 F1 campaign, where it failed to score a single world championship point, the Swiss-based outfit is hoping it can rediscover the form that had it fighting for podiums in previous seasons.

Sauber has opted for a bold new look for the season ahead, with its colour scheme switching from white and grey to blue and yellow.

The Ferrari-powered car also has a striking nose design - featuring a more rounded front edge than seen on the other 2015 cars so far.

Sauber's design team has focused on three areas for improvement over last year's car: better performance in slow-speed corners, weight reduction and improved braking stability.

The car features slimmer sidepods compared to the C33, and the team has overhauled its radiator concept and now mounted them horizontally.

Packaging around the rear of the car is much tighter, and Sauber's quest to get under the weight limit to allow maximum ballast has been boosted by the raising of F1's minimum weight limit to 702kg.

The team also has an all-new driver line-up for 2015, as Marcus Ericsson joins F1 rookie Felipe Nasr in place of Adrian Sutil and Esteban Gutierrez.

Ericsson will be the first man to drive the car when he takes to the track at Jerez on Sunday.

Sauber plans to use an interim version of the car for the first test, which will include some parts still from the C33. These will be replaced with bespoke 2015 components ahead of the season.

[Lineker]

Ferrari has unveiled the new SF15-T 2015 Formula 1 car that it hopes will get it back in the hunt for victories with Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen this season.

After a disappointing 2014 campaign that has prompted a major management and staffing overhaul, the team is determined that the changes it has made will help move it back up the grid.

The James Allison-designed car features a long protruding nose and an aggressive sidepod concept.

But key to Ferrari's hopes will be what is underneath the skin, with the Italian team's power unit having been one the weak points of its 2014 season.

The team has undertaken a comprehensive overhaul of its engine in the hope of closing the gap on the benchmark Mercedes.

As well as new management, Ferrari has a change on the driver front too with Vettel lining up alongside Raikkonen this year.

Vettel is due to give the car its first official run at Jerez in Spain on Sunday, when F1's first pre-season test starts.

[Chris2K]

I just saw Vettel in his Ferrari overalls and my brain nearly melted.

[JasonM]

I love the old-school 90's Blue and Yellow for Sauber, much more interesting than boring gray/silver/white.