Formula One 2015

[MJB]

Force India will make the first test, but not with their 2015 car.

[EddieG]

5 races in 2015 will start an hour earlier, after Bianchi's crash at Suzuka.

Australia, Malaysia, China, Japan and Russia will all start an hour earlier than usual.

[Lineker]

Reigning GP2 champion Jolyon Palmer will take part in some Formula 1 free practice sessions this year after signing to become a reserve driver for the Lotus team.

Williams has become the first team to unveil images of its 2015 Formula 1 car, with its new FW37 appearing on the front cover of AUTOSPORT's sister publication F1 Racing. The Mercedes-powered car, which is in the striking colour scheme of title sponsor Martini, features a much shorter nose, and more refined aerodynamics, than its predecessor.

[Lineker]

The first images of the FW37 are now live, what do you all think of the car? http://t.co/ZA3cxkghB0 pic.twitter.com/ep7FRBLrwI

— WILLIAMS RACING (@WilliamsRacing)

January 21, 2015

[Lineker]

Williams has admitted that Formula 1's new nose regulations for 2015 had a bigger effect than expected on the design of its new FW37 contender.

The team's new car - revealed on the front cover of AUTOSPORT's sister title F1 Racing - follows on from the FW36 that turned Williams back into a frontrunner last year.

The nose design is one of the most obvious differences from the 2014 machine, and Williams chief technical officer Pat Symonds said the changes to the regulations governing the front of the cars played a big part in the design process.

"The change in regulations offered us a slight headache," he said.

"The new front bulkhead and nose geometry had much more of an impact than we had initially anticipated and the effect on the aero was profound.

"Although the aerodynamics of the [2014] car were impressive there is always room for improvement, particularly as we handle the new 2015 nose regulations.

"The team have worked hard on pulling back the deficit these regulations have made for us."

Symonds added that while last year's car was very competitive in the hands of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas, Williams has worked hard to identify its areas of weakness and improve on them for 2015.

"The notion for the FW37 was to look closely at the FW36 and its performances," he said.

"We then went about recognising what had worked well and identifying and resolving the areas that we felt needed to be improved.

"We felt we came up against design barriers in the FW36 and so took the opportunity to remove those barriers for the benefit of the performance.

"The FW36 carried a reasonable amount of ballast, so we were able to make alterations to the design for added performance without the fear of adding excessive mass."

Williams's strong form last year meant that the team continued developing the 2014 car until late in the season, but Symonds is adamant that it will not fall behind at the start of this season as a result.

"The desire to beat Ferrari to third place in the constructors' championship in 2014 meant we pushed our development through to late autumn," he said.

"But the size of the team is now at a point where it was able to sustain this development while still working on the FW37."

Team principal Frank Williams stated that the main aim for this year is simply for the team to keep moving up the grid.

"After a very strong first year with Mercedes engines we are looking to further develop the relationship as we look for more podiums in 2015," said Williams.

"The team had a fantastic season last year, we are aiming to replicate this development over the winter and to start the 2015 season in a strong position.

"We have an enormously talented group of people here at Williams who produced a great turnaround in fortunes in 2014 and everybody has worked tirelessly to continue that climb up the grid."

[Lineker]

Force India has unveiled its striking new colour scheme in an event in Mexico on Wednesday, ahead of a Formula 1 season where it is targeting more podium finishes.

Although the team's new VJM08 will not make its debut until the second pre-season test at Barcelona, the team has completed a rebranding as part of a wider involvement from Mexican partners.

The new colour scheme is predominantly silver and black, with flashes of orange. The car unveiled also featured a 2015 specification nose.

Force India revealed other changes that can be expected when its full-spec 2015 car makes its testing debut at Barcelona in February.

The team said that key differences will include modified sculpting of the sidepods, new cooling intakes, and a revised rear suspension layout with a hydro-mechanical system replacing the torsion springs.

Team principal Vijay Mallya said he hoped that 2015 would give an opportunity for Force India to challenge the big teams again, after it came close to beating McLaren last year in the constructors' championship.

"The 2015 car is a refinement of what we learned in 2014," said Mallya, ahead of drivers Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg pulling the covers off the car.

"Another major step forward is the technology change, in that we are now using a 60 per cent windtunnel in Cologne, Germany which is a far bigger step than we have ever taken before.

"Traditionally we have been in Brackley, England, where we used to develop our car with a 50 per cent model and an outdated windtunnel.

"With this new and important tool available to use, we hope the 2015 challenger will really prove its worth in competing with the big boys of F1 when we start the European season.

"We are lucky to have two exceptional drivers who will hopefully steer the Sahara Force India challenger to the front of the grid, and hopefully a few podiums during the current year."

[The Legendary Fisherman]

Is it just me or does the Force India car remind me of the old F1 car squad where Verstappen Sr raced for?

Anyway James who do you think is the favorite the win this season?

Edited January 21, 2015 by The Legendary Fisherman

[Lineker]

Mercedes.

And yeah, I get what you mean, it does look a tiny bit like an Arrows.

God I miss Arrows.

[Gazz]

Any car with Martini livery looks sexy as fuck.

Scientific fact.

[Chris2K]

The 2000 Arrows were great thanks to their Supertec engines, they'd qualify badly, blitz through the field with some good overtaking thanks to their straight line speed, then inevitably retire when the engine blew up. Plus their sponsorship with Orange made the livery awesome.

[JasonM]

The 2000 Arrows were great thanks to their Supertec engines, they'd qualify badly, blitz through the field with some good overtaking thanks to their straight line speed, then inevitably retire when the engine blew up. Plus their sponsorship with Orange made the livery awesome.

The reason they qualified badly was because Arrows underpowered the engine during non-race sessions, because of the aformentioned issues with them being extremely unreliable.

The late 90's early 00's were great anyways because of the unreliable cars. You couldn't go a race without seeing at least 2-3 of the bigger names having to retire because their car broke down having pushed it too hard.

Last season was boring in retrospect, with the Mercedes cars being Germanicly efficient.

[The Legendary Fisherman]

The 2000 Arrows were great thanks to their Supertec engines, they'd qualify badly, blitz through the field with some good overtaking thanks to their straight line speed, then inevitably retire when the engine blew up. Plus their sponsorship with Orange made the livery awesome.

The reason they qualified badly was because Arrows underpowered the engine during non-race sessions, because of the aformentioned issues with them being extremely unreliable.

The late 90's early 00's were great anyways because of the unreliable cars. You couldn't go a race without seeing at least 2-3 of the bigger names having to retire because their car broke down having pushed it too hard.

Last season was boring in retrospect, with the Mercedes cars being Germanicly efficient.

I agree I found last year's season to be very boring. There were some times when the Williams and Ricciardo tried to chellange them but it was very uncommon. Hopefully this season more teams improve.

[Adam]

The boredom of the same teams consistently finishing in the same place has been a problem for a few years now. Competition was much more open in the mid 2000s.

[Lineker]

Bernie Ecclestone has cast fresh doubt over this year’s German GP by suggesting the race may yet not go ahead at all.

Under the terms of the long-standing race share agreement between Germany’s two F1 venues, the Nurburging had been scheduled to return as the host of this year’s event after Hockeheim hosted the 2014 race. However, Ecclestone revealed last week that the race was set to stay at Hockenheim for this year as at the Nurburgring “there’s nobody there”.

But asked in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports News HQ’s Craig Slater if Hockenheim was now firmly on the calendar and had a deal in place for 2015, Ecclestone admitted: “Not really.”

Although the F1 supremo did reveal he was meeting with the new owners of the Nurburgring in London later on Wednesday – raising the prospect that their 2015 hopes may not yet be over after all – he conceded that there was a chance that the German race might not take place altogether this year.

He then joked: “But we’ve got one, it’s called Austria.”

The prospect of Germany not staging a race for the first time since 1960 would in some regards appear unthinkable given Mercedes’ status as world champions and the presence of three local drivers on the grid, including four-time champion Sebastian Vettel

Hockenheim and Nurburgring originally entered into their race share arrangement from 2007 in order to share the financial burden of an F1 contract, and while Ecclestone says he will do everything he can to ensure a German round remains on the calendar, the 84-year-old stresses it won't happen if neither venue can afford it.

“We would do everything to stop them fading away, but in the end the only reason the race won’t happen is because they can’t afford to run the race,” he added.

Although Hockenheim's future has appeared more secure in recent time, the circuit came under scrutiny last year when its race attracted meagre crowds – a stark contrast to the high attendances of Michael Schumacher’s heyday.

And despite the recent domination of first Vettel and now Mercedes, Ecclestone reckons German fans’ interest in the sport has waned since Schumacher’s second retirement.

“Honestly I don’t know [why the event is struggling], it surprises me. Maybe it’s a little bit that the German people were very used to and supported Michael and miss Michael when he wasn’t racing any longer," he added.

[Lineker]

Bernie Ecclestone believes Marussia can still survive and met with a potential investor on Wednesday morning.

A planned sale of the team’s pit equipment and race cars – which former president Graeme Lowdon warned would spell the end – was cancelled earlier this week to allow investment talks to progress.

Sky sources understand talks are at an advanced stage and Ecclestone’s comments will provide a further boost to the beleaguered team.

“I had a meeting with someone this morning that said they want to, and think they can buy Marussia, so that would be good,” he told Sky Sports News HQ in an exclusive interview.

“Caterham, I don’t think there is much chance of saving them, but Marussia there is a chance. Maybe within 10 days I think we will be able to say whether it is going to happen or not.”

The Haas F1 team were rumoured to be behind the bid to save Marussia, but have denied an interest in purchasing any team stating: “Haas F1 Team has no interest in purchasing Marussia or any other team”. Ecclestone’s response was even briefer when asked if Haas were involved, giving only a simple “no”.

However, it is believed that the American squad, which is due to join the sport for the 2016 season, are in the process of purchasing Marussia’s Banbury base and the team confirmed to Sky Sports that they "are in the process of securing a UK base and expect to have everything in place by early February".

Ecclestone also stressed that if Marussia were to survive he would want the team to be competitive and not simply running off the pace at the back of the field.

“We don’t want someone who is just going to limp on, that is just want we don’t want,” he added. “We went through this whole saga at the end of last year and we don’t want to go through it again.”

------

Haas have denied they are the mysterious prospective buyers of the beleaguered Marussia team which is on the brink of being revived.

Crippled by debt, Marussia folded at the conclusion of last season, missing the final three races. But having been granted entry on to the 2015 grid under the name of Manor F1, an auction to sell off the team’s remaining assets was cancelled after the emergence of a last-minute potential rescue deal.

Haas, scheduled to join the sport for 2016, were the obvious prime suspect to be Marussia’s potential saviours. Not only has Haas followed Marussia in securing a technical alliance with Ferrari, but Gene Haas’ eponymous outfit are understood to be buying Marussia’s former Brackley base.

But while Haas have confirmed they are “process of securing a UK base and expect to have everything in place by early February”, a spokesman for the team was adamant that they are not interested in purchasing the remnants of Marussia – or indeed Caterham, the second of F1’s eleven teams to have folded at the close of 2014.

“Haas F1 Team continues to build itself up for the 2016 season, and while some assets available in the marketplace have been reviewed, Haas F1 Team has no interest in purchasing Marussia or any other team,” a spokesman told Sky Sports News HQ.

Which leaves the identity Marussia’s potential purchasers more intriguing than ever. Although a Honda ‘B’ team has been mooted as one possibility, Ferrari’s established link to Marussia make the Scuderia a likelier suspect if F1’s most famous marque believe they can do with Marussia what Red Bull did with the Minardi outfit which they transformed into the young driver breeding ground now known as Toro Rosso.

[Lineker]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYWM77hPtdA

Williams's release of computer renderings of its 2015 Formula 1 car, the FW37, provided a first chance to see a nose designed to the new regulations.

The nose, like many of those from 2014, stretches the interpretation of the rules to create the least blockage to the airflow.

A small thumb-like tip is formed to wrap the nose into the smallest package allowed under the regulations. The resulting shape is much shorter and more square-edged than the FW36's.

Although the main wedge-shaped nose merges into a U-shape with the front wing pylons, similar to the 2014 Mercedes, its structure and aerodynamics differ from last year's title-winner.

The nose's thumb tip meets the new rules by creating the first minimum cross section (9000mm2 at 50mm behind the nose tip) and the wide secondary leading edge forms the second regulatory cross section (20,000mm2 at 150mm behind the nose tip). This lifts the nose as clear of the front wing as possible to free up airflow under the front of the car.

Making such a short nose meet the more stringent crash tests will have been a challenge. Not every team will have had the resources to conform to the rules with a nose at its minimum length.

These new nose rules for 2015 not only affect the nose shape, but also the slope of chassis from the front bulkhead upwards to the towards the cockpit.

Pat Symonds alluded to this being a problem and it is clear the front suspension is mounted as high as the structure allows, with the top wishbone being nearly level with the top of the monocoque.

The lower wishbone is a conventional 'A' arm, and not the conjoined version that Mercedes ran last year, which is expected to be a much-copied design in 2015.

Further back, similarities to the FW36 are obvious, but expect these wings and other add-on aero details to change before testing and again before the first grand prix.

Around the rollhoop a new cooling inlet has been created, which is likely to feed a cooler for the ERS, while the sidepod openings are far smaller, being both narrower and shallower.

The remaining sidepod shape retains the deeply undercut design of the 2014 car and tightly wraps around the back of the engine, in a trademark Williams style.

The decrease in sidepod cooling is also reflected in the apparent loss of the permanent cooling outlets near the rollhoop, themselves unique to Williams last year.

Little is known about under-skin changes so far, with the car running a 2015-specification Mercedes engine paired with Williams's own gearbox.

The FW37 seems to be a logical, if not aggressive, approach to a 2015 design - probably the most pragmatic option given Williams's pace in late '14.

[Rich]

The boredom of the same teams consistently finishing in the same place has been a problem for a few years now. Competition was much more open in the mid 2000s.

Utter bollocks, Ferrari winning everything with Williams and McLaren splitting 2nd to 5th, thank god Renault and Fernando got their acts together.

Love late 90's early 2000 designs though.

[Lineker]

Ted's Notebook is back!

[Adam]

The boredom of the same teams consistently finishing in the same place has been a problem for a few years now. Competition was much more open in the mid 2000s.

Utter bollocks, Ferrari winning everything with Williams and McLaren splitting 2nd to 5th, thank god Renault and Fernando got their acts together.

By mid-2000s I mean the period after (and towards the end of) Schumacher's dominance. The 2003 season was very competitive despite Schumey coming out on top, I believe teams as diverse as Jordan won a race that year. Renault, McLaren and Williams were all contenders in those years as well as Ferrari, and they certainly didn't all always finish in tandem together as the top 8 at every race. I think "utter bollocks" was a bit harsh.

[Rich]

Utter bollocks was it harsh