Formula One 2014

[Gazz]

KAMUI~!

[MJB]

Yep, Kobayashi (#10) and Ericsson (#9) have finally been confirmed by Caterham with Van Der Garde becoming the third driver at Sauber.

And unfortunately, the new McLaren has passed the crash tests

[MJB]

Kamui is driving for nothing this season

[Katsuya]

KAMUI YAY!!!!

What is it about F1 and lovable Japanese drivers? Kobayashi and Sato have to be two of the most universally liked I've ever seen. Taku's drive in Canada in '07 is still one of my favourite moments in the sport.

[MJB]

Especially when he passed Alonso.

[Chris2K]

Tony Fernandes has pretty much said that if Caterham don't score any points this year then he's pulling the team out of F1.

So this will be Caterham's final F1 season I guess because I can't see anything changing. My dream of pre-qualifying is never going to come true at this rate.

[Lineker]

Paul Di Riesta has agreed to drive for Mercedes in the DTM next year, so he's not going to IndyCar like had been predicted. Can't blame him after the recent run of horrible luck for British drivers in the IndyCar series, plus he's a really good touring car driver.

He's also Mercedes' new third driver for F1.

Caterham won't disappear, they'll just get bought by some other shmuck. They've also just agreed a new deal to use Toyota's old wind-tunnel in Cologne.

[Chris2K]

First photo of a 2014 car has appeared, although Force India have deliberately not shown any details for the new regulations.

Photo is from the BBC website in case the new black colour scheme made it look like a fan submission or something.

[Lineker]

I think I like it!

Ugly but to-be standard nose but apparently SFI are already working on an upgraded one.

McLaren will be without a title sponsor when it launches its new Formula 1 car on Friday, the team has confirmed.

[Katsuya]

That is a damn sexy livery, and I hate it when people say shit like that.

[Chris2K]

I think it's pretty sexy too. I just hope the orange/green is enough to differentiate them from the Saubers otherwise Nico Hulkenburg might get in the wrong car.

[Lineker]

Williams has become the first Formula 1 team to reveal its nose design for 2014 by releasing a rendering of the new Mercedes-powered FW36.

New regulations for 2014 stipulate a high chassis with the nose tip at a height of 185mm, significantly lower than before.

Williams has chosen the 'anteater' solution in this area, keeping the nose as high as possible for as long as possible to maximise airflow under the car before achieving the required height with a dramatic sweep downwards.

This image is of the car's launch-specification, with an upgrade package due ahead of the season-opener.

AUTOSPORT technical expert Craig Scarborough examines the images Williams has released of its 2014 Formula 1 car and picks out some intriguing elements.

Williams became the second Formula 1 team to release a rendering of a 2014 car when it issued shots of the new FW36 on Thursday morning.

The team went further than Force India by providing a variety of angles and revealing its handling of the front-end regulations.

The 'finger' nose is the first visual element that is apparent. This design is widely expected to be used across the grid, although a few teams are believed to have alternative solutions.

In Williams's case, the main structure of the nose is quite conventional and mounts the wing with wide spaced pylons. The resulting finger to meet the nose tip height and size legalities is relatively subtle.

For the first time Williams will be powered by a Mercedes engine. In the angled views of the car, we can see the sidepods have far larger inlets, as they now have to cool the larger Energy Recovery Systems and the air compressed by the turbocharger.

Despite the greater cooling requirement, the sidepods still have large undercuts and sweep back into a sleek coke bottle shape.

To allow more hot air to escape from the coolers, Williams has placed louvered outlets behind the driver's head, which is new for an F1 car.

At the rear the signature Williams low-line gearbox philosophy has been dropped to allow space for the turbocharger to be mounted behind the engine and for the exhaust's tail pipe, which exits under a carbon fibre fairing and blows on to a small winglet.

This design should provide some aero benefit from the exhaust flow, but not to the same extent as the exhaust blown diffusers last year.

Additionally the rear wing is not placed on pillars. Instead it appears to be mounted to the top of the diffuser, which keeps the rear wing element unobstructed by the mounts.

Lastly the driveshafts are not covered by the lower wishbones, which was the trend last year. It is just about possible to make out a small wing section mounted low down and ahead of the rear wing.

This loophole has existed since 2009 and few teams have exploited this space for an aerofoil section. This idea will partly offset the loss of the beam wing from the new rules.

Instead the driveshaft is exposed and the wishbone is mounted lower, probably to interact with the aforementioned wing profile that sits in this area.

We can see far more detail on the Williams than in the limited images of the Force India, and it is clear there are a lot of innovations possible to regain the performance lost through the new regulations.

Williams seems to have spotted several new areas to exploit, which bodes well for the team as it bids to recover from a terrible 2013 season.

[Lineker]

Roscoe tests the new tyres

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftVN0T8Kt3k

Rumours are gaining pace that McLaren are set to announce Sam Michael as their new team principal, taking over from Martin Whitmarsh. And Stoffel Vandoorne has been handed a seat as their reserve driver.

Formula 1 drivers are set to be banned from stopping cars on slowing-down laps in a bid to save fuel for post-race checks, the FIA has announced. With teams and engine manufacturers already admitting that it is going to be tough to complete some races with the 100kg fuel limit, the FIA has provisionally agreed a tweak to the sporting regulations that will make things even tougher. Following discussions at a meeting of F1's Strategy Group and the World Motor Sport Council this week, it has been decided that drivers will not be able to stop their cars immediately after the chequered flag. A statement issued by the FIA said: "Drivers may not stop on the slowing down lap to save fuel for sampling and subsequent analysis; this will not be considered justifiable reason for stopping."

Formula 1 is to make another attempt to ban tyre warmers in 2015. Previous efforts to introduce a ban have been scuppered because of safety concerns, amid worries from drivers about racing on cold tyres. But as part of a raft of changes proposed for 2015, the FIA announced on Thursday that all forms of tyre heating devices will be outlawed.

[Katsuya]

I can't see why they want to ban tyre warmers. I can't imagine they're massively high on the cost-cutting list?

[Lineker]

It'll make the first few laps after pit-stops a lot funnier - presumably that's why.

[Chris2K]

Ladies and gentlemen: the new McLaren:

[Katsuya]

Eric Boullier has left Lotus and is reportedly McLaren bound, which would be the nail in the coffin for Whitmarsh.

[Lineker]

Gerard Lopez is EB's replacement at Lotus. Can see him doing really well at McLaren, though.

Daniel Juncadella has secured a test and reserve deal with the Force India team for the 2014 Formula 1 season.

Ferrari will launch the F14 T tomorrow.

First image of the new Lotus, which features a different two-pronged nose:

[MJB]

The McLaren actually looks quite good. Prefer that nose to the one on the Lotus.

Looking forward to the F14 T from Ferrari tomorrow.

[Lineker]

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

The sound of a 2014 Formula 1 car at speed has been revealed for the first time by Mercedes.

The Brackley team has released audio of a 2014 car in action following its successful shakedown of the W05 during a filming day at Silverstone on Friday.

The short audio clip is of Nico Rosberg's car blasting past the old pits at Silverstone before he lifts off the throttle to turn in to Copse corner.