Barcelona testing

[bar555]

SUPER AGURI TESTING RA07

White livery

HONDA TESTING RA107 IN BARCELONA 24-01-2007

Black livery

Same car but different colours .I think that Super Aguri gives us a great opportunity to look closer at RA107's rear where black colour shadowed every detail . ( diffuser , rear fins , rear suspension joints , rear winglets etc) .

I suppose that SA in the first races will use the old RA107 but later will use the same spec car with Honda team .

[ginsu]

Same car but different colours .I think that Super Aguri gives us a great opportunity to look closer at RA107's rear where black colour shadowed every detail . ( diffuser , rear fins , rear suspension joints , rear winglets etc) .

I think I'd rather forget that car even existed.

[djones]

"MS power circle technique"

Whats that?

[MrT]

Those pictures show a similar if not the same monocoque but the aero pachages differ substansially. Look at the rear and front wings. I assume the SA is using the aero package honda finished the season with, where as the black honda picture is from testing at the beginning of the year?

Anyhow, poor SA will probably not have such a big jump forward this year considering how they have embaraced honda so much in the 2006 car!

[Ogami musashi]

power circle is a technique used with an heavily oversteering F1 car.

Just after the apex MS used to bite the ground with the internal front wheel then applied power and steering wheel to make the rear slide a bit around the center of gravity of the car, then regained grip and accelerated through the exit.

With the TC it was not possible anymore.

Actually in F1 a lot of drivers have very uncommon turning techniques because F1 cars can be set with extreme behaviors and still have enough performance.

During the michelin/Bridgestone war Alonso used to have an understeering turning technique where at the apex he lifted the front wheels off the ground loading the rear a lot to get better traction at the exit.

With harder tires this year it was not possible anymore but he retained an oversteering car.

[GaryM]

Those pics are at completely different tests, see the pics below they were from yesterday, looks identical to me!

[modbaraban]

SUPER AGURI TESTING RA07

White livery

HONDA TESTING RA107 IN BARCELONA 24-01-2007

Black livery

Well the black one is the 1st version of RA107 and the white one is the Frycar/B-spec or whatever... at a glance: different front and rear wings, T-wings, chimneys, podvanes, sidepods, ears, airbox...

Why white? Nothnig to hide. It's the same car they used during the championship. I expect them to use black livery for RA108.

PS: the SAF1 and Honda look identical here

[Ogami musashi]

So MS said No TC this year is worse than ever, seems every one has difficulties with this badoer just spun this morning too.

Not even MS is spin free:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDvwJX_ucAM

[Ogami musashi]

12:26 times:




1 Felipe Massa Ferrari F2007 1:21.044 34
2 Heikki Kovalainen Renault R27 1:21.259 + 0.215 30
3 Franck Montagny Toyota TF107 1:21.363 + 0.319 42
4 Nico Rosberg Williams FW29 1:21.820 + 0.776 25
5 Pedro de la Rosa McLaren MP4-22 1:22.286 + 1.242 12
6 Luca Badoer Ferrari F2007 1:22.325 + 1.281 26
7 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber F1.07 1:22.460 + 1.416 13
8 Gary Paffett McLaren MP4-22 1:22.704 + 1.660 4
9 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber F1.07 1:22.706 + 1.662 18
10 David Coulthard Red Bull Racing RB3 1:22.828 + 1.784 12
11 Sebastian Vettel Scuderia Toro Rosso STR2 1:22.836 + 1.792 29
12 Jenson Button Honda RA107 1:23.350 + 2.306 38
13 Sebastien Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso STR2 1:23.412 + 2.368 25
14 Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India F8-VII 1:23.549 + 2.505 37
15 Christian Klien Force India F8-VII 1:23.931 + 2.887 29
16 Kazuki Nakajima Williams FW29 1:24.015 + 2.971 56
17 Mike Conway Honda RA107 1:24.629 + 3.585 24
18 James Rossiter Super Aguri F1 SA07 1:25.097 + 4.053 13
19 Robert Doornbos Red Bull Racing RB3 1:30.517 + 9.473 14

[modbaraban]

Renault are steadily near the top. But where's Nelsinho?

[Belatti]

Its interesting to see how turning techniques changes with rules (therefore car construction type). Read this quote form Alex Zanardi who returned to F1 in 1999 (narrow (1,8m) grooved tyres F1 cars) after driving F1 for last time in 1994 (wide 2,0m and slicks):

"It's really frustrating," he told Nigel Roebuck of Autosport, "because these cars are completely different to what I was driving in 1994, when I was last in F1."
"When I first competed in CART," he continued, "the cars were heavier than the ones I'd been driving in F1, but basically they had the same character. Now, coming back to F1 I find the cars totally changed. They're tricky, and they require a different driving style. My instinct is to carry speed into, and through, the corner, but you can't really do that with these cars; what you must do is brake really late, turn in somehow, and then get on the power as soon as you can."

He explained it a different way: "I hit the curves with a lot of speed, that's my problem. The current tyres don't skid as easily into the curves but they build up a lot of power in the direction of the wheels. So you have to hit the brakes hard, firing the car into the curve, and then - bang! Hit the gas again. I prefer to drive more like Alain Prost: gentle, but always at the very limit. The way they are now, I hate these cars. With these cars I can't do all the things I'm used to doing."

But, before the 1999 season began, Zanardi knew that the challenge was his to overcome. "I guess it's a matter of getting used to new sensations," he told Roebuck, "and it'll take me a bit of time to set my new limits. Right now I'm flat out - I'm driving the best that I can - and I'm not fast enough. I'm working on it...

http://www.f1rejects.com/drivers/zanardi/biography.html

I think that nowadays F1 cars are "designed" for big longitudinal acelerations/decelerations rather than big transversal (centrifugal) acelerations, due to grooves and limited aero downforce, as opposed to early 90´s cars.

What do you think would suit best 2008 no TC cars?

[Ogami musashi]

No i don't think that's the case in fact, i think todays F1 cars are really nervous, they have a lot of transient rates (yaw rates), they're more precise thus more sensible.

I watched the last champ car gp and found it boring yet they were overtakings, but all were done in straight line.
When the drivers come into the corners there's very little chance to overtake someone because the car are very stable and more inertia than F1 cars so it is almost impossible to do the classic corner overtaking manoeuvers with those cars.
It has to do with weight mainly.

Buy narrow track is also a factor for F1 cars to be nervous, also downforce sensibility is another factor.

Well well, that why F1 is special, the drivers have to change their driving style everytime.
This year, alonso had to do it and did it well, kovalainen too but it took him a few races to understand that (he said that on the ING RF1 team site)...

Could people understand that F1 is not a classic racing series, we would hear less complains.

Actually except in series with low speed (were there's plenty of room to turn) i didn't found any other high speed series with F1 kind of behaviors and overtakings (remember the Rosberg on heidfield overtake in the interlagos GP?).

Next year again driving style will change, and 2009 will another put a radical revamp.

That's quite exciting IMHO

[djones]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDvwJX_ucAM

That video is brilliant for two reasons.

1. How much better do they sound without TC!!!

2. I know it was probably luck but that spin was so well controlled and he was so casual and cool about it.

[mx_tifoso]

Why didn´t anyone mention the front wheel covers that Renault were running? Extremely similar to Ferrari´s. Although I can´t recall whether Renault has run these before or not.
Williams with front wheel covers only, no rears.
A good shot of the BMW rear end.

[m3_lover]

does the engine cover of the BMW look alittle wierd...looks square at the end?