The 2011 cars

[snowy]

Is that a company press release?

No it's someone's version/perception of events, though MVR's CEO is quoted a lot and he appears to be just as delusional.

“The watchwords of our 2011 challenge are Ambition, Progress, and Distinctive. Firstly, this team has serious ambitions and we have a clear plan towards being able to compete at the front of the grid."

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/07022011/23/new-watchwords-marussia-virgin-f1-programme.html

 

[sobriety]

I think the watchwords of their 2011 challenge are afford, could, not, upgrade, to, to and Fluent2011!

 

[teabagyokel]

I think their watchwords should be, in some order:

Malaysian
As
Good
Lotus
The
As
Not

Fuel tank big enough this year?

 

[snowy]

Perhaps we have been too harsh on our poor Virgins:



At least they've got their exhaust in the right place. And there are a number of subtle changes to the aero package.

http://scarbsf1.wordpress.com/

 

[chreden]

Well, HRT got bored of people saying they don't have a new car and sort of semi jumped Force India. Pictures

I quite like it, looks a lot better than last years car.

 

[sobriety]

Looks pretty good, although the distinct lack of sponsors is slightly worrying....

 

[FB]

The TATA sponsorship is interesting, wonder what additional input they had into the car as they also have quite a vibrant consultancy business in all sort of different sectors.

 

[Andrea_Moda_Rules]

That HRT car is actually quite sexy!, im loving the livery so much better then the drab tarmac coloured car of last season.

 

[snowy]

What is KERs wirth?

KERS is an interesting subject. It is a great and relevant technology but the fact is it is extremely expensive and extremely heavy. "It is also worth about three tenths of a second...we need three seconds

http://www.planetf1.com/news/18227/6738123/Glock-looking-to-break-Virgin-s-duck

 

[fat jez]

The thing about KERS, of course, is it's incorporated into the total weight of the car. In other words, the penalty comes not from the increased weight, but from adding weight somewhere that it is not optimal, perhaps raising the centre of gravity. Some teams may prefer to run ballast lower down, believing the improved balance of the car outweighs the 0.3s improvement from KERS.

 

[Pyrope]

But the 0.3s per lap argument is obscuring the fact that it is worth a lot more than that when you are attacking or, as Lewis Hamilton showed very ably in 2009, when defending a position.

Anyway, HRT have certainly rectified the dull livery problem! They certainly deserve to find a few more sponsors before the first race, just so that firms can have their logo on a car that bold. As for the chassis, they seem to have followed Virgin's "take last year's car and tweak front wing and sidepods" formula. I expect there will be some more tweaks under the skin to accommodate the Williams transmission. I still expect it to be a two horse race for the wooden spoon this year.

 

[fat jez]

But the 0.3s per lap argument is obscuring the fact that it is worth a lot more than that when you are attacking or, as Lewis Hamilton showed very ably in 2009, when defending a position.

Absolutely right. I suspect the teams that play down its importance don't want to spend the money investigating and integrating it into the cars.

 

[sportsman]

2009 KERS data is not relevant now
1The cars start with full load of fuel
2 KERS in conjuction with the collapsible wing will be a definite advantage.
3 The weight has been increased to 640kg.
4 The balance is now regulated
AS Scarbs has said that KERS is a must have this season.

 

[Galahad]

I remember hearing/reading that the Virgin was running over the weight limit until mid-season last year, so I don't think we should assume that they could incorporate KERS without getting into similar trouble again...even if there was an off-the-shelf system available, which there isn't.

I rather like the HRT. Aerodynamically it looks somewhat more convincing than the Virgin to me, though they're using the same tub as last year.

 

[Pyrope]

Question: what do you get if you combine the nose of last year's Renault, the sidepods of last year's McLaren, and the engine cover of last year's Mercedes?

Answer:

 

[Pyrope]

Actually... on reflection... those sidepods are more Red Bullesque.

 

[no-FIAt-please]

The FI 's not a looker... is it?

 

[MCLS]

It looks a tad like their 09 car

 

[snowy]

 

[Hamberg]

HRT and Virgin have both stuck to the low nose then.

If anyone hasn't seen the true extent of HRT's livery have a look
http://www.formula1onlive.com/2011/02/hidden-and-humor-in-new-hrt.html