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31 Jan 2015
Toro Rosso STR10 launch analysis

Toro Rosso are celebrating 10 seasons in Formula One, but it's business as usual for the team based in Faenza as they try to do the best they can with the limited (compared to big brother Red Bull) resources they have at their disposal.

The switch to Renault power in 2014 may not have been the dream they initally hoped for but to be fair having Ferrari power may not have helped them much either.  Unlike the extremely shrink wrapped Newey beast several doors down, Toro Rosso didn't suffer as much during the early stages, which is probably because with less budget they have to be that little more conservative.  The Toro Rosso's always tend to be conceptually sound but lack the final touches that can haul them up the grid, which is all well and good when you're grooming future talent (be it engineers, management or drivers).
The STR10 as you've guessed it is an evolution of last years car, taking onboard what the team learnt during 2014, making amendments around the 2015 Renault powerunit and falling inline with the new regulations.
The nose is very similar to the McLaren and Ferrari we have already seen and as such uses a sloping chassis to allow for the linear taper down to the nose tip which also permits the handlebar style camera mounts utilised by many of the teams in 2014.
I keep seeing lots of people suggesting that the STR10's sidepods are small, although I'll concede they may have been altered slightly the inlet and undercut appear to be much the same as the STR9.  Where it is obvious that some teams have been able to reduce the width of their sidepods and therefore have shrunken the inlet size is that they have to shrink wrap the bodywork around the mandatory side impact protection structures, which has resulted in some hanging their airflow conditioners off them creating small blisters.  The bargeboards are an evolution of the serrated ones introduced during 2014.
Where they have made inroads however, is at the cooling outelts, which are now elongated (as per the later spec STR9), passing through the rear suspension elements, but as you can see they now have an extreme undercut which allows airflow to migrate into the coke bottle region above the diffuser.
Heat rejection is clearly still playing heavily on their mind though with the rear quarter outlet treated to some heat paint.
Heading back to a look at their cooling efficiency and the airbox at first glance looks huge, however when compared with the STR9 it's relatively similar just shaped very differently.  In the past the upper inlet has been used to feed the plenum (or turbo compressors ambient inlet) whilst the lower one takes care of oil coolers mounted either side of the roll hoop.  The STR10 also features two small inlets aft of the rool hoop which means the team may have re-appropriated the roles of each inlet.
The rear wing assembly is typical of the one used by the team previously, whilst the central pylon's inverted Y (Y-Lon) now forms the trailing section of the engine cover.  As we can see the team have installed the sculpted two part Y100 winglet they introduced at Suzuka and is hung from a swan neck support off the base of the central pylon.

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Ferrari SF15-T launch analysis

Ferrari's racing pedigree has been called into question over the last few years, with the team unable to hold a candle to the aerodynamic efficiency of the Red Bull machines.  2014 was supposed to be a game changer with Enzo's famous statement: "Aerodynamics are for those that can't build engines" ringing loudly around Maranello.  Unfortunately for the late Enzo Ferrari his beloved scarlet team failed on that front too and now the team have to play catch up on both fronts.
The regulations don't really allow for radical new concepts and so each of the 2015 challengers really represent an evolution of what came before it, the SF15-T is no exception.
Although Ferrari's 2014 nose design was close to some intepretations of the 2015 nose regulations the team have changed their design, opting for an elongated nosecone that extends over the front wings neutral section.  Very similar to the McLaren MP4-30's in shape the nose tip is a wide circular protrusion with very little in terms of height, making the 9000mm2 cross section 50mm behind the tip a letterbox shape.  The length when compared to last seasons means that the linear taper from the bulkhead to nosetip prohibits the use of the handlebar style FOM camera mounts, leaving them to be mounted on the side of the nosecone.

The pull rod suspension is retained but as predicted by some of my colleagues the team have tried to assimilate the Mercedes conjoined lower wishbone idea (yellow).  The idea of which is to reduce the suspension impact on the airflows route to the sidepod/sidepod inlets and how it interacts with the front wing upwash.  Underneath the nose/chassis we find a similar set turning vanes the team have run before.
The area around the sidepods has become intesely scrutinised over the last few years as teams try to maximise not only cooling performance via the inlets but also leverage an aerodynamic advantage from the sidepod undercut (the shape of which can have an affect on the floor performance), bargeboards, sidepod airflow conditioners, leading edge slats and cockpit fins.  In the case of the SF15-T the bargeboards initially caught my eye as they are split in two with the most forward ones (yellow) leading edge leaning away from the chassis, attempting to capture more airflow as it passes by the splitter etc.  Meanwhile the secondary bargeboard (green) looks to recover any boundary layer loss that may occur by having a high angle, longer single version.  The vertical sidepod airflow conditioner in blue seems outwardly similar to the one used on the predecessor but there are some changes, firstly it doesn't extrude from the cars floor, instead (like the ones run late on in 2014 on the Mercedes W05) it extends outwardly from the secondary bargeboard, clearing the floor of an unnecessary element, making it easier to deal with the floor downstream.  The vertical section of the airflow conditioner has seemingly been orientated inward too, much like we have seen Red Bull do before changing how the tyre wake influences this area in yaw.  As per its predeccesor the airflow conditioner also arcs over the sidepods shoulder to form a leading edge slat that terminates at the cockpit surround (the team use this as a way of increasing sidepod performance).  You'll also note from this image that the sidepod inlet has also been lent backwards (at its base) increasing the undercut and maximising the inlet cross section.  The shaped mirror stalks (purple) at present seem unchanged from the F14-T.
The sidepods are a crucial design consideration and Ferrari like most last season took several stabs at trying to get this right, perhaps settling in the end for a half way house configuration based on their cooling and aero objectives.  The SF15-T's sidepods are an evolution of last seasons design with an emphasis on slimming the coke bottle region and increasing the cooling outlet length to fall inline with the engine cover outlet.  Meanwhile the engine cover has undergone a similar evolution with the engine cover slimmed and a larger fin present, whilst at the rear of the car a larger cooling outlet is used to encompass the exhaust and cooling requirements.  The cooling solution used throughout 2014 that lines the spine of the engine cover is also retained.
The airbox has recieved a small update, retaining the trapezoidal airbox inlet shape but adding two much smaller inlets into the face of the roll hoops undercut.  Also worth noting from this forward view are the small eyelets either side of the roll hoops headrest which I'd imagine have more of an aerodynamic purpose than a physical.
The rear wing is supported by a singular centre pylon which follows the trend the team adopted during 2014, utilising a swan neck connection to the DRS actuator pod, the idea of which is to minimize the disturbance to the underside of the mainplane.  Mounted on this we find another swan neck support, this time being used to hang the Y100 winglet off of, its design is fairly similar to one the team used in 2014 but has been altered to enhance how the exhaust plume interacts with the diffuser below and rear wing above.  The wedge shape I have highlighted in front of the pylon is fixed to it but is much narrower than the pylon, in order that it matches with the engine cover it butts upto.


The rear wing endplates have more holes than a piece of swiss cheese, all of which are designed to utilize the pressure gradients of surrounding air structures and either assist them in generating downforce or reduce drag in general.  The blue circle shows the team are continuing to assess the mainplane gradient slots they trialed last season having seen Red Bull use them earlier in the season, in summary they assist the mainplane by allowing airflow inbound, maximizing the wings aspect ratio (especially in yaw).  A new solution (red circle) also appears at the base of the the wings endplates, these louvres are placed in a particurlarly sensitive area before the vertical strakes and above the diffuser, suggesting the team are trying to further enhance the upwash from the diffuser. The trailing edge of the endplates also feature a fairly blunt gurney strip, which will of course change how the airflow moves around the whole structure.
Some have long called into question the diffuser design employed by Ferrari an area it seems the team have focused some of their attention.  The outer walls of Ferrari diffusers in the past have tended to be quite boxy with only a small radius in the upper corner but as we can see in this image the team have clearly moved toward a shallower outer section much in the same vein as Red Bull's.  In his video explaining the SF15-T, James Allison talks about the delta between designing with peak downforce (how previous diffusers used by Ferrari could be explained) vs more usable downforce over a wider operating window and it's pretty clear that the changes to the diffuser have been done to cater for this.
In the tyre deck area we can see that the team have opted for some changes, a curved vertical strake now divides the section between the the edge of the floor and sidepod, which will roll up the airflow that comes into contact with it.  Meanwhile in favour of the teams usual 3 tyre squirt slots ahead of the rear wheels the team have chosen to follow Red Bull, Mercedes and McLaren with a raised dog leg slot.  The way these devices condition the airflow in the region is pivotal to the diffusers performance, as invariably they control how the dynamic changes of the tyre affect the airflow.

The Ferrari powerunit clearly had some issues during 2014 and so the team are eager to continue developing what they have.  The opportunity to spend the development tokens throughout 2015 rather than homologate in February is a short term win for Ferrari, who are clearly behind schedule.

"Our objective, in term of tokens, is really to spend only few at the start of the season, to maintain a significant opportunity of developments during the season," Binotto added. "The current 2015 PU has already gain a significant amount of performance, and we will keep pushing during the entire season."

This is directly opposed to the route being taken by Mercedes and Renault who will spend the majority of their tokens before the season commences meaning the offset in performance could see Ferrari struggle in the opening part of the season.  Furthermore with drivers only able to use 4 powerunit during 2015 and a total of 20 (maybe 19 if Germay is lost too) races on the calender it means changes can only be made to the powerunit alongside the scheduled PU change (every 4-5 races) meaning the first time Ferrari will be able to update the PU will be Bahrain/Spain or sacrifice a PU for their driver.

As always as this is only a launch piece there's likely to be many changes to the SF15-T over the coming weeks, so keep your eye on the blog for updates.
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30 Jan 2015
Mercedes W06 Shakedown, pre-launch analysis

Mercedes arrive in 2015 with a target painted on their back, having led the way throughout 2014.  It's still widely regarded they'll continue to lead the way and with good reason, the W05 was an astonishing car when compared with the rest of the field.

Development in F1 is relentless and although the W06 is an evolution rather than revolution, 90% of the car will have changed, making for a more efficient machine.
As per the regulation changes the team had to redesign the nose and like Lotus have opted to use the widest (140mm) but shallowest 9000mm2 cross section at 50mm behind the nose tip (yellow) that the rules permit. Whilst the 20000mm2 cross section 100mm behind this allows for not only a smooth transition of the noses upper surface but also allows for expansion under the nose (like a Venturi). The nose itself is the shortest the regulations permit at 850mm putting the neutral section ahead of the nose, meanwhile the connecting pylons flank the 140mm nose section with the first 50mm of the nose shaped to increase the tip height, bringing fresh meaning to turning you nose up at someone.

The nose tapers outward to the chassis behind (purple), of which the most forward section of the chassis starts the slope down to the nose, a trend started with the W05 but increased with the W06.  This allows the team to retain the handlebar configuration on which the FOM cameras are placed (blue).

The narrowing of the nose means that from the front view the turning vanes (green) now appear to stick outward but still run parallel to the centreline, dealing with not only oncoming airflow but wheel wake and how the two interact.
Although the W05 ran with scooped brake ducts the car that emerged at the Silverstone shakedown featured scoopeless front brake ducts (yellow). It'll therefore be interesting to see an exposed shot of the brakes ducts to see how temperature and airflow is being distributed between the disc, caliper and out through the wheel face.  Note the vanes added toward the trailing edge of the scoop too (green)

The Sidepods inlets seem to allow for a slightly deeper undercut, whilst this test car also has a new arrangement on the upper leading edge, reminiscent of last years vortex generators, cockpit fins and airflow conditioners configuration the team have now also added a leading edge slat that's mounted between the cockpit and outer vortex generator, whilst the inner one mounts upon this.  The idea of the slat is to compensate for the sidepods shape change downstream, mitigating any additional boundary layer build up or lift being generated throughout the speed range.

The rear of the Sidepods feature the same elongated outlets (past/through the suspension elements) the latter spec ran by the team featured.  However the geometry of the section just before the suspension allows for a larger undercut into the coke bottle region, whilst the upper surface now aligns more closely with the upper wishbone.

Perhaps taking some cues from their buddies over at Williams the team have also managed to slim down the engine cover, increasing the size of the shark fin.  The small outlets placed along the spine of the engine cover find a new home slightly further back / lower than before, most likely due to the re shaping of the engine cover.

The airbox and roll over hoop has seen some amendments with the central airbox inlet and ad-hoc airbox ears that the W05 used throughout 2014 making way for an enlarged airbox inlet which is horizontally split into two, with the upper duct likely feeding the oil coolers the ears once took care of.  The roll hoop has been on a diet with the twin spar arrangement making way for a slimmer singular one.

I'm quite sure we'll see more changes to the W06 ahead of the season opener in Australia so as always keep your eyes peeled on the blog as I'll keep you updated with any developments.

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29 Jan 2015
McLaren Honda MP4-30 Launch analysis

 
McLaren and Honda have shared a winning partnership in the past that both would love to rekindle, 2015 therefore represents a first step toward the team returning to winning ways.  I've made my thoughts clear in the past that McLaren (and indeed Ferrari) lost their way after SpyGate, something that can be seen from the results post 2008.  On top of this the sport has since undergone a change in ethos, something the two giants of the sport were perhaps un-prepared for in terms of resources and personnel, with more focus on CFD and Wind Tunnel testing rather than pounding around test tracks.

2015 can therefore be seen as a reset for McLaren, 2014 being an interim year where they phased out their 21 year relationship with Mercedes-Benz who'd provided the team with success throughout, making way for Honda to once again supply them as a works team.

Aero had been highlighted as a problem area for the team over the last few years and so effort has been made to restructure that department with Peter Prodromou re-joining the fold from Red Bull Racing as chief engineer, whilst Honda themselves will be keen to help as best they can, with the Japanese marque likely to have retained a small working group to focus on the technical regulations.

Having made the jaunt from Milton Keynes to Woking, Peters hand in the design philosophy started to bear fruit toward the end of 2014 with the team trialing a Red Bull-esque front wing in Abu Dhabi.  The MP4-30 render shows a very similar design and so we can surely expect an evolution of this concept throughout 2015.

The nose as we have seen already from previous launches has exposed several different design concepts, all of which have tried to minimise the nose length, exposing the neutral section of the front wing to a less disturbed airflow pattern that can be manipulated by the structure above.  McLaren however have increased their nose beyond the front wing neutral section but opted for the widest (140mm) but shortest section 50mm behind the tip, similarly with the 20000mm2 cross section 100mm aft of this, making for a steady nose incline, close to what the FIA intended. What we must remember is that this is an early render of the MP4-30 and McLaren may intend to introduce a fresh nose later on when they can pass the crash test (passing the crash test for a shorter nose presents more issues, as the impact must be decelerated over a shorter period).

The widest possible front wing pylons have been retained and are sculpted in much the same way as the cars predecessor with the trailing edge positioned inboard.

The camera mounts have been positioned at the top of the nose, in a similar vein to the handlebar approach used by Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull last season, albeit not as pronounced as the regulations don't permit that. Although it has (as Mercedes did in 2014) required the team to slope the upper surface of the chassis in order to meet with the nose (as is noted by the large access/vanity panel).

The turning vanes aren't shown in the render so it'll be interesting to see what these look like during testing.

Typical of McLaren the airbox has been divided up into 2 horizontal sections with one feeding the engine and the other an assortment of oil coolers. 

The sidepods are definitely an improvement on last season as we know were bloated based not only on the original concept but also the orientation and number of radiators/intercoolers in use.  It'll be interesting to see a naked MP4-30 in the coming weeks to see how the layout differs from last year. Meanwhile the space ahead and on top of the sidepods is proliferated by a similar array of vortex generators, cockpit fins, bargeboards, airflow conditioners we saw the team use throughout 2014, this is an area we may see evolve during testing.  The rear of the sidepods is where they have lost the most bloat though with the upper cannons deleted, leading to a lower and much slimmer set of cooling outlets, increasing the free space in the coke bottle region.
Interestingly at the rear of the car the splayed suspension layout used to mount the 'wishbone wings' upon seems to have been retained (marked in yellow), now whether that is to do with understanding that suspension geometry or whether the wings will be added later remains to be seen.

The rear wing has lost some of the extension of the strakes that were used on the MP4-29 but what is most apparent is the lack of central support pylon, much like the Williams FW36/7 (are they going to try and do what I believe Williams were doing with theirs in 2014 too though?).  Without the Beam Wing this puts an onus on the rigidity of the endplates, although like Williams they actually ran a floor level beam wing in 2014.  Without the centralised pylon the hydraulic pipework associated with DRS must also be passed through the endplates which also house the actuators (like the Mercedes W03) as no centre pod actuator is present.

The mini strakes used at stages last season to control how the vortex was shed off the trailing edge of the endplate are back (green), whilst the gradient slots used by Red Bull at the start of 2014 and then trialled by Ferrari late in the season have also emerged (red), which assist in creating consistent downforce whilst reducing drag.  At the German GP last season the team introduced a new rear wing which used Tubercles on the trailing edge of the mainplane and leading edge of the top flap (yellow), which also appear on the render.




As always seems to be the case with McLaren they provide a launch render and then provide a 360 degree application that shows elements that appose the render.  In the case of the MP4-30 this seems to centre around the rear wings design with the 360 showing a centralised swan neck pylon extending out of the engine cover (much like Red Bull's later designs did in 2014) and a new Y100 winglet (much the same as the Red Bull design again, albeit mounted on the crash structure rather than another lower winglet) whilst the leading edge tyre wake slot used on the MP4-29 is also present along with the extended endplate strakes.






Much has been made of the token system and Honda's return, especially as how it would have been so unfair that the manufacturer not be able to develop throughout the season like the others.  However where Honda did/does have one advantage over the other manufacturers is that they return in a year where variable inlet trumpets are allowed, something that the 2014 powerunits didn't feature.  Had the FIA allowed carte blanche to Honda (ie the full 32 token allocation) they'd have saved many over their counterparts who have to make the changes to assimilate them.  I'm not by any means saying that variable inlets are a game changer but they do offer a performance advantage whereby you can smooth the powerband, which may have been being done by the turbo, MGU-H, MGU-K, fuelling etc configurations last season, freeing up development scope.

I look forward to seeing what the McLaren-Honda partnership can achieve, will it have success in 2015? It would need an extraordinary leap but never say never.

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26 Jan 2015
Lotus E23 render analysis

Lotus have surprised us all this afternoon with an impromptu showing of their 2015 challenger the E23.  Powered by Mercedes in 2015 the Enstone squad which have had success with Renault down the years made the switch to the German marque having lost 'works' status with Renault to Red Bull, with the Renault unit reportedly the most expensive on the grid it made sense for the team to seek a unit that can help them challenge for the 2015 titles.

Starting at the front of the car we can see that Lotus have chosen a slightly different route in terms of the nose construction compared to the 'thumb' designs we are expecting many to produce (See the Williams FW37 render).  The new regulations were bought in to try and curtail the gentleman style appendages our eyes were assaulted with in 2014, but as the nose is a key design parameter in the cars concept much care will have been taken in the redesigns.  Many will have you believe that mass flow is the answer as you must get as much flow to the leading edge of the floor as possible and although this is true to an extent, it's the quality of flow that is much more important.  Initially looking at the E23 I was reminded of Enstones last championship winning cars, the R25 and R26 which featured a similar low nose, tapered concept.

You'll note that Lotus have looked to keep the shortest crash structure possible (850mm) so that the pylons can be mounted off the rear end of the front wings neutral section, maximising how it interacts with the nose structure.  This is a challenge itself as this requires a much shorter deformation area for the crash tests.

The tip of the nose tapers to meet with the 9000mm2 cross section regulation at 50mm behind the tip, making for the smallest letterbox shape possible (140cm wide) whilst the 20000mm2 cross section 150mm in behind this is likely as high as the tapering regulations permit.  I'd expect the nose is sculpted out beneath the two areas.  (Please note that this is not to scale so the point 150mm behind the tip is offset so you can see it better)

This makes for a much narrower nose than would normally be used, with most teams taking the front wings mounting pylons to the 330mm width maximum and trying to use that to increase the amount of flow that can be gathered centrally.  In the most forward view we can see the full impact of this decision as further downstream the nose assembly tapers out to meet with the chassis, whilst underneath the chassis Red Bull esque Z shaped turning vanes will re-profile the airflow moving toward the bargeboards and sidepod undercut, energizing the flow.

The sidepods are flanked by single piece sidepod airflow conditioners that arc over their shoulder to form a leading edge slat that meets with the cockpit, just as its predecessors did.

In the render the sidepods seem to mirror the sort of profile the E22 had too, but in the rearmost section it appears they have followed Red Bull and Mercedes path utilising cooling cannons either side that extend through the suspension elements, terminating at the same point as the cooling outlet above it.

Intriguingly the E23 features two airbox shoulder ducts that sit just a little lower than the airbox itself, their purpose at the moment is unknown especially as the PU106 (Mercedes PU) seemed to be the most thermally efficient of the bunch, however as we know changes for 2015 mean the PU will produce more power and so may require a little more cooling.  Their positioning however does lead me to believe that they may be focused on cooling ancillary components such as oil coolers (Turbo and Gearbox, marked on in yellow, something other teams have done in the past, perhaps just not as dramatically).

At the rear of the car echoes of the late 2014 specification of the E22 with a symmetrical rear wing mounting pylon inserted in the upper section of the engine cover which I'd be surprised that there isn't like Red Bull an inverted Y-Lon which resides within, acting like an aspirator and pulling the airflow through the engine cover. On the render no Y100 Winglet (Monkey Seat is present).


As with all of these launch renders what we see covers the bases, during pre-season testing I'm sure we'll see an evolution of the E23 and as always I'll keep you upto date as best I can.
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21 Jan 2015
Williams FW37 render analysis

Once again F1 Racing magazine have presented the first images of the Williams contender to the world on their front cover.  The team used the magazine as the launch platform for the FW37's predecessor too, in the pre-season and pre-Martini livery.

Just like the FW36 render there are things that will evidently change before the season kicks off but there are a few things we can learn from what has been shown.

Firstly the nose, contentious as the 2014 nose designs were the FIA still haven't been prescriptive enough that the teams don't come up with designs that feature an extension.  The majority of 2015 designs will feature this 'thumb' extension, shorter than its predecessor but nonetheless just as ungainly.  In the case of Williams the team have set about trying to retain as similar an airflow footprint as possible with the shaping of the thumb forming a keel shape that tapers into the centreline, whilst the second regulation box 2000mm2, 150mm behind the noses tip splays the nose and the connecting pylons outward at least mitigating the loss of surface area lost from the shortening of the nose tip and/or perhaps even increasing its capacity to provide clean airflow to the splitter region.  What may be lessened is the effect the nose tip had/s on the neutral centre section of the front wing, an area the teams are always intent on trying to leverage an advantage from.  With the nose camera position mandated in 2014 the teams lost the ability to place those in a position that could garner and advantage and had to look to other solutions, namely the nose and pylon shaping.

Mercedes ran an interesting conjoined lower wishbone arrangement in 2014 which helped to control the upwash from the front wing, creating a better Y250 vortex and controlling how the sidepod inlets received airflow.  In this render of the FW37 it isn't definitive but it would appear that Williams may also be heading down this route in 2015.





EDIT: The frontal image released by the team seems to all but rule out the conjoined wishbone arrangement




Having had a year to work with their new partner Mercedes in 2014 the FW37 has lost the cooling gills found next to the roll over hoop, indicating that they were initially reticent about how much cooling was required by the PU106 hybrid but now feel more comfortable.


The FW37 like the FW36 appears to have followed the same concept in terms of the sidepod and engine cover bodywork, with little in terms of airflow manipulation, such as vortex generators, leading edge slats etc.  Whilst the short bodywork option run by the team for the last few years, utilising the shark fin to meet with the dimensional regulations is in place once more.  It is worth noting that Williams did trial a conventional engine cover layout last season (upper and lower cooling outlet), however the large lower outlet and gearbox covering aspirator are seemingly retained for 2015.

You may note that the sidepods appear to be a little slimmer than the cars predecessor allowing for a more aggressive sidepod undercut, the team having seen the packaging potential of the W05 have opted to run a chargecooler (air-liquid-air) arrangement, burying the cooler within a void between the fuel tank and the ICE's front face, whilst balancing the aero for either sidepod with smaller water radiators (Rather than as last year having had the right sidepod carry the engines water radiator and the left an air-to-air cooler).

At the rear of the car Williams once again defy the rest of the field and retain a rear wing assembly devoid of a central support pylon, something that featured on the rest of the field with the beam wing banned from 2014 onwards.  Their reasoning behind this is in part due to the way the whole concept of the car is laid out, designed for efficiency and not peak downforce, which has often led to them topping the top speed traps and being very frugal on fuel usage.  On top of this I firmly believe it suits the cooling layout, not having the issue of the pylon to circumnavigate, which is something most of the other teams have achieved with a Y-Lon.  The central pylon also compromises the airflow over the central part of the wing and can lead to detachment of the airflow, albeit teams all make clever design compromises to mitigate this as much as possible.

Lastly and perhaps more importantly (but please remember this a theory and not fact and so I am not inferring any wrong doing by Williams or any other team) I have to raise the question of flexibility, especially when we consider how quick the FW36 was in a straight line compared to the rest of the field.  I've long held the opinion that some of the teams are using aeroelasticity to deform the rear wing assembly in such a way that it reduces drag on the straights (something that teams have been doing for decades). Williams lack of centre pylon brings further credence to this (albeit as per the FW36 they likely have a beam wing support at floor level again) as it would allow the endplates to deform/rotate (where as everyone else would also need a deformable pylon too) lowering drag and increasing their top speed potential.  There is of course a load test in place to ascertain whether teams are flexing the flaps (a horizontal load of 100kg on the FIA inspection rig), meanwhile slot gap separators were bought in so that the teams couldn't deform the flaps at speed, reducing the gap between them and stalling the wing.

As teams have worked on aeroelasticity to gain advantage from front wing flex over the last decade it's more than acceptable to expect the teams to use this knowledge in other areas, in which case if the rear wing was lent back under load it would reduce drag.  Lest we forget the teams desires to achieve such a feat led to the F-Duct and a top speed increase in the realms of 10+kph.

EDIT

With another image surfacing of the car from the front (above) it appears the team have also been able to shrink the sidepod cooling inlets compared with the FW36



As always please remember that this is a very early look at the car and as some of the key areas (rear view, tyre squirt platform ahead of the rear tyre etc) are omitted in these renders I will revisit the analysis as and when more details become available.

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Reviewed: The Official FIA F1 Review 2014


Duke video who produce the official DVD/Blu-Ray review each season were kind enough to send me a review copy, it's been rattling around on my desk for the last week or so but I finally got chance to cast my eyes over it.  The last one of these reviews I cast my eye over was the 2009 season, which saw Jenson Button clinch his first drivers title at the helm of the BGP001.

The format remains largely untouched with two DVDs home to over 4 hours of footage, the first a run through of the races includes commentary from BBC regular Ben Edwards, whilst the second offers onboard footage, complete with narration from the drivers and some tech tid bits from Gary Anderson.

The inclusion of James Allen and Jennie Gow in segments of the season review (Gary Anderson also pops up from time to time) brings a much welcomed change of pace, as otherwise it may all come across a little metronomic, although I must admit to having watched the extensive footage over several sittings.  The uniformity, driven by the need to split the review into race sections does sometimes lead to a loss of outside narrative/perspective but that's to be expected, especially as I've mentioned most people will have to take several bites at the cherry to complete the disc(s).

As anyone that follows my work will know 2014 provided the backdrop for the most extensive technical shakeup the sport has ever seen, at points the review looks to provide information on these changes and infringements that happen throughout the season, that's all it does do though, cover the bases for the average F1 fan. (Don't get me wrong you have to appeal to a wide audience and so it's clear why they chose to do that)

One thing that has always stood out to me is the naming of these reviews, in this case "It was fair" in reference to the battle between Hamilton and Rosberg, whilst previous titles "Not in a hurry" (2009) and "Luck does not come into it" (2008) always seem a little backhanded in their compliments to the title winner, that being said it does sum them up quite neatly.

As broadcasters (especially in UK) look to one up each other each race weekend there becomes less and less unseen footage and team radio for DUKE to present on their review, however there is still plenty there that you won't have seen or heard before, making it a great addition to any F1 fans collection.

Duke have been kind enough to offer up a copy of the review as a prize too, so if you fancy bagging a copy for your collection simply head over to twitter and tweet me @SomersF1 with answer to the following:

How many victories did @MercedesAMGF1 have in 2014? using the hashtag #DUKEREVIEWCOMP
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7 Jan 2015
eMag: Mercedes W05

As you may or may not be aware I have been collaborating with fellow technical analyst William Tyson on an eMagazine series that focuses on the dominance of the Mercedes W05 in 2014.  We are pleased to announce the arrival of the first part of this eMag: The Mercedes W05: Understanding the dominance of the 2014 machine and the team behind it

Part 1 is a 63 page edition that covers team personnel, the teams history, a brief overview of the changes made to the technical regulations for 2014 and a race by race analysis.  Subsequent editions will cover the aerodynamic principles of the W05, a detailed explanation of the award winning PU106A Hybrid along with a wrap up edition tieing all the elements together and a brief look at the 2015 campaign ahead.

We have chosen Google Play as our distribution method as it offers the widest platform availabilty, granting you access from a plethora of devices including access via Android and Apple apps.
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