Formula 1 - 2010 Season

[Bludd]

Drivers in bold are confirmed, nonbold are my speculation and "educated" guesses. Some names are hyperlinks to stories with information and in case of bold, confirmation.

Mercedes GP: Rosberg and Schumacher
Red Bull: Vettel and Webber
McLaren: Hamilton and Button
Ferrari: Alonso and Massa
Williams: Barrichello and Hulkenberg
Renault: Kubica and ??
Force India: Liuzzi and Sutil
Toro Rosso: Buemi and Alguersuari
Campos: Senna and Maldonado or Petrov
Lotus: Trulli and Kovalainen
Virgin: Glock and di Grassi
USF1: Lopez and ??
Sauber: Kobayashi and de la Rosa

Changelog: Jose Maria Lopez about to be confirmed at USF1 according to Autosport.

 

[infinity4]

Heidfeld completes German Triplet Mercedes GP

http://www.crash.net/f1/news/156215...ning_as_he_accepts_mercedes_reserve_role.html

But I am not sure if a test driver is also allowed to drive for another team during the season like Fisichella?

 

[Dave Baumann]

Apparently a preview of the 2010 Ferrari livery:

 

[Kaotik]

Apparently a preview of the 2010 Ferrari livery:

http://www.autosport.com/gallery/picture_free.php/dir/2010jantest1/image/E1V_0020-2
http://www.autosport.com/gallery/picture_free.php/dir/2010jantest1/image/E1V_0257-2

Too much white for Ferrari, IMO

 

[Bludd]

Too much white for Ferrari, IMO

Really?
2006:

2005:

2004:

2003:

2002:

1976:

 

[Kaotik]

I didn't say they hadn't had too much white earlier too
But IMO that's too much regardless, especially the back spoilers sides is too much, even if the spoiler itself would be ok.

And most of those you showed weren't nearly as bad in those races where they could have straight tobacco adds on them

 

[Bludd]

I have a theory about why you think there's too much white: the front wings now are huge and the rear wings are tall. The white is just more prominent.

 

[Kaotik]

That could add it's effect on it, true

 

[Dave Baumann]

The Mercedes livery on Brawn's 2009 car:

And James Allen has something interesting to say on Ferrari's challenge this year, which I hadn't appreciated before:

http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2010/01/does-massas-ferrari-test-matter/

Ferrari’s big issue this season is fuel consumption, with suggestions that at 2009 rates of fuel use, they may have to carry as much as 10 kilos of fuel more at the start of the race than cars powered by Renault or Mercedes. On average this will mean a deficit of 3/10ths of a second per lap to their rivals and more on some tracks. I think it that the actual figure is likely to be less than this, because it is something that they have been working hard on this winter.

 

[Bludd]

I think the colours look fine. The original Silver Arrows were just the aluminium sheet metal because they scraped off the paint since it weighed so much. This scheme that Mercedes is going to run is much whiter than the one McLaren has ran previously.

Regarding the fuel consumption, that is one of the strong points of the Renault engine. It's going to be interesting to see how much Ferrari can do with the development freeze. They can change mappings and stuff like that, but what more? Can their engine for instance, in fuel-saving mode disable 4 cylinders of the V8 effectively turning it into an I4 or a v4? This can be useful for when sitting on the grid, going in and out of the pit lane etc.

 

[tongue_of_colicab]

All engines can already switch on and off cylinders for years as far as I know. Mainly because of heat while standing still. I don't know if they can change it while driving etc. In that case it would mostly be usefull in a pitcar situation. For going in and out of the pits I dont think it will matter much. It's such a short distance and they already drive slow so the amount of fuel used is probably so small that it wont make a real difference.

 

[Dave Baumann]

I think the colours look fine. The original Silver Arrows were just the aluminium sheet metal because they scraped off the paint since it weighed so much. This scheme that Mercedes is going to run is much whiter than the one McLaren has ran previously.

Although McLaren have said they will run Silver, Black and Red (Vodaphone), I wonder if they will try and transition to Orange over time...

 

[Lightman]

I wonder how Cosworth engines will fare in fuel consumption compared to other manufacturers.

I've read some time ago about F1 engines and apparently Mercedes and BMW engines were most powerful (BMW only second because of higher fuel consumption) with around 757BHP, but Cosworth is supposed to develop over 770BHP!
Renault is the most economical and that's why Fernando was almost always able to do 1-2 more laps than commentators were predicting with his fuel loads.
Toyota had the worst engine in F1 ... (poor Williams)

One week to go for some teasers

 

[_xxx_]

A few bhp this way or the other won't decide things, as you could see with BMW etc. It's the magic of the whole package, aerodynamics, suspension, tires,... the key word is balance. Much room for both success and failure there.

 

[Bludd]

Drivers in bold are confirmed, nonbold are my speculation and "educated" guesses. Some names are hyperlinks to stories with information and in case of bold, confirmation.

Mercedes GP: Rosberg and Schumacher
Red Bull: Vettel and Webber
McLaren: Hamilton and Button
Ferrari: Alonso and Massa
Williams: Barrichello and Hulkenberg
Renault: Kubica and Petrov?
Force India: Liuzzi and Sutil
Toro Rosso: Buemi and Alguersuari
Campos: Senna and Maldonado or Petrov
Lotus: Trulli and Kovalainen
Virgin: Glock and di Grassi
USF1: Lopez and ??
Sauber: Kobayashi and de la Rosa

Changelog: Jose Maria Lopez confirmed at USF1.

 

[Davros]

Proposed new points structure
25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81048

 

[Gerry]

Proposed new points structure
25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81048

That looks a little more sensible than the previous idea. 20 points for second place always looked a bit on the high side.

 

[Bludd]

Yeah, I think the ratios were the real problem. This looks more interesting.

 

[RobertR1]

I like the new points structure. Winning should certainly be worth a lot more.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

What will be amusing if there is a driver that consistently finishes 5th and ends up winning the championship. Entirely possible if the top drivers have inconsistent performances. Something that would be impossible in the past.

Regards,
SB