Williams FW36 – Jerez day 1 testing gallery
This gallery contains 10 photos.
Caterham CT05 – Jerez day 1 testing gallery
This gallery contains 6 photos.
Mercedes proves 2014 F1 cars don’t have to be ugly
The new Mercedes W05 (Image: Mercedes AMG F1)
The much awaited Mercedes W05 was unveiled in Jerez, Spain this morning before testing for the 2014 season began. The car did not disappoint – visually, at least.
Most of the cars unveiled thus far (the only one we haven’t seen at all is the Marussia, which should arrive in Jerez tomorrow) have unsightly phallic protrusions at the end of their noses. According to the experts, that arrangement is aerodynamically optimal. If the experts are right, then Mercedes and Ferrari have got it wrong, because they are the two teams who have designed cars with more conventional nose-ends.
Mercedes has long been known for producing attractive racing cars, and the W05 is certainly that. The nose looks good, which cannot be said for the rest of the field. The livery on the W05 features more black than in previous seasons, but still retains enough of its signature silver to be obviously a Silver Arrow.
What is unknown about the car is its speed and reliability. For the first half of today’s first day of testing, it looked like Lewis Hamilton would easily top the times and cover the most mileage for the day. But then the wheels came off, so to speak. Hamilton’s front wing failed under braking for turn one and he crashed, not too heavily, into the tyre barrier at the end of the main straight.
It will be some comfort to Mercedes that the failure was not related to the engine, or “power unit” as it is now known. But they will still be anxious to sort out the issue that allowed the front wing to fail at high speed.
Click here to see the Mercedes W05 launch gallery.
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Mercedes W05 – launch gallery
This gallery contains 18 photos.
Mercedes W05 to show support for Schumi
Mercedes W05 with a message of support for Michael Schumacher (Image: Mercedes AMG F1)
The Mercedes AMG F1 team has revealed that its 2014 car, the W05, will display a message of support for Michael Schumacher during the first pre-season test that begins tomorrow in Jerez, Spain.
Schumacher was injured in a skiing accident on 29 December. The retired seven-time World Champion remains in an artificial coma after undergoing surgery in the hours and days following his accident. It is not yet known to what extent Schumacher might recover or when such a recovery can be expected to take place.
Following his total domination of Formula One with Ferrari, Schumacher retired in 2006 before making a comeback with Mercedes in 2010. Although the comeback did not yield the results that were targeted, Schumacher became very much a part of the team and was held in high esteem and affection by his fellow team members. The message shown on the W05 during the coming test is an indication that they, like the rest of the racing community, are anxious for positive news from Schumacher’s doctors.
Mercedes are not the only team to be showing support for Schumacher. Messages of support have been sent by all of the teams to the family, and Ferrari have rallied behind Schumacher’s family, showing their support with personal communication and public shows of solidarity.
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Sauber unveils 2014 F1 car
The Sauber C33 (Image: Sauber Motorsport AG)
The latest 2014 Formula One car to be revealed is the Sauber C33. The first images were made available by Sauber on Sunday afternoon. The car is powered by a Ferrari 1.6 litre V6 turbocharged hybrid “power plant”. The C33 will be driven by Adrian Sutil and Esteban Gutierrez.
The car features the larger sidepods, lower nose and rear-exiting exhaust required by the 2014 regulations. The images released do not provide a clear picture of the exact design of the nose, although it appears that the nose is similar to that seen on the Williams and McLaren thus far.
Side view of the Sauber C33 (Image: Sauber Motorsport AG)
Of the teams to have unveiled their 2014 cars thus far, only Ferrari has provided an image of the rear of their car. Sauber have been just as secretive as the rest of the teams when it comes to their diffuser and have not released an image taken from behind the car.
The C33 will make its track debut tomorrow morning in Jerez, Spain.
