Official F1/Motorsport thread

[sharky_ob]

No accounting for taste, that paddock shot looks absolutely grotesque! It's all because of the nose, yuck

It looks like an anteater.

Possibly not a bad thing.

[Bort]

For the Fantasy F1 this year, would you lot prefer like previous years to select at the start of the season and see how it plays out or have the option to change in between races or every few races?

Pretty much all of the fantasy sites let you change during the season so if there were a split between people we could have two leagues. One where people won't change and one for people who want to be active. Dual membership wouldn't be an issue.

[Alastair]

For the Fantasy F1 this year, would you lot prefer like previous years to select at the start of the season and see how it plays out or have the option to change in between races or every few races?

Pretty much all of the fantasy sites let you change during the season so if there were a split between people we could have two leagues. One where people won't change and one for people who want to be active. Dual membership wouldn't be an issue.

I'm usually in the 'keep it the same' camp but with this season effectively being a fresh start then it'd be really easy to make a total balls up of the choices so maybe a limited changes system will be best. I don't think there's much skill when you're allowed to change every race but say 4 times a season or whatever the sites allow will be fine I think.

[Richard.John]

I think it's by far the best looking. I love the angular bits like the nose and engine cover. Makes it look sleek, edgy and modern but not grotesque (aka Renault) or bulbous like the BMW. The front wing looks meticulously sculpted, and doesn't resemble two bricks attached to planks of wood, like some other cars, (BMW and Renault) so that's another positive.

I love the slightly Concorde style drooping nose. I think the the colour scheme helps as navy blue and red is a great combination, not distracting in anyway. If only the nose cone was blue, then it would be perfect.

[Darwock]

It doesn't look too bad in any of the promo shots but that real life shot in the original post just puts me right off, a very unflattering angle.

[Alastair]

This car is so different to all the rest, I could look at it for hours and I haven't had that with any of the other cars.

Look at the veins that run along the main cockpit from just above the suspension mounts right back to the driver, lovely.

Also, check out how damn low at the rear this thing is.


Hopefully it'll go as well as it looks but I have a feeling that it could well break down, a lot!

[Shez]

Yeah I like the Red Bull - It has some very different lines to what we have seen so far, but so does the Renault

Newey's reputation is on the line this season - It will be interesting to see just how good this car is.

[Alastair]

Yeah I like the Red Bull - It has some very different lines to what we have seen so far, but so does the Renault

The difference is that the Renault lines are almost all plain ugly whereas the Red Bull is lovely. I guess the Renault paint job doesn't exactly help though.

[Roddie]

Hopefully it'll go as well as it looks but I have a feeling that it could well break down, a lot!

I think it's already broken down! They had to stop their first day of testing the new car because of a broken gearbox or something.

[Alastair]

Yeah, you're right. That super low rear may not help with gearbox cooling either. My fingers are crossed for them as I really rate Vettell but I must be honest in saying my expectations aren't high at the moment.

[Richard.John]

A tale as old as time, a song as old as rhyme.....Beauty and the Beast.

[NW2013]

Agreed Alastair, I think the Red Bull is the nicest looking car. Presumably the Torro Rosso will be equally lovely just with a different paint job.

[cutmymilk]

I don't get why theres so much room for that vast difference in the spec. Will make an interesting first race, though!

[Alastair]

Holy Hell if this is true it's good news, except for the bit about Bernie having a stake!

According to our sources Bruno Senna has now signed for the Honda Racing F1 team - and an announcement that the team will be going ahead will be made soon. The team is expected to use Mercedes-Benz engines and Senna will be partnered by Jenson Button. Backing for the team - the name of which has yet to be announced - is expected to come from Petrobras and probably one or two of Senna's personal sponsors.

It is not clear when the announcement will be made.

There have been some rumours in recent days that the team may have the backing of none other than Bernie Ecclestone. This would not be a surprise as Ecclestone is keen to make sure that the teams are not unanimous within the Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA) and having a financial interest in one of them is a good way to ensure that this happens.

It is believed that the majority of the money to run the team will be coming from Honda itself as it is cheaper to pay to keep the team alive than it is to lay off all the staff.

http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns21178.html

[VR46]

'tis indeed great news.