'Tis the season of F1 launches and, on Sunday, Ferrari led the way with their F2008, fittingly enough. Today McLaren were hot on their heels with the MP4/23 - the two protagonists of 2007 remain locked in battle, it would seem.
Ferrari F2008
Last year I posted very little on the new car launches and it is unlikely that I will have much more to say on the new crop. The press releases for these functions are largely alike, full of optimism and carefully-worded technical explanations that give little away, and the cars themselves tend to look very much as they did the year before. Details like the new Ferrari's Williams/Toyota-style mustachioed nose come in for endless talk amongst F1 fans since they are easy to see, whereas the most significant changes are usually invisible.
Very often, it is what the teams don't show you that promises the most performance gain. There would be no sense in allowing competing teams to have advance warning of any serious steps forward and so such areas are kept quietly in the background. No photographs of the Ferrari rear end were handed out, for instance, tempting one to think that there is some clever stuff back there.
I don't deny that we are all eager to see the new cars but, beyond perhaps a re-design of color scheme necessitated by new sponsors, there is usually so little change that we talk mainly of the look of the car, ranking them according to our personal taste. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I have read wildly differing opinions on the looks of most F1 cars.
So what can I say of the first two launches? Apparently, the Ferrari's wheelbase has been shortened slightly in a quest to improve performance on tight circuits, the aerodynamics have been improved with new and stranger protuberances growing from the sidepods, the front is narrower and the cockpit sides higher. Whoop-de-doo.
And the story at McLaren is similar, although it is interesting that the up-and-over front wing component is not included on the car revealed in Stuttgart. Can this mean that McLaren have decided that this was a tweak that gave less advantage than hoped for and they are pursuing a different route this year? Only the races will give us the answer to that one.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of all is the identity of the teams first to launch their new cars. It is always said that those who fall out of contention towards the end of a season have a slight advantage in that they can then concentrate on the following year's design, while the leaders have to maintain their development of the existing car, losing time that could otherwise be spent on getting the new car right. Yet here we have the two leading teams first to show off their results of last year's hard work; is this evidence of larger teams being able to exceed the development pace of the others?
Williams have decided to do without a launch celebration for their 2008 challenger and one can't help but feel that this is a sensible approach, completely in keeping with the practical nature of the team. We will see their car soon enough. Super Aguri and Toro Rosso already know that there will be no launches for them too, as they will start the season with developed versions of the 2007 cars.
The first test session will be at Jerez on January 14 and that is the date I am really looking forward to. Never mind the hype - let's see the cars in action!
Ferrari F2008
Last year I posted very little on the new car launches and it is unlikely that I will have much more to say on the new crop. The press releases for these functions are largely alike, full of optimism and carefully-worded technical explanations that give little away, and the cars themselves tend to look very much as they did the year before. Details like the new Ferrari's Williams/Toyota-style mustachioed nose come in for endless talk amongst F1 fans since they are easy to see, whereas the most significant changes are usually invisible.
Very often, it is what the teams don't show you that promises the most performance gain. There would be no sense in allowing competing teams to have advance warning of any serious steps forward and so such areas are kept quietly in the background. No photographs of the Ferrari rear end were handed out, for instance, tempting one to think that there is some clever stuff back there.
I don't deny that we are all eager to see the new cars but, beyond perhaps a re-design of color scheme necessitated by new sponsors, there is usually so little change that we talk mainly of the look of the car, ranking them according to our personal taste. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I have read wildly differing opinions on the looks of most F1 cars.
So what can I say of the first two launches? Apparently, the Ferrari's wheelbase has been shortened slightly in a quest to improve performance on tight circuits, the aerodynamics have been improved with new and stranger protuberances growing from the sidepods, the front is narrower and the cockpit sides higher. Whoop-de-doo.
And the story at McLaren is similar, although it is interesting that the up-and-over front wing component is not included on the car revealed in Stuttgart. Can this mean that McLaren have decided that this was a tweak that gave less advantage than hoped for and they are pursuing a different route this year? Only the races will give us the answer to that one.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of all is the identity of the teams first to launch their new cars. It is always said that those who fall out of contention towards the end of a season have a slight advantage in that they can then concentrate on the following year's design, while the leaders have to maintain their development of the existing car, losing time that could otherwise be spent on getting the new car right. Yet here we have the two leading teams first to show off their results of last year's hard work; is this evidence of larger teams being able to exceed the development pace of the others?
Williams have decided to do without a launch celebration for their 2008 challenger and one can't help but feel that this is a sensible approach, completely in keeping with the practical nature of the team. We will see their car soon enough. Super Aguri and Toro Rosso already know that there will be no launches for them too, as they will start the season with developed versions of the 2007 cars.
The first test session will be at Jerez on January 14 and that is the date I am really looking forward to. Never mind the hype - let's see the cars in action!