What Merc don’t want is another Ham/Alo type pairing. For sure they both know their roles and requirements. I’m genuinely looking forward to seeing Russell at the sharp end of the grid.
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We’ll really have to wait and see how Lulu and Russell get along on track. If Russell starts outqualifying Ham on a regular basis it could get interesting. The whole next season with new cars is gonna be a bit of a dice roll at first. Even winter testing wont give us the full picture, since sometimes the car that shows up there and the opener is vastly different.
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I really wish VW group would be entering as a chassis manufacturer and additional team, but any involvement from new manufacturers is a positive step. I hope they choose to build their own motor, and not just work with Redbull to rebadge their motor.
Audi is VW group, according to the report posted above.
just a rumour: 2 teams have found a loophole
has to be the floor and diffuser areas of the car because the regs do appear quite prescriptive. Nice to know teams are fighting against the spec-racing disease even when regs are tight.
Do you speak whatever Scandinavian language that is?
“There are many rumors in F1, and many you have to bring a pinch of salt. A rumor that I heard in Abu Dhabi is that there are supposed to be two teams that have found something smart with the 22 cars that the others have not found out. Which teams I do not know, but maybe we’ll get a Brawn situation?”
Norwegian
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Wouldn’t surprise me at all
I really want hamilton to get an 8th, especially after this seasons ending, but I wouldnt be mad If we saw a first time champ
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Haas said at the beginning of 2021 that they will be focusing their R&D on 2022, and that’s why they won’t make any advancements on their 2021 car, so maybe we can see the old Haas come back.
I predict that Mick scores at least 10 points next year.
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Haas and Williams to the front. Albion and Schumacher duelling for the championship!
Has anyone seen any car launch dates, I can’t possibly wait until testing starts 
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When Brawn appeared as a result of the Honda thing, what allowed a “new” team with presumably a smaller budget than the big manus, to be so competitive?
I know they got engines from merc but that’s not all of it. Was the aero far ahead of the others?
Well Honda had spent a lot of money in the previous year getting ready for the regulations, they only pulled out in December.
But the key pieces were blown defusers and front wing methodology.
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The big one was Brawn (and Toyota and Williams) finding a loophole in the aero regulations, which were massively changed that year, which allowed for a “double-diffuser”, giving a huge boost in downforce. Honda found the loophole and developed it before selling the team to Brawn. Honda’s 2008 car was abysmal so they were developing the '09 car quite early.
Brawn did not develop their car at all over the year, and actually I think only had 2 total chassis built. Hence their performance dropping off at the end of the year as the cars were underdeveloped and the chassis were aging. They had zero money.
Essentially the loophole is what allowed them to make such a jump. Which is something that could potentially happen again this year if the rumors are true, though I doubt it would be as big of an advantage, given how tight the aero rules are. The risk with exploiting any loophole would be that the FIA might deem your solution illegal and then all that hard work developing it goes down the drain.
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Sometimes tight regulations can allow for the biggest advantages to be found because car philosophies are so set. If a team finds something it’s hard for other teams to copy because the effect it has on the whole platform. With budget caps too it’s even harder. Plus if it’s a loophole and the regs are so tight, then you can be sure the loophole is legally pretty tight.
I am hoping someone has found something. A year of identikit cars sounds a bit boring to me.
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Yeah I assumed that we’re not going to just see the f22 concept car in different colors and that there’s some design in there.
At least I’m hoping.
The fun thing about 2009 was that the regulations were developed with Mclaren, Ferrari and Renault and all 3 totally missed the opportunities.
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Yes I understand VW group owns Audi and Porsche who have been linked to F1, but they’re being considered as an engine supplier not an additional racing team/chassis. So you won’t see 22 cars on the grid as a result, you’ll see an Audi engine for another team or possibly even just a rebranding of Redbull powertrains engines as Audi for a customer team.
Lamborghini is also a VW property… I know they race in saloon cars and the like. Have they ever dabbled in F1?
They did in the 90s as an engine supplier, though not very successfully.
They focus a lot on GT racing and their Super Trofeo spec series though.