Friday, February 19, 2016

Ferrari present the SF16-H - in red and white



Ferrari have pulled the covers off their 2016 Formula One car. The SF16-H features a red and white colour scheme, the first time in over two decades that the team have used such a livery.

After winning three Grands Prix last season en route to second in the constructors’ championship, Ferrari are banking on their new machine to close the gap to Mercedes in the hands of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen.

“Naturally our goals are growing,” said Vettel, who secured all of the Scuderia’s 2015 victories. “We all want more and hopefully this car will help us achieve it.”

On the Italian squad’s goals for 2016, team principal Maurizio Arrivabene commented: “Normally I don’t set the objective, it is my boss. Last year it was three victories and we got it.

“This year we need to push a bit more, so it is going to be the championship - at least we would like to fight until the end. It won’t be easy, our competitors won’t be sleeping, but for sure we are all committed to do our best.

"We don’t go to the races with a big statement, but we do with a big commitment. Humility is our driver, our passion, our commitment."

The SF16-H features tighter rear packaging than its SF15-T predecessor thanks to Ferrari’s efforts in making their latest power unit more compact.

Describing the team's progress in recent seasons, technical chief James Allison stated: “Back in 2013 we were not at the right level - not enough power, downforce, kinematics. We have worked very hard on all those areas.

“Last year was a decent step forward, and we hope this car gives us another good step forward and makes us truly competitive. It isn’t down to one area: we have improved across the board. All our hopes are in this car.”

(source: f1.com)

Williams unveil 2016 challenger


Williams have unveiled the FW38, the car with which they will contest the 2016 FIA Formula One World Championship.



Having finished third in the constructors' championship for the past two straight seasons, the team are confident their new machine represents a significant step forward - but are in no doubts about the challenge that awaits them.

"Williams has started to cement our position back amongst the front running teams after finishing third in the Championship in the past two seasons," founder and team principal Frank Williams said. 

"This has been a great achievement given the resources of those around us. Staying where we are will be a challenge in itself, but we are determined to keep improving because only winning will ever be good enough. 

"We have a very stable team going into 2016, with Felipe and Valtteri teaming up for a third successive season. They work well together and both have the ideal blend of speed and consistency. 

"Our technical team has also remained very consistent which will be to our advantage and we have some of the best engineering minds on the grid at our disposal."

Deputy team principal Claire Williams added: "2016 promises to be a very competitive year in Formula One and there will be a number of strong teams who have us in their sights. 

"We are confident that we have made a step forward over the winter and that the FW38 will build on the strengths of the FW37 and address some of its weaknesses. We started design work on the car earlier than normal and hopefully this extra development time will stand us in good stead.

"The car we are launching today is by no means the final product. We are already planning updates for Melbourne and will be pushing for constant improvements over the course of the season.

"Williams enters 2016 in a strong place. We have a great team of people and over the past two years we have started to regain our competitive edge.

"Now we need to build on that and take this team back to where we all want it to be."

Williams have retained Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas for a third straight season - the longest they have kept the same line-up since the days of Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya, whom they fielded from 2001-'04. Bottas finished fifth in the drivers' championship last year, one spot ahead of Massa, with the pair each claiming two podiums during the season.

(source: f1.com)

The 2016 grid looks like this!


Finally we know the full grid! Here it is:



Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg



Ferrari
Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Raikkonen



Williams
Valtteri Bottas, Felipe Massa



Red Bull
Daniil Kvyat, Daniel Ricciardo



Force India
Sergio Perez, Nico Hulkenberg



Renault
Kevin Magnussen, Jolyon Palmer



Toro Rosso
Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz Jr



Sauber
Felipe Nasr, Marcus Ericsson



McLaren
Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button



Manor
Pascal Wehrlein, Rio Haryanto



Haas
Romain Grosjean, Esteban Gutierrez

Thursday, February 18, 2016

Red Bull reveal 2016 F1 livery



Red Bull have unveiled the colour scheme that will adorn the cars of Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat in 2016.



The new livery, which was revealed on an older car at a special launch event in London, UK on Wednesday, retains the team’s traditional colours of navy blue, yellow and red but with a unique matt (as oppose to shiny) finish.

"It's innovative and aggressive," said Red Bull team principal Christian Horner. "I think it will stand out on the grid and hopefully it will stand out in the mirrors of a few other cars. It looks right and things that look good tend to go well, so hopefully we'll see that on track."

The revised scheme, which Ricciardo described as "pretty funky", is expected to appear on track for the first time at next week’s opening pre-season test in Barcelona where Red Bull will roll-out their RB12 challenger for the first time.

Like its predecessor, the RB11, the new car will be powered by Renault, though the team’s power unit will be branded TAG Heuer after their new timing partner.

"It’s a bit of an understatement to say I’m excited to drive the new car next week – I can’t wait!" said Ricciardo, who was wearing one of the team's new camouflage-influenced racesuits. "We’ve got a pretty intense few weeks of testing ahead but I’m up for that and I’m definitely hungry to get racing in Melbourne.

"The car looks amazing. Normally drivers are more concerned with how it actually performs but looking at this I think it should be good."

Red Bull finished fourth in the 2015 constructors' championship with 187 points, though they failed to win a race for the first time since 2008.

(source: f1.com)

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Force India to unveil new car in Barcelona pit lane

This is the car from last year.

Force India have become the latest team to confirm the launch date of their 2016 challenger, revealing that the Mercedes-powered VJM09 will break cover in the Barcelona pit lane on the opening morning of the first pre-season test at Barcelona on February 22. Toro Rosso meanwhile are expected to officially launch their new car on February 29th, with the Ferrari-powered machine running in an temporary test livery until then. Here are the other key dates for your diary as it stands…


Confirmed car launches/roll-outs

TEAMCHASSIS (POWER UNIT)DATEVENUE
RenaultR.S.16 (Renault)February 3Paris, France
Red BullRB12 (TAG Heuer)February 17 (livery only)London, UK
FerrariTBC (Ferrari)February 19Online
McLarenMP4-31 (Honda)February 21Online
HaasTBC (Ferrari)February 22Barcelona, Spain
ManorMRT05 (Mercedes)February 22Barcelona, Spain
Force IndiaVJM09 (Mercedes)February 22Barcelona, Spain
Toro RossoSTR11 (Ferrari)February 29 (official)Barcelona, Spain
SauberC35 (Ferrari)March 1Barcelona, Spain



Pre-season testing

VENUEDATES
Barcelona, SpainFebruary 22 - 25
Barcelona, SpainMarch 1 - 4

Monday, February 15, 2016

New Ferrari to break cover on Friday



Ferrari have announced that they will unveil their 2016 car this coming Friday, three days before the start of the first pre-season test of the year in Barcelona.


The wraps will come of the as-yet-unnamed machine - the successor to 2015’s race-winning SF15-T - at 1400 CET (1300 GMT) on Ferrari’s official website.

According to Formula1.com's technical illustrator Giorgio Piola, Ferrari are set to make a raft of changes to their car for 2016, including radical innovations in the layout of their power unit, the introduction of pushrod front suspension, a shorter nose (which falls somewhere between what Mercedes and Toro Rosso used in 2015), lower sidepods with a narrower ‘coke bottle’ rear end, and a narrower gearbox.

The Italian team finished second in last year's constructors' championship, with Sebastian Vettel taking three wins. The German is expected to share driving duties with team mate Kimi Raikkonen when testing gets underway in Spain on February 22.

(source: f1.com)