DESIGN TRENDS ON THE FIRST NEW CARS OF 2014

Keith of F1Fanatic has done a fantastic job of summarising this years' cars and the design trends. Therefore I have decided to share that here as there is no point re-hashing the same thing when keith has done such a good job. Following is just a taster, for the full article click HERE.

The first test in Jerez starts tomorrow and already we have seen renderings or photos of the cars from half the teams on the grid.

The splashy launches of yesteryear have given way to online reveals and renderings, but these still give us insight into some of the major changes to car design that this year will bring.

The noses

Ever since the 2014 technical regulations were released last year there, there has been much speculation about the look of the noses. In recent years aerodynamicists have been trying to get the nose of the car as far from the ground as possible. This maximises airflow under the car, which is then used to feed the floor and channel round the sidepods – both which help the diffuser.

Front suspension

One benefit of lowering the noses is that the suspension geometry is more favourable. The high chassis cars mean that front wishbones need to be sloped up to the car, which compromises weight transfer. This is a classic example of aerodynamics trumping mechanical grip. Now with the low nose rules many teams will be able to lower the front suspension mountings and run a more typical geometry.

Front wing

Williams FW36 and FW35 comparedFor 2014 the width of the front wing has been reduced by 75mm each side. This is to an attempt to reduce the number of accidents involving the front wing. What seems a minor change is reasonably significant.

Sidepods and cooling

With the introduction of the 1.6 litre turbos and Energy Recovery Systems (ERS) the cooling requirements have increased. This means either bigger sidepods inlets or additional cooling solutions. However, teams are keen to minimise the size of the sidepod opening to allow them to maximise the undercut as this helps channel airflow around the car to the diffuser.

Diffuser, gearbox and rear wing

One of the most significant changes for 2014 is the placement of the exhaust outlet. The tailpipe must exit behind the diffuser on the car centreline. This eliminates any possibility of using the exhaust to blow the diffuser.

For the full article click HERE.

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LAUNCH SEASON IS HERE!

Wake up! Wake up! The launch season is almost here and somebody has launched. With the launch season not expected until next week, the team released the first image of the radical new VJM07 - the livery mainly black with the sponsors' logos adding extra colour - on Twitter. Although it is difficult to judge any design changes, the new car's nose is a lot lower, as demanded by the new regulations.

The only image we have is the car from the side and so far it looks fine to me. The nose does droop quite low but we've seen this before - on the McLaren MP4-23, also known as the "dolphin nose". I thought the MP4-23 was quite ok to look at. We'll have to wait and see more images of the VJM07 from different angles to see how the nose really looks like.

Vijay Malya had this to say:

The VJM07 looks stunning and the new livery reflects the way Sahara Force India is evolving," team owner and principal Vijay Mallya said on the official website. "I've always believed our cars have been the most eye-catching, but adding black as a main colour gives us a fierce new look. It will be fascinating to see how different teams have interpreted the rules and at this stage it's impossible to predict who has done the best job.

I also like the new livery with black very much. The black really makes the contrast better and makes the other colors stand out.