[Team] 2017 Car Launch Thread

[Inigo Montoya]

The cars will be much much faster this year for sure. But boy oh boy, are they ever ugly! Only the Mercedes so far is not completely vomit inducing. The shark fins are bigger and uglier than ever, and most of the noses remain ugly.

The little T wings that Ferrari and Mercedes are testing, when taken with the shark fin, add a new degree of ugliness never before seen. Hopefully Newey will show us something more elegant tomorrow.

I love the hybrid engine formula. All the engines will be over 1000 bhp this year. They are a technological marvel.

But I fear this emphasis on aero will mean only artificial DRS passes this year. The drivers (read Max) will be so frustrated that they'll be carelessly throwing it into the corners to try and pass.

Bah!

[bjohnsonsmith]

It's those sponsor's money that has gone and helped pay for the changes to the 2017 cars. We'll just have to wait and see if it has all been worth it, for them, the teams and the fans.

[FormulaFox]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

Aren't most of Ferrari's sponsors a continuation from previous?
Because to me, it looks worse than a BTCC sticker-fest with logos seemingly plastered on as an afterthought.

I wasn't referring to the livery, I was referring to the car itself.

[F1Guy]

Originally Posted by Inigo Montoya

The cars will be much much faster this year for sure. But boy oh boy, are they ever ugly! Only the Mercedes so far is not completely vomit inducing.

Agree.

Martin Brundle has expressed his displeasure with the shark fins. Even calling for them to be banned for next year.

Shame that the 2017 rule changes were supposed to make the cars look "fast". Instead most look "farce". At the reveal of the Williams 3D rendering, people were complaining that nothing much has changed. And now fans complaining that too much has changed.

[bjohnsonsmith]

I like the fact different teams have opted, or not for the Shark fin.

[dsg]

Originally Posted by Neppatsrev Xam

I'm not impressed

With the Ferrari, or all of them?

[bella]

Originally Posted by Matt

Respectfully disagree. IMO, only raised nose car that ever looked good were the early 90's Tyrrell's.

...and that was more due to how the front wing was mounted.

good shout, that tyrrell looks cool.

buut.. i refer you to the autogp/a1gp cars, that combined the leaning rear wing and engine cover fin with a high nose and looked like they'd been designed coherantly, not pulled together at the last minute from individual drawing boards...

[F1Guy]

The real Williams FW40.





Dear god!!

[F1Guy]

Originally Posted by F1Guy

Those pictures are 3D rendering and are of the actual 2017 car, released by Williams F1. The finer details of the aero kit (barge boards, diffuser, floor for example) have been left off. It is 75% detail of the 2017 car.

I was informed that the 3D rendering wasn't wearing the complete aero kit. I guess now we know what the other 25% that was left out is. That fin is HUGE!

The 3D rendering is sooo much better.

[Moneyseeker]

Surely any cross winds at the circuit hitting those massive fins are going to negate any aero advantage of having them in the first place?

Sadly the designers have come up with another load of lumbering looking cars, where has the elegance in F1 gone?

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

I like the fact different teams have opted, or not for the Shark fin.

I think I need to retract that, since Williams have now unveiled the real FW 40. I believe it was JeremySmith who thought the original rendering might not be the actual car.





I still think McLaren have the edge and are winning the Shark fin contest but only just.

[VIVA GT]

I've been thinking about the possible negative effects of the 'increase in aerodynamic downforce for 2017'. I'm certainly no aerodynamicist (I was surprised to be able to spell the word without help!), I'm just an engineer, but presumably the (increased) aerodynamic downforce is only truly effective when the car is travelling forwards? So, should a car spin 180°, surely this would create negative downforce, which could, if the speed be high enough at the time cause the car to practically or actually lift off the ground? An obviously seriously unsafe situation. Could this be another reason for these horrible, huge shark fins, to aid the directional stability of the car and help to keep it running in a straight line, or is their purpose simply to channel the air towards the rear wing?

[Sodemo]

LMP cars have had these fins for a while now. From my very limited understanding the fins help during yaw, to channel the air towards the rear wing.

I also heard that they help the car during a spin and help stop it from taking off, at least I believe that was one of the objectives of having them on the LMP cars.

[Oldtony]

I'll admit to having very poor, or perhaps non existent, aesthetic taste but I really can't understand all the groaning and moaning about the appearance of the new cars.
It would seem that there is huge resistance to change in some followers of F1.
It is a sport/business/entertainment/scientific research project in which change is part of the attraction. If change was not a part of it cars would look like my first favorite F1 car as in my avatar. There have been many changes, and constant improvement, in the relative performance and efficiency of cars since then.
Just get used to the fact that over a season the best performing car sort of grows on you as looking like a real F1 car should look in that year.

[Matt]

Originally Posted by bella

good shout, that tyrrell looks cool.

buut.. i refer you to the autogp/a1gp cars, that combined the leaning rear wing and engine cover fin with a high nose and looked like they'd been designed coherantly, not pulled together at the last minute from individual drawing boards...

Fair enough.

Yeah, those were good looking cars, looking back.

[F1Guy]

Unofficial photo of the Haas F1 VF17

[F1Guy]

[old man]

Tend to agree with old tony above, the designers have a brief to design a race winning car.

[Akrapovic]

So McLaren made a Spyker, and Haas made a Midland.

[karting]

I can't find a way to post the photo, but the Red Bull is hands down the prettiest F1 car this season.

There are pictures on
http://www.skysports.com/share/10767944

[Neppatsrev Xam]

Originally Posted by karting

I can't find a way to post the photo, but the Red Bull is hands down the prettiest F1 car this season.

There are pictures on
http://www.skysports.com/share/10767944

interesting nose

[ASCII Man]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

So McLaren made a Spyker, and Haas made a Midland.

The Haas one looks more like the 2010 HRT car.



The same ugly gray.

[Richard C]

I think I understand what Haas is going for with the grey (I think they are actually trying to match the color of the equipment they sell). But it is a bit.. blah. Hard to make that color work on something that is supposed to be sporty. I do think the Haas livery on the shark fin is better than most. Oh, interesting canard wind in front of the sidepod on the Haas!

To the comment about Red Bull above, let's see what it looks like in natural lighting. For example notice how the fin just sinks into the background? . Emphasize the good and hide the bad.

McLaren had a chance to knock it out of the park by going 100% orange or nearly so, but had to add in the swoop design and significant amount of black, so it just doesn't stand out much as it could have.

Richard

[Neppatsrev Xam]

[ASCII Man]

Now that looks cool.