Ferrari F2008 launch tomorrow. Launch season begins!

[Dutton]

I thought the 2002 edition was a rather nice looking machine, and those since not quite so aesthetically pleasing. This is the least attractive since the since the F310, IMO.

HOWEVER, I will certainly add this is quite utterly irrelevant. All that matters is its relative speed on track.

Nothing else matters.

[Marbot]

Originally Posted by Dutton

HOWEVER, I will certainly add this is quite utterly irrelevant. All that matters is its relative speed on track.

Nothing else matters.

The F2008 Ferrari is a product of the regulations and therefore a committee design.It's as fast as hopefully it can be,but not as fast as it could be.It certainly isn't as beautiful as it could be relative to cars in the past and regulations in the future will decide its fate,win or lose,even more.

[Ralf's Girl]

I'm sure the Ferrari will be quick, but it's just so ugly.

[Gt_R]

Actually, if we were to count the aero "add-on" parts, Ferrari only have the arrow wings in front of the cockpit and the winglets on the airbox. Otherwise, both teams have the same amount of add-ons, from the winglets on and next to the sidepods to the mini-wings between the rear wheels.

What is different in their aero is down to their details. Ferrari often go for very "strange" cuts on their bargeboard for example, while Mclaren opt for simpler and more sweeping design elements.

But if the past years were any indication, they are usually close in results, although Ferrari traditionally have an edge in aero in fast tracks (but at the expense of greater sensitivity, which affects them more in dirty air while overtaking).

[Gerben24]

From what I've seen so far, both Ferrari and Mclaren have some very stunning and some not so stunning details to their car. I like the way Ferrari have mounted the top bit of the front wing to the nose of the car. However, I don't particularly like all the wings and deflectors in front of the sidepods. Mclarens rollbar/air-inlet detail looks stunning, however, I do not like the front wing. The nose of the car looks good!

[Down F0rce]

Kimi has a cool new tattoo design on his helmet. Reminds me of Schumi's overalls at the RoC...

[alonso11]

here is a truly excellent video of the shakedown test : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a84kyLLSDd8 , very behind the scenes indeed

[Marbot]

Awesome!

Goes good straight out of the crate so to speak.

[strider]

Blimey, they were all there, weren't they? Great video and a pretty impressive first run, I'd say.

[Chiefy]

Looks like it's built out of more scaffolding than a construction site.

Not a fan on first viewing!

[Bononi]

Well, looks like a winner.

[Sodemo]

Did I hear wheelspin in that video...?

[Marbot]

Originally Posted by Sodemo

Did I hear wheelspin in that video...?

Yes.

No TC you see.

[JeremySmith]

Yes we like wheelspin... How did they get their hands on that video?

[Greenback]

Do you think the high side protection wall will block the vision of the driver during wheel to wheel racing?

[Ralf's Girl]

Originally Posted by Greenback

Do you think the high side protection wall will block the vision of the driver during wheel to wheel racing?

I think wheel to wheel racing is a foreign concept to most F1 drivers, so that shouldn't be too much of a problem...

[Greenback]

Originally Posted by Ralf's Girl

I think wheel to wheel racing is a foreign concept to most F1 drivers, so that shouldn't be too much of a problem...

what about the first corner?

[Ralf's Girl]

I'm sure the ones worried about the view will just hang back to make sure they're safe.

In all seriousness, though, there's only so high the cockpit sides can go. I can only assume they've thought about the possibility of obscuring the drivers' vision before making them higher and come to the conclusion that it shouldn't be too badly affected. I can't see what more they can do with the cockpit sides though - I don't know whether it's actually possible to give the drivers more head protection than they have now.

[mjstallard]

I wonder if this is the sort of thing they'll have played around with in the simulator - presuming they have a 180 degree field of view display (although they could well not have one), it'd be fairly straightforward to see how it feels for a driver without exposing the ideas on the test track.

[TFHarv]

I think from the top down view it looks a bit evil and the side pod bits look like points to blow your tyres looks a bit like something out of starship troopers.

Doesn't look much different from side tho

[Dutton]

Originally Posted by Gt_R

[...]although Ferrari traditionally have an edge in aero in fast tracks (but at the expense of greater sensitivity, which affects them more in dirty air while overtaking).

Traditionally? I suppose where one draws a line is the thing, but I am not sure it could exactly be called traditional.

[JeremySmith]

I think the Ferrari approach to a car launch is the right one...Simple straight a head and minimum fuss...I like the nose of the car so far...

[Bononi]

Yeah, it' not that bad... and the point is not being beautiful at all.

[Sodemo]

Eventually the driver will be completely sealed in and covered over, its heading towards that.

Kindof a Lemans prototype car.

[Taprobane]

I hope not! I'm not against safety but then it just won't be F1 as far as I'm concerned.