m3_lover wrote:
I was wondering if Reca or Scarbs are going to this event on sunday? No photographers are allowed to be present at the launch
To tell the truth Scarbs has infinitively more chances to be present at the launch than I have. I admit that in all these years I was always waiting near the phone for The Call from Luca Cordero di Montezemolo (that I familiarly call Luca Cordero di Montezemolo) to attend the event, but till now he always forgot...
Anyway, also last year there wasn’t a “real” launch (meaning the event in Maranello with unveiling of the car), there was just a press conference + photo sessions at Mugello, and that after the car was already on the track testing without livery since 10 days more or less.
This year probably they thought that, given the number of changes in the team, and given that the livery needs to be a bit different due to the new sponsor Telecom/Alice instead of Vodafone, it was opportune to “launch” team and livery even before the car’s shakedown so to have it on the track with the new livery already.
IMO it’s not really big deal, in fact even when there was a “real” launch as in pre-2006 years most of times the car wasn’t even functional but mostly a manikin often without most of aerodynamic parts so there was little to look at anyway. (that doesn’t mean that I didn’t spent hours looking at pictures but that’s a different matter...). It wasn’t unusual to have to wait a week if not more for the shakedown after the launch, so it makes little difference to have or not the car IMO.
I prefer by far a simple press conference possibly without car and only studio pictures but testing starting the following day instead of 10 days later. The date of the first test is also pretty much the same as last year, mid January, give or take one day.
Meanwhile, I just read the articles in the new issues of Italian magazines, Autosprint and Sportautomoto with rumours about the new car and I can reveal, exclusively for F1technical, the crucial details and all the car’s secrets.
According to Autosprint the new car will be quite different from the 248, slimmer, a bit taller and a bit longer with longer wheelbase. It should have a raised chassis forcing drivers to keep legs in an higher position and the front suspension should have the Renault like v-keel. The sidepods should be a bit smaller and slimmer in the rear end. Gearbox is seamless with twin clutch.
According to Sportautomoto the new car shouldn’t be much different from the 248. The front suspension should keep the single keel, although a bit smaller, the wheelbase shouldn’t change, and the radiators should be a bit bigger. Exhausts design is even more extreme and has been carefully studied to blow in an useful area and the sidepods should be almost completely closed as the hot air exhausts in the back. The gearbox is a seamless Weissmann like, with single clutch.
Then obviously there are the rumours I already reported in December (and that have been published again in newspapers few days ago) that the car will certainly adopt a no keel approach.
So, to summarize, similar to the 248 but very different, with single/v/no keel front suspension, a brand new gearbox with 1 or 2 clutches and sidepods a bit bigger but smaller than 248... can you imagine a more accurate description ?
