2014 Pre-season and In-season Testing Thread

[Peter]

Wow, I haven't been around for a while. I hope I haven't been forgotten.

I lost a lot of interest in F1 with all of the fingerboy dominance, schoolwork and football, but a new season with new regulations, and most importantly, almost zero possibility of the Red Bull dominance to continue due to the lemon of a car the Red Bull are-bea-ten is, has made me rediscover my love for this sport.

What's happened in Paul Stoddart since I've been gone?

[Londoner]

The real thing, or another rendering?

[pi314159]

It's the real thing: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/112787

[Aerospeed]

Great livery, but it's confusing why they couldn't put the livery up when the rumours were announced nearly two months ago. Strikes me as very bizarre, really. And who knew Martini still had money?

[DanielPT]

I like it! It is simple and cool. I sure hope they will have a vintage year because then the livery will become iconic!

[Jocke1]

What's happened in Paul Stoddart since I've been gone?

He's probably digested a lot of food and smoked many a cigar & cigarette, among other things..

[WaffleCat]

Best livery of the lot. No frills,simple, classic, awesome. And it is,dare I say it, better than any fan renderings around.

[Salamander]

I'm gonna be honest and say I don't really like the Williams Martini livery. Too much white for my liking.

[DanielPT]

I'm gonna be honest and say I don't really like the Williams Martini livery. Too much white for my liking.

Which is one of the reasons why I like it. White is the new black!

[jackanderton]

And who knew Martini still had money?

Who knows whether they do? Williams were desperate for sponsors, rather than vice versa.

I quite like it and thankfully this year there aren't any competing livery. There was one year where about 4 teams went for white with dark blue bits, and I think that may have been the same year 4 other teams went for silver with red bits.

[tzerof1]

I have to say it doesn't look too bad at all. Considering it's Martini, it really was never going to look much different that what it does, though I think instead of having just a "19" on the sidepods, they could have run the Martini stripe along the edge of the sidepods and back instead of along the cockpit and engine cover, and put big Martini logos on the sidepods. Or at least put something else on the sidepods like "Martini-Williams Racing Team", or one of their other brands, something to draw attention away from the fact that there's no sponsorship there and just a bunch of white space. But otherwise not too bad.

Am I also the only one who noticed there's not a Mercedes-Benz star or logo anywhere on the car? Not that I can see anyway. I'd have thought that Toto Wolff would've made sure that would be on there. Which also brings up the question of how does that work? Do the engine manufacturers contractually oblige the teams to display their logo somewhere on the car, or is it just a tradition and/or pride sort of thing?

One last thing: what will they run in Abu Dhabi since they have strict laws regarding alcohol and alcohol advertising there? Maybe just a blank Martini logo? Or a "barcode" like Ferrari used to?

[Salamander]

I'm gonna be honest and say I don't really like the Williams Martini livery. Too much white for my liking.

Which is one of the reasons why I like it. White is the new black!

But it just looks so bland... oh well.

[dr-baker]

I'm gonna be honest and say I don't really like the Williams Martini livery. Too much white for my liking.

Which is one of the reasons why I like it. White is the new black!

But it just looks so bland... oh well.

It's alwight if you ask me!

[Ataxia]

Continuing along the same vein of title sponsors, McLaren expect to have one within the coming weeks.

[DanielPT]

Continuing along the same vein of title sponsors, McLaren expect to have one within the coming weeks.

So the rumours were true. McLaren did not have a title sponsor aligned after Vodafone. Or if it did, the deal quickly collapsed soon after. More worrisome is the news that they will start the season without one for the first time in... Well, did it happened before? If teams like McLaren are already scrapping the bottom of the sponsorship barrel, then one can only imagine the desperation in the back of the grid...

[Salamander]

Continuing along the same vein of title sponsors, McLaren expect to have one within the coming weeks.

So the rumours were true. McLaren did not have a title sponsor aligned after Vodafone. Or if it did, the deal quickly collapsed soon after. More worrisome is the news that they will start the season without one for the first time in... Well, did it happened before? If teams like McLaren are already scrapping the bottom of the sponsorship barrel, then one can only imagine the desperation in the back of the grid...

Honda gave them a ton of cash in lieu of a title sponsor, McLaren are fine.

[DanielPT]

Honda gave them a ton of cash in lieu of a title sponsor, McLaren are fine.

That may be, but it is probably not really appeasing for those who don't have that kind of luxury backing and need to find sponsorship to obtain much needed cash.

[mario]

Continuing along the same vein of title sponsors, McLaren expect to have one within the coming weeks.

So the rumours were true. McLaren did not have a title sponsor aligned after Vodafone. Or if it did, the deal quickly collapsed soon after. More worrisome is the news that they will start the season without one for the first time in... Well, did it happened before? If teams like McLaren are already scrapping the bottom of the sponsorship barrel, then one can only imagine the desperation in the back of the grid...

Honda gave them a ton of cash in lieu of a title sponsor, McLaren are fine.

Well, strictly speaking it is only rumoured that Honda has given McLaren financial assistance this year ahead of their planned partnership in 2015. Although McLaren did explicitly state that their partnership with Honda would "reinvigorate their commercial model", we probably won't know if Honda have actually been providing financial assistance to McLaren until the financial accounts for this year are submitted to Companies House.

That said, there are some wondering if perhaps McLaren are in the latter situation - that they were in the process of negotiating a deal for a new title sponsor that then fell apart - based on some of Ron Dennis's recent comments. The comment about the performance of the team requiring "the correct recognition when it comes to the commercial relationship with the principal sponsor" has made some wonder if perhaps Whitmarsh negotiated a deal that was then rejected by Ron Dennis as undervaluing McLaren - it certainly suggests that Ron is trying to put a prospective commercial partner under pressure to sign a more favourable deal...

[dr-baker]

I wonder if the commecial deal that McLaren failed to sign at the end of last year was actually the Martini sponsorship that eventually went to Williams?

[mario]

Wow, I haven't been around for a while. I hope I haven't been forgotten.

I lost a lot of interest in F1 with all of the fingerboy dominance, schoolwork and football, but a new season with new regulations, and most importantly, almost zero possibility of the Red Bull dominance to continue due to the lemon of a car the Red Bull are-bea-ten is, has made me rediscover my love for this sport.

What's happened in Paul Stoddart since I've been gone?

I can understand why you found the 2013 season in particular to be difficult - quite a few observers outside, and even those within the sport, did struggle in many ways to remain quite as enthusiastic given some of the bitter wrangling and aggressive politicking, not to mention the undercurrent of corruption allegations, that hit the sport that year. The fact that we are seeing a reset of the regulations and a shift towards a greater emphasis on the mechanical side of the sport - something that has been called for for a number of years - does seem to be giving most observers a chance to look forward to 2014 with optimism and a sense of a fresh beginning.
As for how things have changed, well, it's the usual scenario of a mixture of new and old posters and, equally, the usual bouts of occasional off the wall unrestrained madness that are quite unique - as they say, the more things change, the more they stay the same...

I wonder if the commecial deal that McLaren failed to sign at the end of last year was actually the Martini sponsorship that eventually went to Williams?

An interesting theory, but one that would be hard to prove - the other possibility could have been a deal with one of the Slim family companies given the links with Perez. McLaren did carry sponsorship from Clarovideo on the rear of the rear wing, so perhaps there were plans to increase their prominence on the car if Perez had stayed on with the team - there was some talk in the past that McLaren was looking to Mexico for sponsorship deals, so it is one possible option.

[dr-baker]

I wonder if the commecial deal that McLaren failed to sign at the end of last year was actually the Martini sponsorship that eventually went to Williams?

An interesting theory, but one that would be hard to prove - the other possibility could have been a deal with one of the Slim family companies given the links with Perez. McLaren did carry sponsorship from Clarovideo on the rear of the rear wing, so perhaps there were plans to increase their prominence on the car if Perez had stayed on with the team - there was some talk in the past that McLaren was looking to Mexico for sponsorship deals, so it is one possible option.

Williams confirms that there was competition for the sponsorship (Autosport article linked). While it is not stated who else was bidding for the sponsorship, I would be surprised if Mclaren were not one of those bidding.

[Peter]

Wow, I haven't been around for a while. I hope I haven't been forgotten.

I lost a lot of interest in F1 with all of the fingerboy dominance, schoolwork and football, but a new season with new regulations, and most importantly, almost zero possibility of the Red Bull dominance to continue due to the lemon of a car the Red Bull are-bea-ten is, has made me rediscover my love for this sport.

What's happened in Paul Stoddart since I've been gone?

I can understand why you found the 2013 season in particular to be difficult - quite a few observers outside, and even those within the sport, did struggle in many ways to remain quite as enthusiastic given some of the bitter wrangling and aggressive politicking, not to mention the undercurrent of corruption allegations, that hit the sport that year. The fact that we are seeing a reset of the regulations and a shift towards a greater emphasis on the mechanical side of the sport - something that has been called for for a number of years - does seem to be giving most observers a chance to look forward to 2014 with optimism and a sense of a fresh beginning.

Red Bull dominance, laughable politics, and artificial racing all wrapped up in one season. At the start of the year I was my usual self, keeping up with every single session and race, as well as all the news and gossip in between. By summer I didn't even make an effort to watch the races. What a terrible year.

The new engines and changes to the tyres as well as their allocation in qualifying would have made this one of the most anticipated seasons in a long time, except that the idiots running the sport realized that it was too perfect and needed to ruin it a bit, and so they made the last race double points. I could barely put up with DRS, but they've outdone themselves. I know this has been debated and criticized widely already, but just the thought of double points being given for any race at all really upsets me. The fact that it doesn't go to a gem like Spa or Monaco, but goes to one of the most uninteresting tracks on the calendar is just a joke. I hope that the rule is reverted, or that it doesn't affect the outcome of the title too much, either.

These rules seem to benefit large auto manufacturers a lot, unless you're French, if Mercedes' superiority so far in testing says anything. I hope that this means that we will see more manufacturers return to F1 in the coming years and spice up the competition and diversity. Having only 3 engine manufacturers is boring.

[Wallio]

I'm gonna be honest and say I don't really like the Williams Martini livery. Too much white for my liking.

Which is one of the reasons why I like it. White is the new black!

But it just looks so bland... oh well.

This, the side pods badly need....something! Otherwise I like it, its old school. So is changing the team name. Good to see the old sponsorship ideas are still around.

[mario]

I wonder if the commecial deal that McLaren failed to sign at the end of last year was actually the Martini sponsorship that eventually went to Williams?

An interesting theory, but one that would be hard to prove - the other possibility could have been a deal with one of the Slim family companies given the links with Perez. McLaren did carry sponsorship from Clarovideo on the rear of the rear wing, so perhaps there were plans to increase their prominence on the car if Perez had stayed on with the team - there was some talk in the past that McLaren was looking to Mexico for sponsorship deals, so it is one possible option.

Williams confirms that there was competition for the sponsorship (Autosport article linked). While it is not stated who else was bidding for the sponsorship, I would be surprised if Mclaren were not one of those bidding.

I guess that it is indeed possible then, although there are a few other teams that might have also been in the running (I would not discount Lotus as another possibility - given their recent financial issues, I would not have been surprised to hear of them aggressively courting new sponsors).

These rules seem to benefit large auto manufacturers a lot, unless you're French, if Mercedes' superiority so far in testing says anything. I hope that this means that we will see more manufacturers return to F1 in the coming years and spice up the competition and diversity. Having only 3 engine manufacturers is boring.

Honda's entry in 2015 will bring the numbers up to four engine manufacturers - however, the only possible additional engine supplier that I could see entering F1 in the near future might be Cosworth, as they have confirmed that they have already designed an F1 spec engine (but are currently unable to secure enough customers or funding to compete right now). If Cosworth could possibly find manufacturer backing, then I could possibly see them entering the sport in the next few years - however, that is probably a fairly long shot.

[AndreaModa]

Mario, dr-baker, and others - I saw somewhere a little while ago (it may have been one of the journalists on Twitter) explain about the Martini deal. Martini have chosen Williams because of the opportunity to be a title sponsor for the same investment that would only get them a smaller involvement at McLaren. I believe that they did negotiate with McLaren for this reason, and there was a confirmation that others were involved as well. It wouldn't surprise me if that might have been Marussia or Caterham, and possibly Lotus as you say, and maybe Sauber too.

Personally I think the new livery is great, it's clean, simple and not overly cluttered, and also highlights a number of other new sponsors Williams has - the Brazilian ones and a couple of others too.

These are good times at Williams, I hope they can convert it into a good season.

[andrew2209]

This, the side pods badly need....something! Otherwise I like it, its old school. So is changing the team name. Good to see the old sponsorship ideas are still around.

I say some good old-fashioned surnames on the sidepods. The driver identification will be a doddle then.

[UncreativeUsername37]

Well, with the Williams livery released and McLaren not having a title sponsor for now, I'm going to do my beauty rankings.

Nose
1. Lotus
2. Red Bull
3. Mercedes
4. Caterham
5. Ferrari
6. Marussia
7. Force India
8. Sauber
9. Toro Rosso
10. Williams
11. McLaren

Livery
1. Lotus
2. Williams
3. Ferrari
4. Marussia
5. Red Bull
6. Sauber
7. Caterham
8. Toro Rosso
9. Force India
10. McLaren
11. Mercedes

Aggregate
1. Lotus
2. Red Bull
3. Ferrari
4. Marussia
5. Caterham
6. Williams
7. Mercedes
=. Sauber
9. Force India
10. Toro Rosso
11. McLaren

[Paul Hayes]

I'm no drinker, but I do like the look of that Martini Williams.

Oddly, looks more pleasingly retro than even the "Rothmans tribute act" Williamses of recent years.

[VirtuaMcPolygon]

I sorta had a deja vu of the Stewart F1 livery when i saw the William's head on. I don't believe for a second that it was a done deal a year ago like williams said. It stinks of Martini waiting til after the pre season test to pick who to go with. And i still think Williams stuck it at the top of the list that day with skinny fuel and max revs with fingers xxxx it didn't blow up.

Looks nice thou.

I had thought Sony was a done deal with McClaren what with Honda. But Sony is still haemorrhaging money so that might have fallen through?

[go_Rubens]

That Williams livery made my day. I've been feeling bad as of late (chest cold getting worse), but I feel good now that I look at it. It's a great execution of the Martini stripes, and is better than all the Photoshop renderings I've seen. Let's hope it's as fast as it looks.

[Jocke1]

I've been feeling bad as of late (chest cold getting worse).

I'll give you a tip my grandmother uses whenever feeling under the weather. She swallows one or two table-spoons of liquid honey before going to bed for a couple nights. Cures right up. Hey, she's pushing 90, doesn't take any meds and lives on her own needing no help whatsoever, so she must be doing something right.

[More_Blue_Flags]

But it just looks so bland... oh well.

This, the side pods badly need....something! Otherwise I like it, its old school. So is changing the team name. Good to see the old sponsorship ideas are still around.

I'm with Wallio - I like it for pretty much the same reasons, but without those big, stark, white side pods it could have been so much more. As a result, I'd describe it as up there with Lotus and Force India as one of the best liveries of the season rather than miles in front.

[go_Rubens]

I've been feeling bad as of late (chest cold getting worse).

I'll give you a tip my grandmother uses whenever feeling under the weather. She swallows one or two table-spoons of liquid honey before going to bed for a couple nights. Cures right up. Hey, she's pushing 90, doesn't take any meds and lives on her own needing no help whatsoever, so she must be doing something right.

It's a little unfortunate that I don't have any honey on me. Nor my parents. This chest cold has likely turned into a case of bronchitis (me coughing sounds like a dog barking, that's obvious sign there), and I'll likely need a visit to the doctor and some meds. Second time in 2 weeks I've missed school when before 2 weeks ago I'd only been absent once all year.

But it just looks so bland... oh well.

This, the side pods badly need....something! Otherwise I like it, its old school. So is changing the team name. Good to see the old sponsorship ideas are still around.

I'm with Wallio - I like it for pretty much the same reasons, but without those big, stark, white side pods it could have been so much more. As a result, I'd describe it as up there with Lotus and Force India ase one of the best liveries of the season rather than miles in front.

The livery is likely not to stay the same all season long. I have read rumors that they may even have a modified livery at least 3 times this season, which may be influenced by racing in countries with alcohol advertising banned. I still like the plainess of the livery.

Meanwhile, I just found this:

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20140305/F1/140309923

[CoopsII]

I like it! It is simple and cool.

Certainly is. It doesnt have that desperate look other Williams' cars have had in recent times. Im mindful of whether a come-back, if it happens, will be just a one season thing though. Kinda like Brawn did by extracting the best from the new regulations where other teams struggled for a while.

[Collieafc]

Meanwhile, I just found this:

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20140305/F1/140309923

No Vettel, you can have your fair share of bad luck for a change, just like everybody else

[SgtPepper]

Meanwhile, I just found this:

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20140305/F1/140309923

I've been wondering for a few weeks now since testing started, is RB technically allowed to either use TR technology, or demand their drivers to move over? I vaugely remember some sort of competition rule saying RB can't technically demand TRs submit to them, but am unsure of where lines are drawn etc.

[dinizintheoven]

"Red Bull ask Toro Rosso for help"

There's a Daily Mash headline if ever I saw one.

[Wallio]

It's a little unfortunate that I don't have any honey on me. Nor my parents. This chest cold has likely turned into a case of bronchitis (me coughing sounds like a dog barking, that's obvious sign there), and I'll likely need a visit to the doctor and some meds. Second time in 2 weeks I've missed school when before 2 weeks ago I'd only been absent once all year.

Time to switch to filters!

Just a bit of a joke, trying to cheer up a bit, as being sick sucks. Feel better mate.

[go_Rubens]

It's a little unfortunate that I don't have any honey on me. Nor my parents. This chest cold has likely turned into a case of bronchitis (me coughing sounds like a dog barking, that's obvious sign there), and I'll likely need a visit to the doctor and some meds. Second time in 2 weeks I've missed school when before 2 weeks ago I'd only been absent once all year.

Time to switch to filters!

Just a bit of a joke, trying to cheer up a bit, as being sick sucks. Feel better mate.

Thanks man. I'm under close observation right now. We were worried that I was starting to develop pneumonia, and so far everything is A-ok on that front (no bronchitis as I thought). If it gets worse, I have to go in to get an x-ray, and some good amount of antibiotics. Yeah, not the way I wanted to start my preparations for the canoe slalom season for sure. But as long as I look after myself, I should be in the clear. Unlike Red Bull's lungs. It indeed sucks. We've had the filter running 24 hours as it seemed like my condition got worse in dirty air. Most certainly does.

On the other hand of F1 germs, it just sounds pathetic to see Red Bull asking its B-team for help with their car

[Peter]

Meanwhile, I just found this:

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20140305/F1/140309923

I've been wondering for a few weeks now since testing started, is RB technically allowed to either use TR technology, or demand their drivers to move over? I vaugely remember some sort of competition rule saying RB can't technically demand TRs submit to them, but am unsure of where lines are drawn etc.

The most I know is of some sort of rule change after 2009 which disallowed Torro Rosso from using the same chassis as RB, which they had been doing since their establishment, albeit with different engines.

Apart from that, Torro Rosso are pretty much puppets to RB. They aren't really allowed to race Red Bull and will usually get out of their way if ever fighting for position or in qualifying. They don't really publicly order Torro Rosso to submit to them, but it's seemingly pre-arranged.

It's part of the reason why I hate Torro Rosso, as they not only give Red Bull a bit of an advantage over anyone else, but they are never allowed to succeed and serve little purpose in enhancing competition, as it's only meant to mold future youth drivers for them to not use. Everyday I wish that they get purchased by a new entity so they can serve a purpose again.