Launch Dates???

TeddyG · 7 Dec 2002, 01:27 (Ref:444770)

I was just reading that BAR plan to launch the 005 chassis on January 14th. Doesn't this seem a little early? I figured that BAR might be one of the last teams to launch since Willis said that the 004 chassis was an F1 dinosaur and would need lots of development time to produce a new chassis. Ahhhhh I just hope they (Willis) has had enough time to build a decent car. I am seriously considering giving up on F1 if BAR and JV can't break out of the mid-field next year.

Also are any other launch dates known I think I know that Toyota are coming out in January too. Is there a website that might give me a run down on the individual team launchdates??? I'm surprised that Forix doesn't have this on their site, they have everything else!!!

TeddyG · 7 Dec 2002, 01:35 (Ref:444774)

Also I'm just curious. When would be the absolute latest date that a team could choose to launch at? Are teams allowed to test with their 2003 chassis before it is officially launched. What are the rules about this? I'm pretty confused.

TeddyG · 7 Dec 2002, 01:50 (Ref:444780)

Ok one last thing!....What about 2003 engines? I was reading earlier that Jaguar are already running and testing their 2003 engine. Doesn't this also seem a little early for engine manufactures? By which I mean they don't seem to have too much time to develope a much newer and improved engine over the 2002 one, since the season only ended a short time ago....

Do F1 teams really have enough time in the offseason to make any real groundbreaking improvements for next year's effort???

Wrex · 7 Dec 2002, 02:59 (Ref:444804)

Not sure about the rules, but Paul Staddart launched the PS01 on the steps of parliment house in Melbourne, days before the Melbourne GP.

Obviously it had passed the crash testing, but to my knowledge, neither Alonso or Marques tested the car before the GP.

BootsOntheSide · 7 Dec 2002, 13:36 (Ref:445022)

My suspicion is that development on the 2002 BAR stopped very earl in the season, and the 2003 car has been the focus of all the attention for most of the year. So expect an impressive car straight out of the box, this will be the second chance for the team to show the worth of all the money spent on it.

Toyota will be using the same approach, the TF02 was developed a lot in advance, and as the season wore on they found that they could do little with it, so have quickly mvoed on to their secnd year of actual racing. Trouble for them is that, without much development experience, they could slide backwards as the season wears on again.

**Adam43** · 7 Dec 2002, 13:50 (Ref:445036)

Quote:

Originally posted by TeddyG
Also I'm just curious. When would be the absolute latest date that a team could choose to launch at? Are teams allowed to test with their 2003 chassis before it is officially launched. What are the rules about this? I'm pretty confused.

The teams can do what they want. The launch is purely symbolic. They don't have to have one. They can test loads before one. they could have three. Or just paint last years car a differnet colour.

To race the car they have to have it go through various crash tests, but this occurs whenever a new car is made. If a team developed a totally new monocoque half way through the year it would have to be tested again.

Maybe the FIA demands that each version is retested at the begining of the year (even if they use the same as last year?), but I am just guessing. Does anyone know if the F2001 had to be retested before it could be raced in 2002?

So as long as this test is done before the first race (they want to race it at) then everything is fine. But the actual lauch is independent of this.

Korr · 7 Dec 2002, 15:15 (Ref:445064)

The launch is just a big party and PR dealio. Glitz, booze and money. And pretty women. And race cars. And drivers. And pretty women.

neilap · 7 Dec 2002, 18:48 (Ref:445165)

Actually BAR launched much earlier for 2002! The chassis was just bad so the development was stoppend on it. Aero improvements were made but that was the extent of things. Honda has been dyno testing their new motor for months now. Amazingly Toyota and BMW already have their motors in the cars and running. Maybe they had the power already so all they did was make minor adjustments. Honda is building a completely new motor, again. I know they will eventually get it right. When they do I am sure it will be one of the best if not the best on the F1 grid.
The teams have to balance the design time with the time spent on the track testing the new disign. As with everything else there are compromises to be made. Testing in the end of Feb. should be interesting. Now teams like BAR are only working on tire testing and electronic development. Toyota, and BMW are working on engine development and Mac are working on the whole car being ready for Australia. I expect Ferrari and Mac to be the front runners at least for the first few races.

**Adam43** · 7 Dec 2002, 19:17 (Ref:445191)

Quote:

Originally posted by neilap
Mac are working on the whole car being ready for Australia.

Didn't McLaren say they were going to introduce a new car part-way through the season? And start next year with an update of this years car? The MP4-17D.

Quote:

Originally posted by neilap
I expect Ferrari and Mac to be the front runners at least for the first few races.

You could be right there!

neilap · 7 Dec 2002, 22:27 (Ref:445257)

Mac are working on the whole car being ready for Australia.

What I meant was since they are not introducing a new car at the start of the season but instead an evolution, they are more or less ahead of the game.

Rennen · 8 Dec 2002, 14:13 (Ref:445632)

Youre right neilap...Honda could beat all engine manufacturers if they really wanted to!

TeddyG...This years BAR will be designated 050 not 005 (who builds 100 cars!?)...A car is ready to launch...when it's Ready!...

If 050 is a goodun' expect JV to stay on board!

twig · 8 Dec 2002, 14:26 (Ref:445637)

i think McLaren are going to do a 2002 Ferrari release idea, but i think using the MP4-18 at Imola

**Asp** · 12 Dec 2002, 21:37 (Ref:448629)

Going back to you *could* just repaint the old car, that did happen this year - I can't remember the team, but someone has crashed the only chassis - so a quick paintjob and no-one was any the wiser!!

Mr V · 13 Dec 2002, 00:58 (Ref:448755)

Quote:

Originally posted by Rennen
Youre right neilap...Honda could beat all engine manufacturers if they really wanted to!

Silly question time, are you saying that they don't really want to beat all engine manufacturers then?

Jukebox · 13 Dec 2002, 02:48 (Ref:448779)

Can't wait to see how would both Ferrari and William's chassis plus aero package is going to be like. Another interesting team would be Sauber if they were to get this season's complete package.

golem · 13 Dec 2002, 05:13 (Ref:448834)

Yeah, I'm actually kinda interested to see what Sauber does with it's package. Now at the start of this year the Sauber's couldn't keep astride of the revised F2001 but I have a wierd feeling about the F2002 engine-gearbox combination giving Sauber a little jumpstart on Jordan and BAR in design terms...

Snrub · 13 Dec 2002, 05:36 (Ref:448840)

Quote:

Originally posted by golem
Yeah, I'm actually kinda interested to see what Sauber does with it's package. Now at the start of this year the Sauber's couldn't keep astride of the revised F2001 but I have a wierd feeling about the F2002 engine-gearbox combination giving Sauber a little jumpstart on Jordan and BAR in design terms...

Good point. If Sauber's chasis is decent they could be Ferrari's closest competition.

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