[ChyFDjfed]

Fused BMW horns:

Now that's an interesting solution and I have been wondering for some time, how will the teams start trying get around the "winglet-ban" by the shaping of the car. I think this is only the beginning and I'm starting to wonder, where will FIA put the dividing line: from where does the bodyshape become a winglet?

[psbiuigw]

The photos in high resolution to get all the details :

http://www.gurneyflap.com/formule109.html

[vulikox]

The rear suspension is an area of interest, a rather back to the future solution of pullrod suspension! The last team in my knowledge to use pullrod suspension were Arrows for the front suspension in 2001 and even then it hadnt been seen in F1 since 1991. the main advantages of pull rod suspension are that the rods themselves can be slimmer as the rod is used in tension rather than compression (carbon fibre is more effective in tension, hence the component can be slimmer and take the same loadings as an equivalent push rod) and it allows different packaging solutions, in this case mounting the spring / damper units to the side of the gearbox to allow a more scupted rear end. Overall a really interesting car and if its a quick as it looks it ought to be competitive, especially in the hands of Vettel. It must be noted, the Ferrari that launched first is looking like a car with 2 or 3 seasons less development on it, being so ludicrously conservative in it's design by comparison.

[lasadeykar]

Either some of the teams have taken the new regs much more literally or they have to be holding their cards close to their chest until the season starts.

I wonder what is with the vertical pillars on the Ferrari and I think the Toyota at the front corners of the side pods?

[Obebtetibre]

Anyone else notice that the exhaust tips are directly underneath the upper wishbone? Not that the exhaust tips are exceedingly far from the rear suspension for the other cars, but they are very close together in the RB5. It seems like the upper wishbone will become quite warm.

[STYWOMBORGOSY]

By far the most aggressively designed car we've seen so far, and I doubt the Force India will be more so. Looks fantastic too.

[SetSnonejog]

Anyone else notice that the exhaust tips are directly underneath the upper wishbone? Not that the exhaust tips are exceedingly far from the rear suspension for the other cars, but they are very close together in the RB5. It seems like the upper wishbone will become quite warm.

Overheating cars are the norm with Newey, so no surprise there.
BTW today that had to stop after only 14 laps because they didn't know why the gearbox oil was to hot!
Well, maybe because there is not enough cooling for it?! Chronic disease of Newey designs, fast but highly unreliable cars.

[awagsFare]

Overheating cars are the norm with Newey, so no surprise there.
BTW today that had to stop after only 14 laps because they didn't know why the gearbox oil was to hot!
Well, maybe because there is not enough cooling for it?! Chronic disease of Newey designs, fast but highly unreliable cars.

you would think he would have learned by now, but as usual with newy he probably had the mechanical engineers take a backseat to his design ideas. So when the car breaks down he can say that it isn' this fault ( when it actually is)

his cars never ever strike the right balance. The only time they performed well was when he had a strong counterpart on the other side able to demand some modifications for reliability sake.

btw it seems darker colors make these cars better, as they disguise the utter retro specs these cars have had to go with. I bet you that if BMW had a dark blue or black livery, it would make the car look 10x better

[Twelearly]

Good looking car, and also with some interesting features...

But we will see if its design can overcome all the engine trouble they had last year.

[BariGrootrego]

Overheating cars are the norm with Newey, so no surprise there.
BTW today that had to stop after only 14 laps because they didn't know why the gearbox oil was to hot!
Well, maybe because there is not enough cooling for it?! Chronic disease of Newey designs, fast but highly unreliable cars.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/73191

A striking feature is the small size of the sidepods: these taper down and inwards far more than other cars, and neither are they undercut, instead flaring outwards at their base. Their small size appears to be largely as a result of Red Bull finding different places for cooling outlets, there being two removable panels each side of the engine cover to vent hot air, one being high up near the pointed section of the engine cover and the other being in the unpainted section of bodywork above the exhaust outlet.

These are rendition to the normal exit at the end of the coke bottle shape, which is correspondingly much smaller in order to send more flow over the diffuser and beam wing. The aim seems to be the overriding philosophy for the tail of the RB5, the conventional shape of this area and the mechanical parts it contains has been discarded in favour of far more innovative ideas.

[77chawzence]

A few pics:

Rear suspension:

Do my eyes deceive me, or is that a pull-rod rear suspension?

[DuesTyr]

Do my eyes deceive me, or is that a pull-rod rear suspension?

Certainly is.

I'm not yet qualified as an engineer but they lower the car's centre of gravity and that's about as much as I understand so far.

Looks a bit fragile though!

[Rategbee]

They are not banned.

There are areas where the regulations allow them.

Pardon me for thinking that one of the intentions of the 2009 regs was to remove the various small aero appendages from the cars.

By and large that intention has been achieved, with the clean lines of the bodywork being a vast improvement IMHO. However, not having read the regs recently, I don't know whether small aero appendages are specifically allowed in certain areas, or whether the teams are exploiting a loophole in the regs to claw back some of the aero efficiency they have lost.

Either way I suspect this is an area where we'll see further development.

[zoolissentesy]

Haven't really followed the regs but will this year's Toro Rosso car look like the RB5? Both cars last year looked aerodynamically similar in a way that was reminiscent of the 1995-96 Benettons and Ligiers and the 2004 Ferrari and 2005 Sauber.

[assohillA]

I really like the look of this car. Makes the BMW and Renault look even worse.

[Luisabens]

video is amazing and the car looks great, i hope the hype isn't misplaced

[BariGrootrego]

Pardon me for thinking that one of the intentions of the 2009 regs was to remove the various small aero appendages from the cars.

By and large that intention has been achieved, with the clean lines of the bodywork being a vast improvement IMHO. However, not having read the regs recently, I don't know whether small aero appendages are specifically allowed in certain areas, or whether the teams are exploiting a loophole in the regs to claw back some of the aero efficiency they have lost.

Either way I suspect this is an area where we'll see further development.

There's a rule/loophole (depending on interpretion) where you can add a 'simple' aero device infront of the sidepods and of a certain dimension. Upper body aero bits and pieces on the rest of the car is banned. Even the shark gill louvres though they've been replaced with strategically placed louvres.

[Rategbee]

There's a rule/loophole (depending on interpretion) where you can add a 'simple' aero device infront of the sidepods and of a certain dimension.

Thanks wedge Can't understand why that rule would be there though Why allow something that the rules were intended to get rid of?

[Twelearly]

Thanks wedge Can't understand why that rule would be there though Why allow something that the rules were intended to get rid of?

It seems that´s the spirit of F1. If you put it politely, it is "some kind of metaphorical contradiction", if you put it simply, it is "WTF?"

[BariGrootrego]

Thanks wedge Can't understand why that rule would be there though Why allow something that the rules were intended to get rid of?

It's only one very small area of the car for freedom for the designers.

You'll notice that the current bargeboards (not the shields) are far more simple than they were in the 90s which had a much more broader profiles.