F1 » BMW 'aiming high' with F1.09

They''ll be aiming high when that pathetic wing comes off, goes under the car and sends it skyward. They may aswell stamp NASA on the side of the car!

not as bad as expected, from previous photos, but what is with the RSJ at the end of the front wing. was this a left over fom a building site?
we should have a vote on which is the ugliest car, but i reckon thet the renault would easily win.

Rich ard, I think a Crash Poll is called for.

Just as a matter of interest/amusement, can someone drag out and post here a definition of the front and rear wing 'rules' for last year and this which has caused the drastic change. Is it a ssimple as someone wrote 'Front Wing' on the rear wing definition and vice versa?

good point piercarlo. indy cars seem to be able to race with a small unadorned front wing, on ovals. but just look at these new front wings. the teams seem to have overcome the rules with all sorts of flaps and endplates.the bmw flaps extend back in towards the nose, negating the clear space originally intended. and also, the end plates have add-ons, making the effective wings wider. the wings will soon be as complicated as last year. i doubt that that was the intention.

Open question...

Is there some kind of contractual agreement that explains why BMW are keeping the "Sauber" part of the name, since they are whole owners of the former Sauber team aren't they?

As far as wings go I think certain people on this forum are getting too hung-up on the front wings claiming they're going to be dangerous, I even saw one post saying it could fly off and kill someone!!! lets wait till the first race and see what happens before we start shouting, "we're doomed!!" Engineers and designers will always find ways to stretch and bend the rules. I bet the wings that have been designed were not what the authorities envisaged when they formulated the 2009 specs.

@ Tupac the new front wings are wider than the front wheels now. Being that they stick out more it is going to be more likely that they will contact another car or a member of the pit crew. If the wings hit it could have the positive effect of preventing the tires from overlapping so in some instances it could be safer. Also the drivers have stated that they cannot see wings so the concerns are valid. We are so used to most changes making the cars safer it is bit odd to see one that many feel will make them less safe.

Where is all the contact coming from. Passes are rare and wheel to wheel contact has always been unsafe. Now at least if you block you stand a greater chance of biting the dust as well. Maybe the drivers will stay on the line they first choose. Instead of blocking all over the place.

Like rob said Mark your concern is based on the premise that the drivers can't prevent contact during on track and pit lane maneuvers. Firstly they know the dimensions of their cars and should have enough skill to take this into account. secondly if they are foolish enough not to take the dimensions of their car into account and do cause a collision, as rob points out the resulting damage would be be more likely to put them out of the race... even more reason for the drivers to take care.

tupac,what an odd comment. the drivers have always known the dimensions of their cars, yet still manage to tangle and interlock wheels! the nose wings are light, very exposed, and held on by two or three fasteners. previously,as mark rightly says, the wings were narrower than the width of the car, they were afforded some protection by the tyres, yet many still lost wings. now the wings project beyond the tyres and so are more vulnerable to knocks. the riskiest time will be at the first corner, when all the cars are fighting for the same space, and with their front wheels locked over, exposing even more of the front wing to a clout from someonelses wheels.no fault of the driver!!