Not a lot happened today. We found a cache (GC3QKGB) to fill a calendar gap, putting us up to 734 caches found now. Mrs Pitts made a glorious tea and had a relaxing night, while I sat with my laptop and completed a couple of jobs for work. Both of us are still tired after yesterday’s long but successful day in Preston.
Two more F1 cars were launched ahead of the first day of winter testing at Jerez in Spain tomorrow. I cannot wait to see the cars in action on track. Caterham and Marussia display their new cars tomorrow, with Williams waiting until the next test at Barcelona on February the 19th to launch theirs.
Mercedes’ Launch
Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg‘s new Mercedes W04 car has a number of “significant innovative concepts” according to team boss Ross Brawn, despite its similarities with last year’s version. The nose looks more rounded and is strikingly different to the 2013 other cars.
It is not going to be a race winning car from the off – I think that’s obvious to say – but we’ll see the first indications of exactly where they are tomorrow at the first test. As with all these cars, there will be design tweaks throughout the coming weeks, and maybe even over the four day Jerez test.
A few additional team members have been added alongside Lewis Hamilton, with Niki Lauda and Toto Wolff joining the management team. Whether this has an impact on Ross Brawn’s position remains to be seen.
Mercedes finished in fifth place in last year’s championship, winning one race. Consolidating that position has to be their aim.
Toro Rosso’s Launch
The new Toro Rosso STR8 is almost a make or break car for the Red Bull Junior team. In theory, the squad has been up for sale for a few years now and they haven’t been able to rely on the parent Red Bull team for technical support for a couple of seasons either. Their technical director, James Key, has said that the car is “set for major aerodynamic changes as the year progresses.”
The team has announced that their 2013 aim is to finish sixth in the constructors’ championship. In 2012, they finished ninth and this kind of improvement is very rarely seen in F1 – particularly so when the rules haven’t changed since 2009. Some stability applies to the team for once too as both Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne have been retained for their second full seasons.
All through these previews and launches, I’ve noted how evolutionary the cars have appeared. Beating Williams, Sauber and Force India isn’t going to be easy. The aforementioned James Key has form in turning teams around, previously working to build Sauber up to a decent midfield position. Some, not me, would say that he is ‘key’ to Toro Rosso’s future…
Related articles
