18 replies to this topic

[JohanPretorius]

http://www.f1-live.c...01/tests_35.jpg

http://www.f1-live.c...01/tests_34.jpg

http://www.f1-live.c...01/tests_36.jpg

could Mike Gascoigne have influenced the design this early to produce a Jordan-esque nose and front wing assembly like this already???[p][Edited by desmo on 02-02-2001]

[Nathan]

I must say its a lot cleaner and sleeker than previous Benetton's. Not a bad car.

[Jhope]

Anyone notice the Venturi Tunnel?

[desmo]

Guys, please feel free to post any images from Atlas using [img] tags. I took the liberty of tagging Johan's link to the photo from this site. Bira is working on getting more and better images and they are very useful indeed for discussing the features of the new cars.

[Ali_G]

What venturi ???

Niall

[desmo]

What is it with F1 photogs/photo agencies that virtually all we see are front views of cars? Here we have four images and nary a one from the rear, never mind other angles. All you have to do is swing the camera around and shoot while the car is going away fellas! How difficult can it be?

[Bluehair]

Where are the side mounted intakes everyone anticipated? Hey, I like the angled front wing mounts. Do I see winglets nearly dragging the ground under the low-slung, center portion? Is that the so-called venturi?

[GunStar]

Oh rats, we were wrong about the intakes. Now, quiet. I think we can sweep this one under the rug.

If the top element of the center front wing also covers a large portion of the bottom element, this could be a quasi venturi. The pic don't really allow to see that. Since I can't get the links to work, I can't really say. Also, they wouldn't have anything lower than the front middle. It would just waste height they could use to get the wing functioning better.

[Powersteer]

A thread i posted in another forum: Just look at how low that side pod is, seems the 111-degree Vee 10 is paying off really well. The beggining of this season seems more interesting that lasts with much more innovations than improvements or evolusions.


What i notice similar berween the Jordan and this Benetton is how short the head protector at the side is. They simply slack it off after the drivers head instead of streamling it all around the airbox. The front wing is also pretty close. Ferrari has also adopted the new jaw dropping front wing, but they didnt part it in sections instead chose to bend the wing so they wont spill anything.

[Jhope]

Originally posted by Bluehair
Do I see winglets nearly dragging the ground under the low-slung, center portion? Is that the so-called venturi?

yes

[Ali_G]

Wouldn't these winglets be illegal as they are technically end plates and need to be a certain distance off of the ground.

Niall

[Jhope]

loopholes are very common within th FIA regs. I'm sure the FIA know that their Regs are not precises as the interpretations of the rules are what creates creativity.

[Alvega]

Looking carefully at the launch pictures, it appears to me as though the Coca-Cola shape of the side podes is very pronounced, more say than in the F2001, wich is intriguing taking into account the wide angle of the engine !

The air box appears to be narrower than usual.

BTW, I haven't seen yet oficially stated by Renault that the V-angle of the engine is 111 degrees.

[DangerMouse]

The radiator intakes look depresingly large - I was hoping for some kind of super hot running adiabatic hybrid!

[desmo]

I as well. No tiny rad inlets, no dual airboxes. The B201 is positively frumpy. I guess they felt they had their plate full with the new aero regs, engine and tires. IMO, this doesn't bode well for the potntial of the team over the next few years. Probably help in the short term though.

[desmo]

More notes after looking at the pics: The nose on the B201 puts significantly more plan area into the ground effect than even the EJ11, apparently taking maximum advantage of the 50cm "exempt zone" astride the car's centerline. The intermediate vanes or endplates of the center section of the front wing look very low and should help maintain the velocity of the air flowing beneath it.

The engine cover looks very narrow to me and in conjunction with significantly lowered tops of the sidepods appear to present a much cleaner flow to the rear wing than last year's design. This design has taken a novel approach to the meeting of the side impact requirements with raised cockpit sides in lieu of the moving forward of the front of the sidepods as seen on the other new cars. The "kick-ups" cum rad exits seen in front of the rear wheels seem much more in tune with current practice than last year's design as do the "periscope" exhaust outlets which look to be becoming universal in F1 except possibly the Macs now.

The team is still being very coy about the engine, and no offical word is out on whether it employs the much-hyped camless design. Don't bet on it, though. Finally, to my surprise the team has opted to stay with a six-speed gearbox for the new car.

[Chewbacca]

The stupid BAR has no persicope exhaust.

Stupid BAR.

[DangerMouse]

Well if it was cam-less it would only need six gears!

[BADGER]

A couple of people have mentioned how low the side pods look but personally, I don't think they look different than anyone elses. Besides, all the engines all small enough to fit within the tub width, so I don't buy that the wide angle has allowed the lower pods.