So far, the Mercedes & Renault look the best.

Not a fan of the added blue to the Pink Panthers.

The Silver Arrows do sorta have it going on.

I'm a big MB fan, so the W10 was the one I was most looking forward to, glad to see they didn't stray too far from the prior years' designs. They were putting out some teasers that had an odd camo look to them, glad to see it was just a distraction.

So far, I'm most disappointed with Williams & Racing Point debuts.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
So far, the Mercedes & Renault look the best.

Not a fan of the added blue to the Pink Panthers.

Looked to me like they stole the top half of the engine cover from Red Bull/Toro Rosso and grafted it on.

So far, the Williams looks the most different from last year. Let's hope the performance is a lot better too.

Alfa Romeo (chassis name TBD)
Hopefully a one-off livery, definitely not as pretty as the 2018 Sauber/Alfa

McLaren MCL34

I read the Alfa is indeed just a testing livery and I have to say I quite like the McLaren livery. I will be interested to see if Coke ends up on the big blank spots on the side pods. I read coke is a sponsor but I don't see anything on the car in photos I have seen.

Can't wait to see my beloved Ferrari tomorrow. And bring on Monday!

quote:

Originally posted by cfiore:
I read the Alfa is indeed just a testing livery and I have to say I quite like the McLaren livery. I will be interested to see if Coke ends up on the big blank spots on the side pods. I read coke is a sponsor but I don't see anything on the car in photos I have seen.

Can't wait to see my beloved Ferrari tomorrow. And bring on Monday!

Coke was a McLaren sponsor last year, they were a small logo on the sides.

Under the front base of the halo:

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:

quote:

Originally posted by cfiore:
I read the Alfa is indeed just a testing livery and I have to say I quite like the McLaren livery. I will be interested to see if Coke ends up on the big blank spots on the side pods. I read coke is a sponsor but I don't see anything on the car in photos I have seen.

Can't wait to see my beloved Ferrari tomorrow. And bring on Monday!

Coke was a McLaren sponsor last year, they were a small logo on the sides.

Under the front base of the halo:

Thank you, I had completely forgotten they sponsored them last year, and not very prominently at that.

Ferrari SF90

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Ferrari SF90

IT is a good looking car - I think they mostly all are, but the Williams looks like crap, the Alfa is decorated with playing cards (hearts, spades, and clubs). I like the colors of the McLaren, and the Red Bull scheme looks cool, but most think it is a one off paint.

I wish they would show us whats under the bodywork.
That's probably the most interesting part of a F1 cars and we don't get to look.

I"m not a fan of the MW logos on the Ferrari.
Definitely don't love the Williams
McLaren isn't a big change from 2018, but looks good.

Looking forward to the official Alfa livery, expecting RBR to be similar/same as prior liveries.

So far, Mercedes & Renault look best, to me.

Agreed, that it would be awesome to be able to peek under the covers, but I get why that won't happen.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
I"m not a fan of the MW logos on the Ferrari.

I kinda like it, sort of an animalistic striping to the car. A bold graphic that is getting some panties in a twist --

Australia investigates Mission Winnow smokescreen for Marlboro

Ferrari’s principal sponsor Mission Winnow has caused a stir in Australia as questions are being asked about the branding that will appear on the red cars at the season opener in Melbourne next month.

It is no secret that Mission Winnow is a Philip Morris International (PMI) initiative that broke cover last year at the Japanese Grand Prix, which immediately prompted the question at the time: What are they selling?

Australian authorities are ascertaining if Mission Winnow is simply a smokescreen to promote the Marlboro brand whose long association with the Scuderia has taken on various branding guises, even when cigarette advertising was banned as it is now.

For anyone who has followed Formula 1, and know the history of the partnership that dates back to the eighties, it is patently obvious that the new branding is another way of promoting Marlboro and turning the association from a subtle below-the-line programme to an in your face hard sell of whatever they are selling.

In an effort to explain the reason to exist, the Mission Winnow website states:

“The tobacco industry is a highly regulated space, and we always respect the laws that apply to our activities. This campaign is no different and respects all applicable laws, including those around the advertising and promotion of tobacco products, for example. The campaign does not advertise or promote any PMI-branded products.”

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Philip Morris Australia told The Age: “Philip Morris Australia’s parent company, Philip Morris International and Scuderia Ferrari have a global partnership, which is wholly managed outside of Australia.”

In other words, nothing to do with us down here, call Switzerland.

The report quotes anti-smoking campaigner John Cunningham, who highlighted the matter with authorities, “This [Mission Winnow] website actually makes it much clearer what they are trying to achieve, and what sort of business they are in.”

“It has nothing to do with F1 cars, that’s for sure. Tobacco companies are finally admitting that their only means of financial survival is to get people addicted to nicotine.”

“They’re going to pour money into researching how to do that most effectively — not for the benefit of their addicted customers, but for the benefit of their profits and shareholders,” added Cunningham.

Mission Winnow branding appeared prominently for the first time on the Ferrari cars at Suzuka last year, and this year the branding is expected to be seen on the engine cover, rear-wing and on the race suits of Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc as well as team clothing.

Maybe F1 is starting to get the idea I suggested above.
There is a tremendous untapped area of interest that is not just untapped but hidden from the public. Cutting edge, super expensive technology that we never get to see.
They’ve hired Rob Smedley to do just that.

https://www.planetf1.com/news/...echnical-consultant/

Looks like Williams will be missing the first day of testing. They cancelled their shakedown too, hope this isn't a sign of things to come.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Looks like Williams will be missing the first day of testing. They cancelled their shakedown too, hope this isn't a sign of things to come.

I seriously think that Williams will be a 10th place finisher again this year. Best case scenario, they will be mixing it up with STR. I really hate it for Kubica and Russell because I think they deserve more, but that car should not have entered a race last year, it was that bad. Now Stoll's money vanished, and the team had to make some significant changes, and bring in new sponsors. Time will tell.

I am honestly more interested in how Racing Point does this year. Taking their best talent, and sending him on his way for the owners son (Lance Stroll) will likely see the team move back. Keep in mind, if Force India would have kept their points from the whole season, they were essentially 11 points behind Renault.

Renault has clearly made strides in the driver category, but time will tell if the car/ engine made improvements.

1st day running. Good to see things starting to happen again.
Ferrari quickest around two seconds than day 1 last year but different weather conditions too.
Red Bull with a couple of engine technical issues.
Williams will also miss day two. Who knows after that.
Times don't mean much at this point, or any point. Probably the most telling will be if Red Bull has reliability issues or not and how many laps and trouble free days they have. I don't see Verstappen having a lot of patience.
Last year Mercedes was mid pack in testing and McLaren ended the testing near the front.

A short video of Ricciardo doing a lap in the RS19. I think this is at the Circuit de Catalunya. Fun to watch the steering wheel!



Link to original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02fww-OYMbQ