The Official 2016-2017 F1 Offseason Thread

[badmonkey]

Honda as much as everyone else was handcuffed by the token system, unable to make necessary changes to catch up.


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[BoldUlysses]

^Yeah but they had an extra year to watch what worked and what didn't.

To me the biggest kudos go to Renault, who made some unfortunate design decisions early on, but have scratched and clawed their way back to near-parity with Merc.

[RidgeBack]

The Renault RS17

RS17.jpg

Can't see much ... which is a shame

some more

RS17-side.jpg

RS17-topangle.jpg

RS17-1.jpg

[auaq]

Hmm ... not another shark fin thing again for 2017.

[BoldUlysses]

FI VJM10 just revealed.......yuck. It's got a proboscis AND a step nose AND a huge shark fin---the worst of 2014 and 2012 and 2010 put together.

Shame since the VJM09 was one of the nicer-looking 2016 cars.

[auaq]

Just saw the pictures. Not liking it.

I was expecting 2017 cars to look more attractive but so far I'm a bit disappointed.

[BoldUlysses]

In the "2017 F1 Car Attractiveness Competition," so far for me it's:

- Williams
- Renault
- Sauber
- FI

[sk8rat6587]

Just about everything about the FI is hideous.

[xxxxxxx]

Man, sad departure from Renault's 2016 car.

[ELVA164]

Looks like I'm way off-center with the aesthetics. I don't mind the fins, I think they have a cool look to them. Maybe because some of our cars have them, haha. I also think the livery on the Sauber wipes the floor with the Martini livery on the Williams. The color combo works really well and the livery fits the shape of the car really well. I've felt the shape of the Williams leaves too much white "canvas" and not enough space for the Martini stripes. I find the livery much more striking when the stripes are thicker:

[RidgeBack]

In the "2017 F1 Car Attractiveness Competition," so far for me it's:

- Williams
- Renault
- Sauber
- FI

For me:

Sauber
Williams
Renault - if the entire car (barring splashes here and there) were yellow like last year it would have been number 1

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Force India

[sk8rat6587]

Merc seemingly made as few changes as possible.

[BoldUlysses]

W08 out:







I know everything positive I say about the Merc will be parsed with the caveat that I'm a Bottas fan, but that's one sexy F1 car. No fin, no notch or step nose, flowing color scheme. Yep; it's got it.

[auaq]

I think it is fair to say that Merc is probably the only one that cares about looks and impressing the crowd.

- - - Updated - - -

Notice how skinny the rear end is. Now I can't wait to see what RBR can come up with.

[MagneZium]

McMike: "Dang, that rear floor on the Mercedes M08 is big enough to carry passengers back to the garage."

https://twitter.com/_mcmike_/status/834781864573427712

C5W9RkFWYAIRscf.jpg

[burninator]

I like the Renault best so far

[sk8rat6587]

McMike: "Dang, that rear floor on the Mercedes M08 is big enough to carry passengers back to the garage."

https://twitter.com/_mcmike_/status/834781864573427712

C5W9RkFWYAIRscf.jpg

actually laughed out loud at work

[BoldUlysses]

I think it is fair to say that Merc is probably the only one that cares about looks and impressing the crowd.

- - - Updated - - -

Notice how skinny the rear end is. Now I can't wait to see what RBR can come up with.

The super-slim-waisted look seems to be a common theme this year. They're really got the packaging on the 1.5t PUs down to a science.

McMike: "Dang, that rear floor on the Mercedes M08 is big enough to carry passengers back to the garage."

https://twitter.com/_mcmike_/status/834781864573427712

C5W9RkFWYAIRscf.jpg

^

[xxxxxxx]

I think it is fair to say that Merc is probably the only one that cares about looks and impressing the crowd.

I'd argue that Williams is doing a fair job. They've teamed up with a fashion label (Hackett), like Merc has with Boss, and their brand aesthetics reflect current trends. They've clearly got a good brand manager on board.

While the other teams are in need of help with their image, Ferrari is the one that really leaves me scratching my head. So much good design has come out of their homeland, so they should be one of the sharpest looking teams out there.

[RidgeBack]

Nice vid of the "new" Merc

[auaq]

What's the actual wheelbase of these cars? Maybe it's just the pictures but the chassis sure do look longer/stretched out quite a bit.

[sk8rat6587]

eww....I was hopeful for the mclaren and other than the large shark fin, I actually like the design.....but that livery is terrible. It accentuates and draws attention to the worst looking parts of the car.

Ferrari looks pretty good, nothing crazy, but not bad.

[m3fuz]

Saw this on another forum and thought I'd share with you all - interesting read about Mercedes using a whale tail as opposed to a dorsal fin:

http://blackflag.jalopnik.com/merced...w-r-1792682849

[xxxxxxx]

The Ferrari has something similar, but built into the dorsal fin.

http://sf70h.ferrari.com/it/

[BoldUlysses]

Pics of the new arrivals:

JS121606684_PA_McLaren-Honda-MCL32-Launch-large_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqY4-XNG_7v-V2jIZ3ghNYKOB8VXEHCs.jpg

1487948349442.jpg

ferrari-sf70h-5.jpg

The Ferrari in particular is just a disaster. Worst looking Ferrari since the SF14T.

New attractiveness ranking:

- Mercedes
- Williams
- Renault
- McLaren
- Sauber
- FI
- Ferrari (ranking them this low b/c I feel like they should know better)


Anyone have any insight into WHY the rash of dorsal fins on the 2017 cars? If they confer such an aero advantage, why didn't teams run them in 2016 or earlier (other than 2010)? Were they banned then but aren't now?