W04 / MR02 / CT03

Yet another triple review for you today! The last three cars have finally been revealed, Williams have yet to officially launch their FW35, but at the test in Jerez they ran the 2012 car, only in the 2013 livery with some 2013 parts so they will get their own review at the end of the month when they launch on the 19th February.

The first test is well under way at Jerez, I'd like to take this opportunity to mention that I will be publishing a full review of the four days after the first test is over. Keep up to date on Twitter @Houston60 for more info!

W04

I covered the launch for Let's Talk F1, including a comprehensive review of the launch, my thoughts on the car and provided lots of photos of the Mercedes F1 W04. Click here to read it. 

Feel free to check out the rest of the site and get in touch with us at @LetsTalkF1.














MR02

Marussia have came back from an okay 2012 campaign that saw them nearly get that very valuable 10th place in the constructors championship.











Right after their last race, they saw rookie Charles Pic leave them for Caterham and recently tsaw veteran Timo Glock depart for the DTM. Before Glock left, Marussia had confirmed the signing of GP2 ace Max Chilton and the line up was not fully completed until today when the team announced they had signed another GP2 name in Luiz Razia.

The MR02 essentially looks nearly the same as the previous model, maybe a design change but nothing clearly visable. 

The car has adorned the optional vanity cover that is used to hide the ugly boxers nose of 2012 regulation changes. There is still a visible slope but it is nowhere near as bad as last season.

The technical aspects of the car remain the same although with the dissolution of HRT, they are now the only team on the grid to run the Cosworth engine. Throughout the year they may look for a better engine deal in order to prepare for the 2014 season where the sport undergoes a massive regulation change. I'll speak more about that at the end of this post.

What Marussia have done is introduced the KERS (kinetic energy recovery system) to their car, a first for the team. This will close the gap between them and fellow back runner team Caterham who were already equipped with the technology.

The team have all the mechanical components for success, but after allowing a driver like Timo Glock to slip through their fingers, they lack that experience. But I have faith in young Chilton and I believe that this is the season where they overtake Caterham in the pecking order.



CT03

Caterham have seen a reshuffle of members including two new drivers and a new team principle. Giedo Van der Garde completes the driver line up for this season.











First of all, the car looks FANTASTIC. I love the brighter shade of green and having always wanted to own a Caterham car, I am naturally drawn to the colours. Because of Tony Fernandes's departure from the game, the stupid soccer ball team logo is removed from the car. Soccer ball doesn't belong in a real sport like F1. 

If you're not a regular reader (you should be it's great) you would have known that I made a prediction about the Caterham having the stepped nose and why. In my Mercedes W04 review, I stated that it might have something to do with the Renault engine. So far, all the Mercedes powered cars, all the Ferrari powered cars and the one Cosworth powered car have opted to cover up the stepped nose. Lotus's E21, Red Bull's RB9 and now Caterham's CT03 (all Renault powered cars) have all decided against using a vanity panel, citing performance over beauty. Is there maybe a cooling issue with the Renault engine or other components that deem a vanity panel unnecessary? Lotus cited a weight issue, but if the majority of teams have added it to their cars, surely it doesn't mean a thing? It's a disappointment to know that we're going to have a very stupid looking field next season, but what's worse is that if the panels mean lesser performance, the covers will all be dropped meaning one more season of the disastrous looking noses!

NOTE

"The technical aspects of the car remain the same although with the dissolution of HRT, they are now the only team on the grid to run the Cosworth engine. Throughout the year they may look for a better deal in order to prepare for the 2014 season where the sport undergoes a massive regulation change."

I recently purchased Jenson Button's book "A Championship Year" and I must say it is a fantastic read, loving every word. The reason why I brought it up is because of how he describes how the Brawn car was so successful in the opening races. In 2008, Honda stopped developing their current car because it was a lost cause, and also because there were big regulation changes coming in 2009. They started work straight away and financial issues aside, they (after become Brawn) developed a championship winning car for 2009. This is because they got ahead of the curve.

Why is this so important? What can be learned? If Caterham and Marussia both separately sat down and said to themselves; "let's do a Brawn" and started focusing their energy on 2014, they could seriously turn things around! I'm not saying they'll have a Brawn story or anything but if they just got over themselves and focused on the important issue, they could find themselves with a bit more respect next season and a status shift from back markers to a midfield team. Brawn done it on a budget, there is absolutely no excuse why these two can't. And who knows, maybe Scorpion Racing (HRT) may have already got the jump on us all. Food for thought right there.

RB9

It's hard to think of any other launch that could have had more eyes upon it than Red Bull's unveiling of the 2013 car from the genius that is Adrian Newey.

Easily the most secretive and most 'touchiest' team about the details of the RB9, team principal Christian Horner made sure he gave nothing away, keeping the environment of which the launch took place in near utter darkness, sparing just the purple lighting of new sponsor Infiniti which now makes the team Infiniti Red Bull Racing. Camera's were also banned from the room preventing any details getting leaked. 

It would be wishful thinking to ask for anything else, the mind that is Adrian Newey has delivered them the double for three years on the trot, it's no surprise that Horner used the most expensive cover in history in the shape of drivers Mark Webber and triple world champion Sebastian Vettel at the RB9's rear.

In contrast to every launch so far, Red Bull did not do a live launch online for fans in order to keep the utmost secrecy possible. Instead, Red Bull delivered something a little more personal in the form of an exclusive video on YouTube. RB9 Rhythm Of The Factory shows how some components of an F1 car are created and then pieced together. In the end it shows a promo shot of the RB9.

First thing I noticed was the continuity of the stepped nose, but since that's one of the only technical aspects I can see, I'll come back to it. There's no hiding that in the past I've been highly critical of Red Bull and in particular Sebastian Vettel. But this isn't a bad looking car, the colours are brilliantly bright and the purple tint is a fantastic addition. Infiniti has replaced Red Bull on the sidepods of the car, and is also a feature on the rear wing.

Chief designer Adrian Newey called the car an "evolution" stating that 2013 will be difficult, giving that there are no real regulation changes. Youngest ever triple world champion Sebastian Vettel echoed Newey's words, stating that "it will be a tough challenge." No doubt Sebastian, you'll find a late surge at the almost purpose built Red Bull circuits in Asia. If there was ever a case to exclude India, Singapore and Korea, it's most certainly the fact they seem to gift Red Bull 1-2's or close to.

The stepped nose rears its ugly appearance on the second car this season, suspiciously on another Renault powered car. McLaren/Force India (Mercedes powered cars) and Ferrari/Sauber (Ferrari powered cars) all opted for the optional vanity panel which allows teams to cover up the monstrous indiscretions. However the Renault machines of Lotus and Red Bull have kept the look of the 2012 models. In my Lotus E21 review I was highly critical of them choosing the boxers nose but If Adrian Newey has kept it, then it has actually given me hope about the E21 being competitive.

Red Bull will be putting every last belief they can into the RB9 in order to bring about a fourth consecutive double. One can't help but wonder if the RB9 will be the last laugh for the Milton Keynes based team or in my opinion, the last fluke. As I've mentioned countless times before, 2014 will provide a huge shake up of the pecking order. Red Bull have had their day in the sun, making the 2011 season boring and blinding everybody by saying Vettel had a stormer in Abu Dhabi last season (two safety cars and several retirements do not count as a sensational drive). They could find themselves in a rather different midfield positions in 2014, something even Adrian Newey may not be able to prevent. I can only hope.