2013 F1 Challengers Thread

[IndyAndy]

Just a tick over two weeks now before we start seeing what the F1 teams have been designing/building for the 2013 campaign.

Here are the unveiling dates as I have been able to find so far:

McLaren - Jan 31
Ferrari - Feb 1
Force India - Feb 1
Sauber - Feb 2
Red Bull - Feb 3
Toro Rosso - Feb 5*
Williams - Feb 5*
Mercedes - no word yet
Lotus - no word yet
Caterham - no word yet
Marussia - no word yet

... and HRT is no more.

* Reported by Autosprint.com, but not officially confirmed by the teams.

Williams has said that the butt-ugly stair-step nose is a thing of the past (Ferrari & Sauber - please take note!), and Romain Groesjean has hinted at the possibility of a late Jan unveiling date for Lotus.

I'll update the list as I find out more, and post pics as they become available.

 

[IndyAndy]

... And just like that, today there are two updates to the list (highlighted in bold):


McLaren - Jan 31
Ferrari - Feb 1
Force India - Feb 1
Sauber - Feb 2
Red Bull - Feb 3
Toro Rosso - Feb 4
Williams - Feb 5*
Mercedes - Feb 4
Lotus - no word yet
Caterham - no word yet
Marussia - no word yet

 

[HammerDown]

Looking forward to the unveils! It's gonna be exciting and thanks for keep us posted.

 

[IndyAndy]

Oh, boy; more struggles ahead for the formerly mighty Williams squad? Their '13 car will not be ready until just prior to the 2nd pre-season test session in mid Feb.

www.espnstar.com

 

[SoonerDO]

Caterham reveal is Feb 1st.

 

[SoonerDO]

Ah nvm scratch that^^

It was for FI not caterham.

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

like the thread and the fact that F1 has a board now

 

[IndyAndy]

Caterham has announced their reveal date:

McLaren - Jan 31
Ferrari - Feb 1
Force India - Feb 1
Sauber - Feb 2
Red Bull - Feb 3
Toro Rosso - Feb 4
Williams - Feb 19 (or so)
Mercedes - Feb 4
Lotus - no word yet
Caterham - Feb 5
Marussia - no word yet

There are still open driver seats to be claimed at Force India, Caterham, and now also Marussia, who just released Timo Glock.

 

[IndyAndy]

Looks like Lotus will be first out of the gate.

They will be launching their '13 car from their base at Enstone, UK on Monday, 1/28. The launch will be at 7:15pm GMT, which is 2;15pm Eastern time, live on their YouTube channel.

Sadly, that's just about the time of the afternoon when I have to leave for work!

Nonetheless, I hope to get some pics posted here by Tuesday a.m. at the latest.

 

[IndyAndy]

So, as promised, here are some pics of the 2013 Lotus F1 challenger, the E21, which officially broke cover on Monday.

I don't see anything that is glaringly different to their '12 car: Just some minor tweaks and a few new/different sponsor logos, which change up the livery just a bit as well.

Kimi Raikkonen & Romain Grosjean are back for another season behind the wheel. Hopefully, the Kimster can mount a legitimate championship challenge - and Romain can stop crashing into everyone!

Next up: McLaren, on Thursday.

 

[IndyAndy]

I figured that somebody would do one of these eventually.

Like I suggested; evolutionary, not revolutionary.

 

[IndyAndy]

Today it was McLaren's turn to reveal their 2013 car.

Looks to be another 'evolutionary, not revolutionary' design. - But, with as good as they've been over the past few seasons, who can blame them?

Highly touted youngster Sergio Perez comes over from Sauber to team up with '08 champion Jenson Button.

I would look for Macca to be well in the mix again this year.

 

[IndyAndy]

The boys from Maranello trotted out the F138 today (No; I don't know why it's called that!). - And yes; that God-awful stair step nose is gone!

2006/2007 Champion Fernando Alonso will pair up with Felippe Massa yet again this year to try & get the Scuderia back to the top of the F1 pecking order.

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Force India also broke cover on their '13 mount today. The VJM06 has also ditched the ugly nose look for a more graceful, flowing profile. One of the fastest cars in a strait line over the past few seasons: Can they finally master the 'twiddley bits' that are the heart of road/street course racing?

Scotsman Paul di Resta is back for a third year with Force India: The driver of the second car has yet to be named.

 

[IndyAndy]

Finally some word from Marussia: They will unveil their car this upcomming Tuesday.

 

[IndyAndy]

Now this is original & way cool - but then you wouldn't expect anything less from Red Bull Racing.

The following video is their 'offical unveiling' for the RBR9; the mount with which they hope to defend their three consecutive Constructors & Drivers Championships.

For those not familiar with F1/RBR, the first two men that you will see are:

#1) Christian Horner - Team Principal

#2) Adrian Newey - Chief Engineer (& arguably the greatest F1 car designer of the past two decades)

[YOUTUBE]-t6cxIeCIjE&feature=player_embedded[/YOUTUBE]

Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber are both back for another year behind the wheel.

 

[IndyAndy]

Sorry, folks! - I completely spaced the Sauber unveiling, which took place yesterday.

Looks like they've picked up a new primary sponsor, which has lead to a new base color for the livery. They've also ditched the step nose.

A brand new driver line-up this year, as Nico Hulkenberg moves over from Force India and Esteban Gutierrez moves up from the GP2 Series.

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Mercedes AMG F1 launched their car earlier today

2008 Driver's Champion Lewis Hamilton (believe that I earlier credited Button with that title, but his was actually in '09) moves over from McLaren to partner with Nico Roseberg, who finally seems to be comming into his own: This could prove to be a volatile pairing IMO.

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Scuderia Toro Rosso is also supposed to be showing off their '13 challenger yet today. I'll post pics just as soon as I find them.

 

[IndyAndy]

And now it's the 'junior' Red Bull team's turn.

Scuderia Toro Rosso has just unveiled the STR8.

About the only obvious difference from last year's car is the slight downturn at the very tip of the nose: Hopefully, there is much more than that which can't be seen, as the little squad from Faenza had a pretty lackluster 2012.

Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne return for a second season.

 

[IndyAndy]

Today was the day that the two (remaining of four who were granted entry into F1 in 2010) new squads showed off their new cars.

Caterham has opted to keep the step nose, but ditch their former driver line-up for Charles Pic - who moves over from Marussia - and rookie Giedo van der Garde. Only time will tell if this fresh duo will help them finally break into the championship points collecting business.

I have to admit: I do like their green-based livery.

**************

I'm thinking that this is not good...

Marussia F1 comes into 2013 with a car of simple, clean lines - and virtually no sponsor logos. British rookie Max Chilton has claimed one seat, but the other is still up for grabs - and it's no suprise that money will probably talk AT LEAST as much as actual driving talent.

As things stand right now, I fear for this squad's future past 2013.

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The first of three pre-season testing sessions begins today at Jerez, Spain. Unless the situation changes, it with be two weeks (at the second test, held in Barcelona) before Williams breaks cover on their 2013 car.

 

[forty_three]

Did I hear correctly that STR was switching to Renault engines next year like the big boys?

Anyone else heard that?

 

[IndyAndy]

They've made it known that Renault would be their preference, but nothing final/official has been signed as of yet from what I can find.