Manor designing their car without a wind tunnel

[Malbec]

thats all very well, but if your relying on Wind tunnel testing and rent a space a couple of days a week you'll be so far behind the guys running at least 1 tunnel round the clock that you might as well not bother - trying something different might just be a way to make up some of the competitive advantage lost in bnot having a wind tunnel running all the time and save some cash for development in other areas. it will certainly be an interesting experiment and could go badly wrong, but if F1 teams and designers never tried anything new or different we would not have the advances we have had in the history of the sport - thats what these guys are paid for - i say good luck to them.

I don't think Manor are doing anything new, merely cutting back on windtunnel use to save costs. I also doubt their car would run without some windtunnel use first to make sure that their design actually does work as they thought. People talk as if they wouldn't use windtunnels at all, I doubt thats correct given how easy it is to rent time on one.

[Robinho]

I don't think Manor are doing anything new, merely cutting back on windtunnel use to save costs. I also doubt their car would run without some windtunnel use first to make sure that their design actually does work as they thought. People talk as if they wouldn't use windtunnels at all, I doubt thats correct given how easy it is to rent time on one.

i'd be surprised, but their guys (wirth i think) was quoted as saying the car will never see a wind tunnel in any way.

like you say its not exactly new, more an extension of current processes

[dwboogityfan]

Manor's base in Dinnington (near Sheffield) is just round the corner from my uncles and there is currently a large amount of construction going on to bring the factory up to F1 standards.
From what I saw on Saturday inside the current Manor building they are not going to be a joke team. They have won championships in every formula they have competed and perhaps most importantly don't seem to be overstretching themselves financially.
Of all the new teams they are to me the most interesting - I can see them struggling at first but eventually being successful. They remind me alot of Jordan.
As for Nick Wirth he is a fantastic asset to the team. The car he designed at Simtek in 1995 was a quick little car, if only they had the budget. His work on the Acura has also been a success.
Driver wise it looks like Lucas di Grassi will get one seat so I'd expect an experienced driver in the second - possibly either Sato or Davidson.

[DazzlaF1]

Manor's base in Dinnington (near Sheffield) is just round the corner from my uncles and there is currently a large amount of construction going on to bring the factory up to F1 standards.
From what I saw on Saturday inside the current Manor building they are not going to be a joke team. They have won championships in every formula they have competed and perhaps most importantly don't seem to be overstretching themselves financially.
Of all the new teams they are to me the most interesting - I can see them struggling at first but eventually being successful. They remind me alot of Jordan.
As for Nick Wirth he is a fantastic asset to the team. The car he designed at Simtek in 1995 was a quick little car, if only they had the budget. His work on the Acura has also been a success.
Driver wise it looks like Lucas di Grassi will get one seat so I'd expect an experienced driver in the second - possibly either Sato or Davidson.

Bruno Senna's in the frame too, he said recently that Manor were one of 2 teams that he was talking to (Campos being the other)

I think though it'll be a combo of experience and youth so i'll for Davidson or di Grassi with possibly Trulli

[harvick#1]

I think it would be a good idea just to ban windtunnel testing completely! Wind tunnels are hugely expensive, server kit is going to cost less than that.

I agree windtunnels should be banned and teams have to just make hay without them.

that would really make the racing interesting

[Roamy]

well a couple of things. If you ban windtunnels then people will cheat
the cars now are supposed to be flat bottomed. so I think you can go without a tunnel.

[Garry Walker]

so I'd expect an experienced driver in the second - possibly Davidson.

I dont like manor much, but even I dont wish something that horrendous for them.

[BobbyC]

I applaud you, my sentiments exactly.

These new teams coming in are nothing like those pathetic efforts you see nowadays on the brilliant F1 Rejects site, Manor (as has been discussed) are attempting new methods in F1 design, Campos have enlisted the help of Dallara to build their car for their 1st year, USF1 (from recent stories) certainly dont lack ambition and Lotus have some decent money and a top experienced designer in Mike Gascoyne.

Within 3-4 years, we could be saying that we are watching 13 high quality teams, more competitive cars on the grid means more opportunities for up and coming drivers to make a name for themselves, and that i think is what the FIA wanted when they opened up the bidding for team slots.

Nick Wirth is a successful ALMS chassis man, as we saw, and USF1 is using a similar route; Pratt & Miller, another successful operation in sportscars, is doing the work for the team based at W. T. Harris Boulevard in Charlotte. We're seeing many Le Mans winners working F1 now.

[ClarkFan]

It's rather ironical that so many were throwing rocks at MM and BE for having such a small grid and now when we may have a 14 team grid people complain that the new teams might not be as fast as the others... well, doh!... they've got to start from somewhere

The problem isn't the number of teams, it's the guaranteed grid places. Even if Manor produces a car with the aerodynamics of a sheet iron cow shed, they get into the race and collect the modern equivalent of starting money. I would much rather see 16 teams competing for 28 places on the grid, or 14 teams competing for 25 places.

Regarding Manor's 0-tunnel approach, comparisons with other racing series aren't really valid. All the single-seat series below F1 are single-chassis series, so the possiblity of aerodynamic customization is limited to the attack angles of the front and rear wings. ALMS had at most 3 different LMP1 desings during 2009 and for most of the season the Acuras were the only LMP1 designs on the grid. In neither instance is the design competition nearly as fierce or individualized as F1.

ClarkFan