Just seen a pic of the new-shape BMW F1 car testing at Barcelona and I’m not quite sure what I think I’m looking at. What kind of racing car has had a front wing like this? Anyone got any ideas? I’m thinking F3000 car or Champ Car, but not recent.
I’m also thinking Russian Monster Truck.
But overall, I’m thinking that from this angle, with the incongruous relationship between wide and low front wing and tall and high rear wing, this is one ugly munter.
What really don’t help – don’t help one tiny bit – are the gigantic, shoe-box like front wing end plates. What a drastic contrast to the beautiful sculpted end plates we’ve seen on this year’s cars.
The scarcely creditable uprightness and SQUARENESS of it all is what really upsets my head.
But if it means the best drivers in the world will be able to fight each other and overtake, then so be it.
In that case, I think it’s beautiful.
True if it makes it more exciting – it justfies it looks bad
engeriners are not artists
One ugly car, that rear wing looks ridiculous!
Shame since the F1 cars of recent years were beautifully designed.
But don’t forget, your eye adjusts to this sort of thing. I remember when I first saw a narrow F1 car – someone will have to tell me what year the first narrow one came out – my eye reacted badly and I started saying stuff like ‘I’m not watching those things’. But in the end, we got used to them.
‘But if it means the best drivers in the world will be able to fight each other and overtake, then so be it.’
I agree with that
‘True if it makes it more exciting – it justfies it looks bad
engeriners are not artists ‘
and i agree with that
Should be a lot more exciting now… I HOPE!
Do you think this will truly test the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa versitality?
They say it looks like the cars from the early 90s, not much resemblance here tho! – but this is only an interim car, not the 2009 car they will be using. Im sure its just this years car with lots of bits stuck on!
Kubica is going back to carting i’d say… shouldn’t it look like a jet fighter full of angry angles and agressive spoilers? is that how it’s gonna be now?… gulp.
It actually looks like the sort of F1 car that would have been used when I first watched it as a kid, back when Gerhard Berger and Jacques Villeneuve were in it, Mclaren’s colours were red and white thanks to Marlboro, and Schumacher was in a yellow Jordan.
Only i’d imagine this year they’re much faster, only with ‘old skool’ aerodynamics. Eep. That can’t be good.
But I have to say, it’s an ugly little bint, isn’t it? Get rid of that aerodynamics rule, the mad fins were somewhat pretty.
WTF?
It Looks Stupid!
I follow Andy, it’s not THE ‘09 car, because what would the reason be for not putting slick tires on a car with the new aero package if they were testing how the new aero stuff works.
Yeah, but look at the bodywork, guys – no flip-ups or winglets. I reckon that body might be close to 09 spec. The car is completely different to the 2008 car, isn’t it?
Very 80’s…or is that just me???
Pilots say that a plane must loog good to fly well.
Hope this doen’t apply to F1’s!
i do not like the new look but if it is to get more speed and more exciting let it be
:L:)
Massive front aero and tiny rear aero perched right up high. Are Clarkson, May and Hammond pleased that they got it spot on with the Avantime then?
this indeed looks…eh…not so pretty…
“disproportioned” is a word that comes to mind.
not really a looker
But like Bill said: if this is going to deliver us intense battles well then: roll it on!
BMW focused on the development of the 2009 car rather than improving the 2008 one through the season.
This might explain how they can come up with something completely different so quickly. This is 2009 spec in my opinion.
But where are the slick tires ?
It’s all in the eye of the beholder. Personally I thought the 2008 cars were awful to look at in some respects because of the countless winglets, horns and scoops. A return to cleaner designs is welcome although this one does look strange. Radical designs in F1 are few and far between, most designers come up with the same or similar ideas (legally or otherwise). Maybe all the cars will look like this or BMW are tying something totally different, which would be a surprise as you’d imagine they’d want to keep it under wraps for as long as possible.
Oooh look! a Scalextric car!!
Now how are they going to get the slots in the track?
I’m hoping to see a maclaren-honda driven by a bloke with a yellow, green and blue helmet
Looks like 2009 spec to me, it’s a totally different body – look at those sidepods – and aero package to this year. So I don’t think it’s a mule. I think they’re testing it with this year’s tyres though so they can gauge what’s going on before they chuck new rubber on it. It would be too much to test ‘09 aero and tyres together right off the bat with no data on either. Would be a mine field!
I wonder if Bangle had anything to do with it…
Was going to make exactly the same comment as Jamie, look at the rounded sidepods of the thing, I reckon this is 2009 spec bar the tyres. Will be intrigued to see what other teams have come up with. But let’s just hope that it makes the racing better. Butt ugly car though!!!!
f1 cars hav been gettin ugler since 06 with all the extra fins and wings mix matched every wer if there was a pannel stick a wing on r a flap r somfin on it, it was beginin to look like a red neck outside halfords!! areo tech should b the route of the future FXX style i mean f1 should b about goin 4ward not backwards and since 06 its goin bac hopfully to the right end but who knows it mite make things worse and looks wise that seems 2 b the case
Looks like a 1970s Hesketh.
They are probably just using up the stock of last years rubber!
ugly, ugly, ugly. I showed the picture round, and we all reckon that it looks like someting from the 90s, deswigned with a ruler and a chisel.
I new Martin Brundle would be wrong when he said that next years cars will look pretty, what an arse.
This cant be the new 09 car, it still has groove tyres on and its changing to slicks, also bmw and the likes of mclaren etc are releasing there new cars until late january 09. I thinks this pic is a load of rubbish.
Apart from Honda and afterwards Mxlaren’s dumbo ears I though the 2008 cars looked ok. Ok I wasnt a fan of the anvil wings Red bull introduced it seemed to work.
The rear wing on this car is so ugly it makes me want to cry. The rest of it isnt to bad but like Bill said those front wing side pods are a monstrosoty.
Wooooo lots pf places to put my clothes to dry ! It does look silly, watch F1 calender sales fall . . . rapidly
ugghh its ugly
If you remove the front and rear wing it looks like a sex-toy !!! HA
Me thinks they’re going to go through a few front wings per car per race!
Not pretty but better for no winglets. You couldn’t make out the shape of this years cars there were so many appendages.
wtf is that it seems they have gone 15 years back. its damn f@!!ing ugly.
doesn’t it not supposed to be on slicks??
Isn’t that supposed to be on slicks??
Though i’ld say it’ld be good to see the cars getting rid of all those ugly aero bits on them…
As you’ll see in the next issue of the UK magazine, the aero bits are actually quite beautiful when you see them up close and think about what they do. Not sure what the story is with tyres, but it might be that Bridgestone simply didn’t bring any to this test. We have a man at that test, I’ll ring him and find out.
I loved the modern f1 cars they looked so good and lewis was reintroducing overtaking (they probably penalised him for ruining their argument that they needed the changes) if they had let him.
WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?
very very UGLY indeed!! i prefer 2008 cars which have more sculptures which is shows the modern era of formula 1.
but this? i probably wouldn’t watch F1 again.
PLEASE tell me they haven’t finished it yet. It looks like they’ve got the basics and they’re now going to refine it – hopefully heavily refine it.
But that rear wing looks as stupidly tall as the Avantime’s temporary fixture! Did a 6 year old draw this car?
Ah well, to put a positive spin on it, those side pods look good. Curvy but meaningful looking.
Oh I know what it looks like! An exaggerated F1 car, with the more important bits, erm, exaggerated.
Or a kiddies electric car that’s supposed to look like an F1 car.
BTW on the official F1 site is a photo of the new 2009 Williams, on the track. It looks the same, with slicks, massive front wing and small high rear wing…
So my guess is that they’ll more or less will look like this…
How many front wings will they go thru! It looks like it sticks out past the wheels! If they bash wheels the front wil crack or be moved, we will have more excitement in the pit lane as they fu@k about with them than on the race track!
NOT A FAN!
First they scare of the sponsors and the public by influencing race results and penalize drivers for whatever reason and now this. This cannot be true !!
The cars of 2008 looked so good, the shape of the McLarens and Red Bulls was beyond imagination.
And now this, the most ugly cars in the world !
Let them change the rules now before it is too late !!!!
Who is killing F1 and why???
I do hope all the car’s dont look that…..er odd?
How has this look come as a surprise to so many?! Mock ups and pic’s have been around for months.
BTW – It’S damn ugly!
It looks like a combination of a late ’90s and last year’s car! But if it goes fast and can over-take, who cares!?
Looks quite ugly, hopefully ugliness brings more overtaking…
Now, F1 is doing the right job. They introduced that zombie and got us talking. I love adventure so anything new is great but Civil Aviation Authority need to be seriously warned that aliens are no longer threats to the aerospace, the new BMW F1 Car pictured above is.
Max Moseley better start applying for a license to fly as the rear wing on this new F1 could fly the car any minute, just push one wrong button and you will be counting the air miles.
The only assurance here is that it is BMW in charge. The boffins have not made major mistakes in a long time, if ever.
Late ’80s, sorry
em… F1 car design by a man with only a ruler.
Not sculpt in the wind tunnel, they just can’t stand a chance
It is only a test car but my god its horrid!! Hope the finished cars look better as in my view that’s just as important as the spectacle which better be good if the cars have to look like this!!
Check out Autosport where there’s a picture of the Bimmer running slicks.
Snowplow. It’s a damn fast snowplow.
What an ugly car. Certainly will miss the old f1 cars now. It is weird that being the top motor racing formula in the world, that they will be making cars that look so bland and simple, with so many straight lines. It almost look like they did not put effort in designing a car at all, seems like all they did was build a car that meets regulations with not much fine tuning.
I think it looks quite nice, in a retro sort of way….its growing on me. It does look a bit out of place though! might go a tiny bit faster because of the fact the nose is smaller, and all that aero stuff on the body which did look C**P fair play
:p
woops the aero stuff last year which looked C**P sorry :s
This looks like an 80’s F1 car :S
but ok engineers only look for practicality and performance…unless they are Italians who would always prefer style over anything else…
Reminds me of the old Williams BMW walrus car! And it’s almost as ugly!
The 2009-spec car that Williams previewed last week looked much better than this monstrosity! and even then it was still quite ugly.
I watched my first live race in Singapore this year and I thought the cars looked beautiful in the metal. Beautiful forms defined by perfect function…
And this is what we’ll be getting next year?? Ugh. please let this be just a bad dream…
Hahaha, BMW spent all that money, and the best they came up with is a toy racing car. Where did BMW get their inspiration from, a brick wall? If I am spending millions on a F1 car, it should at least scare children to the point where they pee their pants, not make them feel sick. Come on BMW, don’t bring the ugly looks of your road cars to F1. Other companies are beating you enough as it is, don’t let them laugh at you too.
They made it ugly so it matches better the production BMWs. Quite logic.
That rear wing looks oddly familiar – methinks BMW engineers have been watching the latest TG series…
Its such a shame its all part of bernies master plan to improve overtaking, by limiting the aerodynamics of the cars. For years the sport has been at the forefront of technology, developing the cars, changing our every day cars for the better.
If it all leads to this engine and gearbox restriction aswell it will kill a major area of the sport. I know its a reason why millions love it!
What are they thinking! We should be making them more adavanced than ever.
Good luck Lewis!!!!!!!!!!!!
I like it except for the rear spoiler, F1 won’t take BMW seriously no more, but then again, they never did
its a munta
I have seen snap shots of the Red Bull car for 2009 season and it looks nothing like this at all! This car I am 100% percent sure that this is either a prototype or one of last years car with bits and pieces stuck on… Remember they test whats bad on the car before they start pushing for performance
It looks like the car from 1980s to the 90s!
It is way ugly but a good idea… actually it’s not!
It looks like the car from 1980s to the 90s!
It is way ugly but a good idea… actually it’s not!
i think it looks good,very late 90’s looking,but hey,that’s a good thing!
oh dear theyve getting rid of the jet fighters and replaced them with a shoe box
I dont mind mind the wing
I just really hate that nose! It just looks so pointless and i cant believe it helps aerodynamics
Hmm…barring the use of slicks on the car, it certainly looks like it does meet the proper 2009 specifications, even though it’s ugly to the hilt.
And yes, it does seem to take hint from Champ cars in more ways than one. Let’s hope that the FIA were right in their predictions for the new design: more racing.
If not, everyone would be demanding to have the old cars back.
Anyway, anyone wonders why the “clean” aerodynamic look on the 2009 cars? I have a personal pet theory and it goes like this: Someone important has had a child coming to an age where he’d/she’d ditched his/her pacifier for crayons and realised he/she can’t draw an F1 car because there are too many “horns” and “kinks” on it. Anyone agrees?
I wondering if the designer loves duplo because the nose seems to be a shaped like one of the blocks from duplo
Completely agree with Boothy.
The day they freezed the engines F1 started to die.
It gets worse and worse.
The rulemakers clearly do not love this game.
And it won´t help overtaking, believe me..
The Renault Avantine looks better than this-
The F1 car looks so last decade. BMW, you have lost sense of time, this car is for 2009, the futuristic era!
You just cant be bothered to make good cars anymore because you’ve ran out of ideas.
I think it looks good from the front, other than the endplates. but the rear wing is idiotic!!!!!
Wooooooah! That’s the ugly duckling the other ducks wouldn’t let be in their duck gang…
But if it makes F1 for exciting, then that’s fine by me. But personally, I don’t think they’ll look like that, for an F1 car that’s suppossed to have less downforce, it still looks like it has ALOT of it and those groved tyres or a give away too.
And if you look at where the drivers head is, theres none of those “Hump” things either side of him to protect his more. They only got added this year because a driver (Forget who now?) came very close of having a nasty whack from another car when it kinda bounced across his car & the front left wheel came inches of hitting his head. Hence why the teams had to add those extra little “humps”.
Anyway, I thought the F1 cars from 09 onwards were going to be more like F1 cars from 97 but with a little less aerodynamics, slick tyres, wider push rods but all with extra safety? That looks more like a F3000 car to me…..I believe it is.
And, F1 cars should have a small rear wing…Remember the F1 Williams car in Italy in 97 when they had that wierd but good looking small rear wing? It was just a testing thing, they weren’t allowed to use it in qualy, raceing. Should bring it back.
Brilliant I Saw this on the F1 Website . http://www.f1.com
that is disgusting :s i was worried about these and i was right!!!
0100100011111001010100101 00101010010
Worst looking car ever
but if it’s fast its good
The Stig is Ben Collins
wheres ma sickbag :S
aparently in 2008 u had to go 2 seconds a lap quicker than someone to overtake this, with an adjust able front wing (+/- 3 degress 2 times a lap) and with the extra power from kers on demand will bring that down to one second a lap faster. should be good next season, no tyre warmers either, its gonna be hectic first lap out of the pits.
i reckon we might se a mix up the team orders next, can’t wait.
umm my theory…they used that front wing with a gap between and a rear wing the size of that gap, so that both wing produces equal downforce in the back and front of the car so…just like a equally distributed weight. and the squareness of the shape…well it’s their design…and their designs were made also by engineers…you need to know physics etc. to be able to draw a design for such car…..they’re also artists, not just engineers..
Eh? Am I seeing this? I’ve watched formula 1 for a few years now and ive got to say, aren’t f1 cars just beautiful? But what is this? The richest sport in the world makes that!? Watching a bus drive round Monaco next year doesn’t really appeal in all honesty. And that rear wing!???????????????????? ??
another thing, the walrus front nose of the BMW is back, at first i thought it was old, bet its quick tho.
a f1 car can be ugly, because it’s the performance that matters, they’re not gonna sell it right?
I would say this car is about 80% complete for ‘09. While I agree front and back wing is bloody ugly, on the official f1 website it shows other semi-complete ‘09 cars, which have less ugly wings. And about “it has no slicks” there are other pictures of this car running slicks
then end justifies the means. we’ll see if it makes the races better, if not then they are a pig ugly disgrace to motorsport
the front wing just looks boring. a 10 year old would’ve drawn a better one. and because there are no more stupid winglets/bullwinkles/nose whatsoevers on the car everywhere the body looks smooth & “clean” – which means boring as well. because nomatter the nosewingletbullwhatsoever s looked stupid, they looked funny as well.
but the rearwing?!? oh dear… it looks utterly, absurdly, insainly…(fit in whatever you want, i’m german & out of words) bananas/nuts/cuckoo (pick whatever fruit/vegetable/animal you like). I mean have they stolen that from f3 or something? which bloody madhead from the fia came out with that?!!!??! and which even bigger madhead said ‘yes it looks rubbish and it makes the cars slower. nail it on!’ i swear, when i ever get that egghead in my hands, after my treatment, he’ll even look more bonkers than his bonkers looking rearwing. mostly cause it’ll stuck in his butt. and if i won’t get him alive -and chances aren’t that bad- i’ll do riverdance on his grave – in a wheelchair, in the rain, upsidedown. just to blame him for his bonkersness.
The skyhigh spoiler is what freaks me out!!
it very well could be the 09 spec. though why they would be testing in on wet tyres already is a mystery to me. it doesnt look that good at all, but if it will go faster than anything before i dont care.
if you look on the f1 website the bmw is the only car like that. the ferraris and mclarens still look beautiful.
thats a silly looking f1 car
To me it looks like they read the technical drawing a bit wrong and messed up some sizes, somewhere there is a BMW designer banging his head on the wall and cursing those who made it…
Or not!
Am sure we’ll all get used to it anyway, it’s not unlike the mock-ups we saw when the 09 regs were first announced. Just be thankful they ditched the ideas that were floating about last year or so with the split rear wings. I like the clean looking body, the front wing is an issue though, that’ll rip up the pretty new slicks on the cars that come near them.
dont all the cars have to have some new sort of design this year thats what i have heard
the first comment says ‘engineers aren’t artists(then a smiley face)’ however i think that engineering is a type of art that is beautiful but mainly when i have my science trousers on and when i have my art trousers on they are still beautiful. thats because all my trousers are suit trousers or designer jeans!
anyway, sounds cruel, but lets hope that wing is really bad at giving downforce so there will be loads of crashes. DONT DENY IT, THEY ARE YOUR FAVIROTE BIT!
This is not a real picture. If you look closely you can see where it has been photoshopped and besides its running hard compound grooved slicks. Why would any F1 team was money testing on obselete tyres especially when they have full slicks to play with next year that they have already been testing on since the begining of 2008. Sorry but someone has been googled.
put a ‘06 front and back wing on and its b-e-utiful
It might not look that great, but, combined with the equal engine rule in 2010, it will certainly sort the men from the boys.
I think it will mean that, next year, we’ll see more competition from the likes of Kubica, Vettel (with a Mclaren engine!), Kovolainen, and maybe even a come back from Alonso.
My bet’s on Massa next year, although the McLaren engines are much more reliable, it’s the engine that counts.
None the less, it still makes the sport much more exciting. Massa for the win!
that bmw looks like someone it was made by a 78 year old
That rear wing reminds me of a drag racer…
Seriously uncool!!
True if it makes it more exciting – it justfies it looks bad anywhey robert kubica is the best f1 driver ever:P
he is better then hamilton;/
the car needs a v8 blender on it incase a driver gets hungry. And the engine from the Stena Stair Lift which is also a V8.
Oh for goodness’s sake! What the hell has happened to F1? I thought the F1 cars were ugly enough, they don’t to look like crocodiles! We should all sign a petition against the FIA for their monumentally idiotic sets of rules.
the front nose cone reminds me of the old Walrus nosed Williams.
Is it the Eu sticking it’s oar in? Remember their idiotic ruling on bent bananas? They had to be straight, and straight carrots; does that sound a bit homophobic? Only straight, not bent fruit and veg?
I agree, it looks ludicrous, and I don’t care how much more entertaining they become. Would you want to watch an Ugly Contest? Me neither. Last years cars looked the part, all of them. If this is anything to go by, cover your mug of milk when watching on the telly or it will surely curdle.
bit of a gumpert apollo moment here I think, for me. At first I think it’s ugly and that it should just go back to Germany and then, in a few months i think it’s the best looking automation in the history of forever.
Amazing that Oily Fingers thought the thing had been photoshopped as some kind of prank! That’s funny.
Oily Fingers, if you were being serious, check Sutton Images and LAT Photo and you’ll see the car. If you were joking, then that was funny.
That car will by no means be the finished article. They always change throughout the year, and i’m certain that front wind will be changed a tad.
And anyways, BMWs always look bad, just because of the red and blue lines at the front, which definatly doesn’t flatter the hugemungous front wing.
It’s never going to change F1 enough to be worth looking at that ugly beast for two hours every fortnight.
What the…I’m not sure what to say about this really, it almost looks like that black go-kart modified to look like an F1 car, that was in a previous mag, and is probably still on the site.
It’s almost like a leap back to the mid-ninetys, where the cars were quite boxy. If all the cars look like this next season formula 1 will become quite depressing. They tried to make it more like GP2 in terms of equality, but that might spoil the top end of motorsport, where things are expected to be uneven.
I agree with the Stig!
About that front wing: Go to http://www.f1.com/gallery /testing/2008/331.html and at the bottom there is a pic og the 08 Honda running the same front wing. Sadlye I think it’s here to stay.
And the FIA are doing this to make more people watch F1. Aren’t they missing the point of F1? That it’s the ultimate form of motorsport AND engenering. If I want to see close racing and overtaking then DTM is perfekt, and that is my point. Next year I’m watching DTM instead of F1.
The new Williams looks way better. Hopefully, we’ll have ten totally different cars on the grid. The only noticable difference last year was the paint and those antenna on the front of them at the end.
Man o-man…
It wouldn’t be quite so bad if it weren’t for those “made-at-home” looking endplates.
Prediction:
We will see EVEN MORE splintered bits of wing littering the track at turn 1 of just about every race next year.
It’s a BMw. of course it’s fugly.
Have any F1 cars ever looked any good? Forget the paint jobs, think of the car. Personally I think LeMans cars are the future of the sport. F1 is becoming A1 very quickly.
Who cares what they look like – if they are on slicks and can make Valencia an interesting race (some hope – next years might be the first race I haven’t watched live for 14 years), I realy couldn’t give a toss if they have 7 wings and three wheels
…and if you had read the article on f1.com where you cut’n'pasted the (copyrighted) image from, you would have read
“Although it’s too early for the debut of any 2009 cars, engineers and drivers will be busy tackling the key rule changes for next season in interim machines.”
So this isn’t how they are going to look but a mockup to get a feel for the aero.
Quality work
That looks so ugly the first glimpse i got of it I quickly went round the web collecting pictures of the 2008 and 2007 cars because they looked beautiful. I think there was enough overtaking this year without further medling in the rules and I don’t think that drivers will be able to overtake easily. Great job FIA. Ruined the cars expertly. What a huge turn off.
whilst it looks bad it will make the sport better unless stewards keep penalising for overtaking, but if i had to have a car that looked that ugly to get from 0-60 in 1.7 secs. and 186 in 8.6 secs so be it, i know it would be better if they looked good but we watch f1 for the sport not for the looks
YOU LOT NEED TO THINK WHAT YOU’RE SAYING! MAYBE YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT ARE THOSE FRONT WINGS FOR, SO AS THE REAR WING? yes, some cars are more preety, but F1 IS NOT ABOUT THE LOOKS, IT’S ABOUT THE ENGINEERING THAT MADE THE CAR ITSELF, AND THE DRIVER. YOU LOT DON’T UNDERSTAND IT YES?
it looks too square to be an F1 car, but thats only the BMW version + its there first maodel, they’re bound to change it a little bit… or can they coz of the rules in 2009?? someone tell me plz!! anyway i’m sure the mclaren or ferrair will be much better looking that that huge mouth!!!!! :0
They’ve been running versions of their cars in this manner for the last few tests actually. Its essentially the 2008 car without all the winglets. The manufacturers said a long time ago that it’d be likely that the cars would have huge front wings with tall skinny rear wings to optimise grip.
I imagine the 2009 cars will look similar but not so disproportionate.
Whether you think they look ugly or not is regardless. So long as emphasis is turned toward drivers skill winning races and not the best car then I’m happy. The aero parts have been giving the drivers a huge advantage for a long time now and it’ll be interesting to see how some cope. Obviously none will struggle, same as with the no traction control this season, but its definately a positive move by the FIA.
Rosberg, Piquet, Senna, BBC, 80’s looking cars, slick tyres?
Now all we need is Murray Walker.
According to itvf1.com its only an interim car so lets hope it gets a facelift.
It’ll look very retro with slick tyres
the car looks like crap i ain’t watching f1 again
when does the new season starts?
Looks like bumper cars built from Lego.
Looks cool in a retro industrial kind of way IMO, Less fiddly and flamboyant, more German and functional.
Does anyone know whether this one will be sporting regenerative braking?
Why has it got grooved tyres?
’cause it’s playing in the wet …….
That is the most awesome truck i have ever seen. if i were a truck driver, i would drive that.
Welcome back to 1996, mates.
(Cheers from the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina.)
Wow, with a mouth that big, they should call it Monica Lewinsky.
Hopefully this will improve the racing.
its obviously not the 09 car. I think they are just doing some testing for it and it does look very champ car
cept for the dumbo ears i kinda like last season’s cars.. these new ones look stupid.
I think the sidepods and such look beautifully elegant, but it’s that damn nose. I could get used to the rear wing, but that big, wide nose just kills it.
Pure Rubbish…!!!! A descrace to BMW Motorsport!!!
Thank god I just read this on the F1 site.
“Although it’s too early for the debut of any 2009 cars, engineers and drivers will be busy tackling the key rule changes for next season in interim machines.”
There is still hope for an aesthetically pleasing car!
It’s just ugly!
Funny too 
I just can’t wait how this cars will shape up as the opening of the 2009 seasons comes near.
http://www.althonealexis. com
to me if it goes faster and makes the championship more exciting it should be ok i htink
Lets hope it does something.F1 must be the most boring motor-sport on the planet, he with biggest budget wins !, watch lap 1-2 then fast forward to the last lap race done. Thank god for Sky+.
not even a mother could love something that ugly
Don´t agree, we ´ve seen a couple of great seasons.
In football you also watch for the 15mnts of a game which are exciting, no sport is allways top from start to very end. Can you imagine a more exciting final than the thriller in Brasil? The love for F1 is the speed, the sound, the way the cars look and the braveness it requirs to go fast whith these machines. With the 2009 cars though you are almost emberassed to love F1 because it will just looks funny and stupid.
Does this happen because F1 is ruled by elderly people??…
How in the world can carmakers agree with rules like this?? They invest millions and only few peolpe will keep on watching, not for the racing but for the laughter of it..
Come on guys, start another raceseries or do a strike, with no action taken this will eventually kill F1 and makes you loose your jobs.
There is a big audience out there who wants to see racecars like Indycars or F1 cars like there were in the 90s. Remember the 1991 Williams, or the 1993 McLaren, or the 1994 Ferrari and even last years McLaren, they have been beautifull, those were great looking cars in right proportion!
Still wondering how in the world this descision making traject occured…
Pretty sure this would never have happened in the days of Colin Chapman and Enzo Ferrari, they would turn in their graves..
I thought the 2004 Ferrari was a very nice car.
Nothing beats the paint on that McLaren though.
ive seen chavs with that rear wing on their peageots
I think f1 cars are all about looking cool and being fast it has to be one of them or its not f1 car
i seem to remember BMW as being the team that makes the most pretty F1 racer, with the cool little flick on the nose cone and the connections from the nose cone to the front wing just sliding ever so smoothly along the car. flowing lines, this is not though and i dread to see what the teams are going to come up with this season, given in recent years, BMW is the pretty F1 look.
A while ago I was at Zandvoort to watch some amateur racing on a Sunday. There was a Renault 5GT Turbo with a wooden(!) frontbumper/-splitter. That’s what I’m reminded of when I see this, this… thing: Lego! But let’s be honest: F1 cars haven’t been beautiful for years.
Just seen a report that Taku – yes, the very same nutter who went head-to-head with Kimi (and, subsequently, his boss big Ron) at Monza in 2002 before clipping the grass and sending both cars spinning out) – posted the fastest times in a Toro Rosso at yesterday’s Barca test. Think about it: fine chassis, Ferrari power, super-sticky slicks, low aero and TAKU behind the wheel. Now we’re talking. Clear your diaries and crash the sofas. Vettel who?
Well, I don´t like todays F1-cars at all. They were beautiful in the 80’s and early 90’s.
The best looking car has to be the Lotus 107B, in the 1994 season.
The best livery was the JSP black and gold, used by the John Player Special Team Lotus in the 80’s, driven by Senna. The red-white McLaren comes near though.
desighning a car should be art and beuty not uglyness this is horrible the mechanics should be sacked
it’s beautiful…the simple lines….looks powerful….u should take a look at the new honda! what a hoot.
It looks Lego-made
Its 1997 all over again!
Its almost similar to the F1 cars our dads and gramps watched. Not a big deal.
it looks re dick u las
Why has it got grooved tyres, Ithought that slicks were back next year ?
this new look is really awful. What the hell where they thinking. I have seen a lot of overtaking this year so what’s the problem. The boring races have been the ones where it is difficult to overtake anyway so I don’t think this new set-up will change anything. F1 is different from other classes because the cars are different from one another. I really liked al those aerodynamics on the car, every race a little different set-up. If they plan to make all the cars look the same then F1 will be no different from all the other single seater series.
I personally love these new F1 cars. I was pretty sceptical at first, but the radical new design is almost the retro F1 car look, like 10-15 years ago ish. Plus, they will benefit for more action in races, so i say bring it on!
May be designed like an old F1 car but I bet you it’s quick!
yeah its ugly but all bmws r even this years f1 car i bet mclarens will look good cant remember a ugly 1
were the designers only allowed to use cardboard boxes to design these? they are hideous
the FIA needs to be controlled, the cars of yesteryear were all beautiful, this looks like someone drew it after they had been down the pub and could only find a “shoebox” to design it.
the sport is meant to be moving forawrds, not backwards
I know where I have seen that shape.
IndyCar
Ah!!! remember the “LOBSTER CLAW”…I think it was a Brabham from the 70’s?
Doesn’t look that bad.
Bad news is Bernie wants his stupid medal system in for 09.
As far as I’m concerned, Bernie can shove his sodding medals up his arse.
oldschool man 70s
I think it looks like a 20th century thing, horrible, looks like one of those things I saw at Silverstone Classic this year.
What is the (dirty) Medal system then??
it looks very good……for a hybrid.
schould be called crissis 2009
gd idea james d. and the winner recieves the brown medal!
How much power has it got?
looks god damn ugly why didnt they just leave the rules alone how more exiting could the championship have been.
i think it looks great
Top gear’s 24 hour BMW wing looked better than that. It’ll probably work better too.
looks like an IndyCar car to me
It’s been designed by a child with a crayon!! The pinnacle of motor sport, with the best designers and more money than a serious philanthropist could go through at a help the African child fundraiser, and they come up with this!! My god, we are Europeans; we have style and charisma not Americans who lack both! Isn’t it enough that they have taken the power away? Surely F1 would be better and more entertaining if you deregulated it. After all, it worked for Banking!
They Look rediculous rear wing stupid last years car looked so good they have ruined it.If it means more overtaking then so be it.Come On Lewis Hamilton!!!
Top Gear Rules!
it look like somthing a old boy would knock up in his shead
Love It.
i said it on another post, but it bears repeating: “It looks like a Formula BMW and a Champ car got drunk and made some bad decisions at the Wind Tunnel Hotel!”
Say goodbye to beautiful F1 cars…
But let’s all remember that the development of F1 cars for the past dozen years or so has not been undertaken with the goal of creating the fastest, quickest car possible. The engineers have developed cars that will be as quick as possible and still fit within the rules. Rules created ultimately for safety, because driver deaths and serious injury would kill the sport.
If the teams were given free rein, they have the technology to make cars today that would see 250+ mph top speeds, and lap times 20 seconds quicker than they are today. F1 magazine ran a story a few years back about what an F1 car would look like without rules. The whole car would be a wing, utilize ground effects, and have 6 wheels, 2 up front, 4 out back.
So, the progress of the cars’ design is founded on safety. Which is great. But i think next year’s cars are a step too far. I think this year’s cars were just fine in terms of safety and racing/passing action. Oh well…
comparing to the pornography that carved up the circuts this year, this is like a your mum with plastic surgery gone horribly wrong. The rear wing could be low slung and simple if the regulations could permit it….to justfy this, itshould be a 10 horse race in the last round!
I think the design will get better as the aerodynamisits discover possible angles and wings.
Common. It looks funky. Like a cartoon. Its how it should have always been adn common proper slicks!!!!
Look at the F1-live site, even the drivers start to complain about the ugliness of the cars now.
Be aware this has nothing to do with the designers but with the rule makers only.
And these rule makers are mostly elderly people ..
Why the hell these changes, it was fantastic how it was! If nothing will be done F1 will come to an end!
BBC, Top Gear, use your resources and do something about it, sure you guys have some phone nrs of peolpe with influence !
Otherwise buying the TV rights away from ITV might be a bad deal in the end of the day …
i think it looks sorta ugly because its gone to much of a box shape and it doesnt have the aero look of the previous f1 cars. but if it makes for more exciting racing and passing then thats good
Passing?
Have you seen these front wings?
They will break soon as you come near!
There was enough passing this season and soon as you do a brave manouvre the FIA will penalize it anyway!
Adapting the rules because of lack af passing already indicates that one does not understand F1 at all! F1 was at it best this season, introducing KERS and slicks would have been enough!
The Williams mule looks a bit better. This one resembles the walrus from 2004. And it looks like they’ve re-introduced multiple rear wing elements.
They’ll get better looking as the teams understand how to optimise them. Bargeboards, nosecones and various parts evolved into sleeker things in the past, and there’s no reason why this won’t.
it gets worse!!!! check out the f1.com site look at the Ferrari it looks a hell of a lot better than the BMW but they have this huge (and i mean huge) extra side pod ontop of the existing one for the KERS system
If you look at the progression of F1 cars, you would see an evolution from the 50’s to now. From here on, it’s like a step back. Back to 90s style. THrow away all aero-related research in the past few decades…
Ok I can deal with the front wing, and the main body work actually looks pretty good, but that rear wing is RIDICULOUS!
I kind of feel like the FIA has decided to make too many changes all at once. KERS is also supposed to help improve racing, so why the need for these fugly changes to the aero?!
Plus now Bernie is talking about changing the scoring system for next season too! STOP MESSING UP F1!
:O
:O
:O
:O omg wt is that??????
it just looks like its been crushed sideways
that is disgusting – i saw a picture of an 09 ferrari before (which looked similar) and i just thought it was a joke
im sorry when you look back at cars like the m23, 72, mp4/6, 312t, fw16, bt52 – its surely impossible to go from cars like that – to this……….
So agree !
Looks like someone is trying to mess up F1 deliberately…
check out photos on f1 itv there is a pic of a rear wing with wind vortex comin of it now the last time i seen that was late 90’s early 00 but that in its self is good because there was always gr8 racin from mika and micheal now f1 has in my view 6 drivers at the top of there game so thats a gr8 prospect (heres hopin any way) and i dont think thats the finnished nose for bmw it would b silly of them to show there hand so early
come on… F1 cars aint mean to be pretty..if this car makes the grill more atractive..damn we’ll love it
!!
Don’t tell me the 2008 cars were beautiful with all their stupid little winglets everywhere. It did not look like anything !
This one might be as well ugly, but thank god ! it’s back to just front splitter and rear wing ! That’s it ! F..king finally !
Apart from the horns on the Honda´s I found the aero wings and development great. With the new rules no progress will be seen anymore, they are just like GP2´s or A1 GP cars (though uglier) and will stay that way. The sense of F1 is gone, the engins have been frozen and the aero rules went mad. Is the FIA trying to get us fans away from motorsport? And why?
I would like to start a petition to send to all drivers next season,pleading with them not to overtake at all and drive terribly slowly all year,just for the F.I.A to admit this was a rather large f**k up and re-instate the old(current) designs…
Maybe the Formula One cars were not the cleanest designs on the planet,but at least they were appropriate as to what they represent,namely the pinnacle of engineering and motorsport.
Sadly now,the A1 GP and GP2 cars look much better than FORMULA ONE cars.The mind boggles.
Agree with Valetino completely
If it fails as an F1, they could extend the front “wings”, add a few hydraulics and make a very fast forklift.
Sorry..
I WON’T drive that!.
OrangeMcLaren, don’t insult the 90’s cars! they were gorgeous! these new cars dont even compare! And a car from th early 90’s would probably be quicker too! (with the active suspension and other doo dads they had).
go look at the McLaren from ‘89. gorgeous. clean, simple. i wouldnt mind if the powers that be made the rules so that we had cars that look like that, and call it a day.
BREEZER: enough with the “wind vortex coming of the new rear wing” talk! that’s what theyre trying to get rid of! it’s just con trails. the ‘08 cars made con trails too when the air conditions were right. that pic on itv F1 looks like an early morning shot, when there’s way more moisture in the air.
the whole point of the evolution of the aero regs is to reduce the magnitude of the vortices coming off the back of the cars, so that a following car’s downforce isnt disrupted. that’s why it’s hard to pass now, because when you get close to a car in front of you, your downforce drops, and you cant keep up with them in the corners.
P.S. people, dont insult the “walrus Williams” of 2004 either! that thing was awesome! the new BMW doesnt even compare!
The sad thing is that next year Codemasters, the king of racing sims, are making their 1st F1 game, and look at what they have to model…………
wah.. so true..
pity Codemaster…
looks damn weird. after a while though, it looks quite ok. should be fun next season….
i just wish they took a 2008 car, took off the winglets and gave it slick tyres
it looks like the F1 cars of the 80s and 90s… crap basically lol no arodynamics so hopefully massa will crash
lol
It kooks like one of the best F1 cars of the century I would drive it! But if ur the stig you would want better slick tyres or if you were Jemery Clarkson! But he would say that the car is crap!
THAT BMW SAUBER IS UGLY.BUT YOU SEE BETTER RACING.
That looks like two eated wlruses. That car is just ugly. But next year would be like the senna-prost era. So that means good news.
I hate you Ron Dennis and Martin Witmarsh.
I hate you too Fernando Alonso.
So do I yo.
I hate bulls. All bulls should be turned into an ox.
the new 2009 cars are horrible
When did the look of F1 start to matter? Cause I really don’t give a f— about how it looks as long as it’s the best possible racing car.
I should be commentator
I need to go to the dentist
You’re ugly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bitch! I like French dogs rather than beys! I hate Formula One and you Max Mosley! you Suck asssssssssssssss, just like Zac Efron, BITCH, PUTA!