Ferrari F14 T Revealed

There's a ton of excitement swirling around the upcoming F1 season. The main reason is this season will require each team to debut an all new car to comply with the heavily revised 2014 regulations....including turbo V6 power plants and new aero regulations.  It already appears that the 2014 car designs (click here to see them) will vary dramatically and that success hinges on which engineering team was able to balance practicality and creativity while taking on the new rule book. Basically, this season epitomizes everything NASCAR is not (see previous rant here).

Ferrari have officially unveiled the F14 T, the car the Italian team hope will bring them championship glory this year in the hands of new driver pairing, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen. In line with the heavily revised 2014 regulations, the Scuderia’s new challenger is powered by a 1.6 liter, turbo V6 power engine and features a new-look nose, quite different to that seen on other 2014 cars so far.

For the past two decades I've been amazed as historically angular F1 designs transitioned into sleek and curvy sculptures that seemed to be zoomorphic at times. I guess the 2014 F14 T design continues to amaze me for the same reason.....but not in a good way. I can't be the only person who thinks the new F14 T looks like an aardvark.

But it doesn't end with Ferrari. The McLaren MP4-29 and Williams FW 36 appear to be styled after the speedy anteater:

Can't wait to see the other designs and how the season plays out.

Honda's not so subtle return to F1

Honda has published a video called The Challenging Spirit of Honda which highlights the company's jump from motorcycles to the  first RA270 F1 chassis in 1962, to the RA272 chassis that won the 1965 Grand Prix to the current state of the F1 program in order to set the table for Honda's return to Formula One......even though it is still more than a year away.

Unfortunately the video is only in Japanese, but the footage if great and is capped off with the the 2015 engine screaming on a test stand....which  needs no translation.

Monaco 2013!

The Monaco Grand Prix will take place on Sunday, May 26th. The Monaco Grand Prix is generally considered to be one of the most prestigious automobile races in the world. Monaco, the Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans are often considered the Triple Crown of auto racing.  Formula One races are already a spectacle unto themselves. But when you bring the show to one of the most glamorous places on earth in conjunction with a massive dose of history and tradition the experience is just off the charts. That is why simply attending a Monaco Grand Prix  as a spectator is on my bucket list.

Below in the pre-race intro aired by the BBC last year.....from birth to Monaco:

 

Another racing movie for 2013!

 

Just saw this trailer for Rush due out in Spetember of 2013.  It's a biography of Formula 1 champion driver Niki Lauda and the 1976 crash that almost claimed his life. Mere weeks after the accident, he got behind the wheel to challenge his rival, James Hunt (Thor).

60 Years of Awesomeness

This came out a while ago but I had to post it anyway. 

Scuderia Ferrari actually pulled several near-priceless Formula One veterans out of storage and flew them around the world to film them running hard through the streets of Rome , Rio , New York , Hong Kong and Monaco.

And there are no special effects or dubbed sound here, just original 14,000+rpm cars tearing up the streets... as the genuine audio will attest. Do put on your headphones and/or crank the volume and enjoy that symphony of cylinders.