Formula One's "new" teams Marussia and Caterham uncovered their MR2 and CT03 respectively, cars that they hope will bring them closer to the midfield.
The Banbury based Marussia had a low key launch at the Jerez circuit, as two team members peeled off the covers to reveal their new challenger. Interestingly their sole signed driver so far, Max Chilton, did not take the covers off, whilst their second driver is still to be confirmed.
The car is the first for the team that has been designed using CFD and a wind tunnel, thanks to a technical partnership with McLaren. The car looks to have more aggressive sidepods, a Coanda exhaust and KERS for this season.
The team also avoided the stepped nose, which they did last year too, and chose the "vanity panel" to create a stunning front end to the machine. Splashes of white also join the fluorescent red and black.
Team Boss John Booth said "We embark on the first pre-season test of 2013 feeling very positive about our new car - the MR02 - and what lies ahead in this next important chapter in the development of the Marussia F1 Team. Whilst we have experienced some changes over the winter, the one area of stability we have enjoyed is the one that is most important to our progression from here, the design of our 2013 race car, led by our Technical Director Pat Symonds. The incremental steps we were taking in the latter half of last season gave us the confidence to not only fight hard for 10th place in the Constructors’ Championship, but to feel encouraged by our overall design direction, which was the basis for the car we are fielding here in Jerez today.
"We are confident that the MR02 is the product of evolving elements of last year’s package whilst integrating the new KERS system. It was said many times during 2012 that, notwithstanding the impressive steps we were taking in other areas of our development, KERS - or the lack of it - was the defining factor in determining our position relative to our immediate competitors. KERS was however a ‘strategic omission’ from our package until now; we opted to place the emphasis on aerodynamics, so that when we were in a position to bring the system to the car, we already had the strongest possible basis and its integration would be relatively straightforward. Thus far, this has certainly been the case, as our trackside engineering team have spent the winter refining their tools and preparing for the addition of KERS to ensure we can hit the ground running with effect from this week and use the short period of testing we have to get the car optimised for Melbourne.
“It is early days in our pre-season development programme but there is a great deal of optimism amongst the Team for what lies ahead. With that in mind, we all look forward to seeing the MR02 make its on-track debut later this morning."
Caterham also revealed their new F1 2013 machine at Jerez, with images posted on their website from a studio.
It shows that along with Sauber, Lotus and Red Bull, the Caterham car has kept the stepped nose. However it is flattered by a new livery pattern, with more white and less yellow on the car.
The team hope to move on to the midfield with drivers Charles Pic and new signing Giedo van der Garde. Testing will be important for them to see where they are and keep the reliability up.
The Leafield based squad quickly uncovered their new machine before it was fired up for the first part of testing.
It all adds up to a stunning looking car, with just one more 2013 car launch left to launch. The Williams FW35 will be revealed at the second test, hosted at the Circuit de Catalunya.
Caterham's Technical Director Mark Smith said “CT03 is the first car we have produced in the Leafield Technical Centre so it marks an important milestone in the development of our team. The season ahead presented us with an interesting challenge early in the design process as it is the last year of the current regulations before the introduction of the new engine rules in 2014. With that in mind we decided that CT03 would be an evolution of CT01 rather than a complete re-design, allowing us to focus our resources on developing areas of last year’s package where opportunities would give us the greatest return, whilst also beginning work on the 2014 package."
He added “However, the CT03 car that starts testing
in Spain on day one in Jerez is not the only visible change amongst a
number of other important developments at Caterham this winter. Back in
Leafield, we are fast completing our own ‘driver in the loop’
simulator, created with the support of Dell and powered by Alienware.
This is a major asset for our team that puts us on a par with any of our
competitors and constitutes another example of the long-term plans we
are activating that will help us continue to grow and develop into the
team we know we can become."
Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul said at the launch “This is the first car we have produced since I joined the team so this is a proud day for me. I am very pleased that we have been able to allocate our resources and budgets as efficiently as possible to produce a car that will allow us to consolidate our position in Formula One whilst also starting work on the 2014 car as early as possible."
Drivers Charles Pic and Giedo van der Garde hope that they can build on a difficult 2012 season for the team, despite their limited experience.
 |
| (c) Marussia F1 Team |
The Banbury based Marussia had a low key launch at the Jerez circuit, as two team members peeled off the covers to reveal their new challenger. Interestingly their sole signed driver so far, Max Chilton, did not take the covers off, whilst their second driver is still to be confirmed.
The car is the first for the team that has been designed using CFD and a wind tunnel, thanks to a technical partnership with McLaren. The car looks to have more aggressive sidepods, a Coanda exhaust and KERS for this season.
The team also avoided the stepped nose, which they did last year too, and chose the "vanity panel" to create a stunning front end to the machine. Splashes of white also join the fluorescent red and black.
 |
| (c) F1 Fanatic |
Team Boss John Booth said "We embark on the first pre-season test of 2013 feeling very positive about our new car - the MR02 - and what lies ahead in this next important chapter in the development of the Marussia F1 Team. Whilst we have experienced some changes over the winter, the one area of stability we have enjoyed is the one that is most important to our progression from here, the design of our 2013 race car, led by our Technical Director Pat Symonds. The incremental steps we were taking in the latter half of last season gave us the confidence to not only fight hard for 10th place in the Constructors’ Championship, but to feel encouraged by our overall design direction, which was the basis for the car we are fielding here in Jerez today.
"We are confident that the MR02 is the product of evolving elements of last year’s package whilst integrating the new KERS system. It was said many times during 2012 that, notwithstanding the impressive steps we were taking in other areas of our development, KERS - or the lack of it - was the defining factor in determining our position relative to our immediate competitors. KERS was however a ‘strategic omission’ from our package until now; we opted to place the emphasis on aerodynamics, so that when we were in a position to bring the system to the car, we already had the strongest possible basis and its integration would be relatively straightforward. Thus far, this has certainly been the case, as our trackside engineering team have spent the winter refining their tools and preparing for the addition of KERS to ensure we can hit the ground running with effect from this week and use the short period of testing we have to get the car optimised for Melbourne.
“It is early days in our pre-season development programme but there is a great deal of optimism amongst the Team for what lies ahead. With that in mind, we all look forward to seeing the MR02 make its on-track debut later this morning."
Caterham also revealed their new F1 2013 machine at Jerez, with images posted on their website from a studio.
 |
| (c) Caterham F1 Team |
It shows that along with Sauber, Lotus and Red Bull, the Caterham car has kept the stepped nose. However it is flattered by a new livery pattern, with more white and less yellow on the car.
The team hope to move on to the midfield with drivers Charles Pic and new signing Giedo van der Garde. Testing will be important for them to see where they are and keep the reliability up.
The Leafield based squad quickly uncovered their new machine before it was fired up for the first part of testing.
It all adds up to a stunning looking car, with just one more 2013 car launch left to launch. The Williams FW35 will be revealed at the second test, hosted at the Circuit de Catalunya.
Caterham's Technical Director Mark Smith said “CT03 is the first car we have produced in the Leafield Technical Centre so it marks an important milestone in the development of our team. The season ahead presented us with an interesting challenge early in the design process as it is the last year of the current regulations before the introduction of the new engine rules in 2014. With that in mind we decided that CT03 would be an evolution of CT01 rather than a complete re-design, allowing us to focus our resources on developing areas of last year’s package where opportunities would give us the greatest return, whilst also beginning work on the 2014 package."
He added “However, the CT03 car that starts testing
in Spain on day one in Jerez is not the only visible change amongst a
number of other important developments at Caterham this winter. Back in
Leafield, we are fast completing our own ‘driver in the loop’
simulator, created with the support of Dell and powered by Alienware.
This is a major asset for our team that puts us on a par with any of our
competitors and constitutes another example of the long-term plans we
are activating that will help us continue to grow and develop into the
team we know we can become."Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul said at the launch “This is the first car we have produced since I joined the team so this is a proud day for me. I am very pleased that we have been able to allocate our resources and budgets as efficiently as possible to produce a car that will allow us to consolidate our position in Formula One whilst also starting work on the 2014 car as early as possible."
Drivers Charles Pic and Giedo van der Garde hope that they can build on a difficult 2012 season for the team, despite their limited experience.
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