The 2014 F1 season brings in one of the biggest changes to the sport since Milli Vanilli mimed his way to the top of the charts with “Baby, don’t forget my number.“ And the sound of the new engines are just as controversial.
So arm yourself with the latest changes to this year’s season so you can sound reasonably cool this year and not be the only one in the bar asking “Why are the cars so quiet? They sound like they’re passing wind.”
First up: Driver’s line up.
Bear in mind that this year drivers are allowed to choose their racing numbers and not be allocated a number according to last year’s championship standings. The world champ, though, has first dibs on the #1.
So this year’s order is:
Ininiti Red Bull Racing
#1 Sebastian Vettel (Germany)
#3 Daniel Ricciardo (Australia)
Mercedes AMG PETRONAS
#44 Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain)
#6 Nico Rosberg (Germany)
Scuderia Ferrari
#14 Fernando Alonso (Spain)
#7 Kimi Raikkonen (Finland)
Lotus F1 Team
#8 Romain Grosjean (France)
#13 Pastor Maldonado (Venezuela)
McLaren Mercedes
#22 Jenson Button (Great Britain)
#20 Kevin Magnussen (Denmark)
Sahara Force India F1 Team
#27 Nico Hulkenberg (Germany)
#11 Sergio Perez (Mexico)
Sauber F1 Team
#99 Adrian Sutil (Germany)
#21 Esteban Gutierrez (Mexico)
Scuderia Toro Rosso
#25 Jean-Eric Vergne (France)
#26 Daniil Kvyat (Russia)
Williams Team F1
#19 Felipe Massa (Brazil)
#77 Valtteri Bottas (Finland)
Marussia F1 Team
#17 Jules Bianchi (France)
#4 Max Chilton (Great Britain)
Caterham F1 Team
#10 Kamui Kobayashi (Japan)
#9 Marcus Ericsson (Sweden)
There are 3 Rookies this year: Marcus Ericsson, Kevin Magnussen (Who raced against our very own Marlon Stockinger last year in the Renault World Series) and Daniil Kyvat.
The youngest driver on the grid is new comer Danil Kivat at 19. The oldest driver on the grid is, wait for it, you’ll feel old too...Kimi at 33.
Engines and technical updates and changes
Technically speaking, the cars this year are now hybrids.
Engines, as we all know, are now 1.6 liter V6 turbos. Hence the asthmatic sound. It is also the first time since Moses played halfback for Jerusalem that teams are running a single exhaust.
The upside here is, the energy recovery systems now deliver up to a whopping 160hp on demand for over 30 seconds--which in Albert Park is a third of the lap--and use about 30% less fuel than the V8s despite delivering a combined horsepower of 760-780hp. They also now use an 8 speed transmission.
Fuel tanks are now a lot smaller and have a maximum fuel flow rate of 100kg per hour vs 160 last year. This is exactly what cost Daniel Ricciardo his second place finish in Albert Park.
The chassis height has also been reduced by 100mm to 625mm, the rear beam wing has been deleted and the most controversial one of all, the nose height has been reduced to 185mm and the front wing narrowed by 150mm, which explains why it looks like Daffy Duck.
Also, as the energy recovery systems are taking energy from both the brakes and the turbo exhausts and are now such a large and integrated part, engines are now no loner referred to as engines but powertrains. And they are only allowed 5 powertrains per year before grid penalties start getting imposed.
And lastly, in a bid to make the championship more competitive all he way to the season ender, double points will be given for the final race.
The calendar
There are now 19 scheduled races this year with the return of the Austrian GP (Think Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barichello swapping spots on the last lap in 2002) and the addition of the Russian GP in the Sochi Park Olympic stadium on October 12. Let%s just hope that nobody comes out of the closet before then.
And, if that is not enough to impress your friends this season, hit ‘em up with this:
Did you know?
Daniel Ricciardo takes Mark Webber’s place in Red Bull and has more than just nationality in common. Both scored two points in their debut race, which both happened in front of their home crowd in Albert Park, exactly ten years apart.
Nico Rosberg is the only driver to win at the same track as his father when he snatched the victory in Monaco last year; 30 years after his dad.
Fernando Alonso is now officially the highest point scorer in the history of the sport with 1,618.
Kimi Raikkonen has beaten Sebastian Vettel 100 times straight. In Badminton. Seriously.
Pastor Maldonado was a personal friend of the late president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, who was instrumental in getting him into F1. That explains a lot, doesn’t it?
Massa made his 192nd Grand Prix start in Albert Park last weekend. It was the first time he didn’t have a Ferrari engine.
In 2013, Max Chilton was the first driver in the history of F1 to be classified in every single Grand Prix during his rookie season.
Most polar bears are left handed.
So there you have it, a quick guide to sounding smart this season. If you missed Melbourne, well, it sucks to be you, but you can still get your fix in Sepang in two weeks or get in touch with Red Rock Travel to get 25% off an earlybird booking to Singapore this September.
