# FW26 will debut on Monday



## F1Crazy (Dec 11, 2002)

It should turn a few laps at Valencia circuit, quite early introduction, second only to MP419.


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## SteveT (Dec 22, 2001)

I haven't seen any webcast of the event listed anywhere. I guess we'll have to check the websites for the pictures after the fact. The BMW.Williams website says it will take place at 2:30 pm CET with is 8:30 am EST.

Anxious to see the FW26.


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## richard (Apr 3, 2002)

God, it's awful. Check out F1-Live.com. The nose is horrible. The looks of F1 cars get worse every year. Oh well, it better be fast


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## Jetfire (Jun 20, 2002)

Hoo man, it's FUGLY. That is one....er, radical nose treatment. I wonder how it'll perform this season.


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## The HACK (Dec 19, 2001)

Well, at least it looks likely the car won't understeer.  

You know by mid season almost ALL the cars will have that nose, if the FW26 is competitive.


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## Jetfire (Jun 20, 2002)

The HACK said:


> Well, at least it looks likely the car won't understeer.
> 
> You know by mid season almost ALL the cars will have that nose, if the FW26 is competitive.


 True enough. Either that, or by mid season thw FW26 will be back to more normal looking nose.


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## doeboy (Sep 20, 2002)

: puke:


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## The HACK (Dec 19, 2001)

Did they put armour-all on the treads too? Trying to re-define "slicks"?

That is jet fokkin' black, man.


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## The HACK (Dec 19, 2001)

Side profile looks almost identicle to the FW 25...










I wonder if Bangle could be blamed for the nose fiasco?


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## Jetfire (Jun 20, 2002)

One hopes that F1 is the last bastion of form following function. I have no doubt that the new nose is designed to result in a faster car, but it's a serious departure from the last many years of F1 design. It'll either be something that everyone copies, or something that Williams will eventually forget.


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## The HACK (Dec 19, 2001)

Funny thing is, when the FW 25 first came out both Ralf and JPM were :nono::nono::nono::nono::nono:in' like crazy about how the car handles.

At least now they're both saying that it drove just like the FW 25 did at the end of the season. :dunno:


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## richard (Apr 3, 2002)

Man, aerodynamics are really destroying the look of the current cars. All those ugly flips and winglets look bad. Anyone ever see the Prost '90 Ferrari at MOMA in NYC? That's what an F1 car should look like. Nice and sleek and not a bargeboard in sight. I don't think we'll ever see the FW26 in any art museum.


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## The HACK (Dec 19, 2001)

I'd rather it look like sh*t and win the WCC and WDC.

But if it doesn't win squat...Then I'll start bashing the Bangled front end as well.


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## doeboy (Sep 20, 2002)

The Chief Aerodynamicist is Antonia Terzi... so it wouldn't be a Bangle nose.... It'd be the Terzi nose.


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## PhilH (Jun 7, 2002)

Better pictures...

I don't care how it looks as long as it wins. I kind of like that they're taking a chance with something different, maybe it will give them an edge. It's not like F1 cars are pretty anyway.


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## Jetfire (Jun 20, 2002)

PhilH said:


> Better pictures...
> 
> I don't care how it looks as long as it wins. I kind of like that they're taking a chance with something different, maybe it will give them an edge. It's not like F1 cars are pretty anyway.


I tend to find them attractive by function. They are not viscerally pleasing, per se...but after seeing them through most of last season, they're beautiful. I would love to see this nose prove successful in 2004.


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## F1Crazy (Dec 11, 2002)

Have you seen the cars from 70's? (Richard probably remembers them ) The early wings and other aero bits? Now, these cars were ugly!


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## Alex Baumann (Dec 19, 2001)

Me likes it :thumbup:

It says 'over 900 hp'.

Like richard said, it better be fast, otherwise Cavallino Rampante might kick its ...  :angel:


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## F1Crazy (Dec 11, 2002)

MP4-19 looks to be very fast and it looks good... :eeps:


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## DannO (Apr 25, 2002)

If it gets them wins it's the prettiest thing I've ever seen.


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## SteveT (Dec 22, 2001)

The HACK said:


> Not too bad, about 3 seconds faster per lap over last year's Ferrari...A car at the end of its developement cycle (i.e. about as fast as it's going to get).
> 
> 1. J.P. Montoya Williams-BMW FW26 1'16"630 51 laps
> 2. R. Zonta Toyota TF103 1'17"984 72 laps
> ...


It's hard to equate testing times, but Pedro de la Rosa went 16.2 there in December with the MP-19. It's significant that JPM is pushing that hard in virtually the first serious test. Very good from that standpoint.


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## F1Crazy (Dec 11, 2002)

SteveT said:


> It's hard to equate testing times, but Pedro de la Rosa went 16.2 there in December with the MP-19. It's significant that JPM is pushing that hard in virtually the first serious test. Very good from that standpoint.


Exactly, we have no idea what kind of programs these guys are running. It doesn't matter who is behind the wheel of the Ferrari, they are not 3 seconds slower (BTW I think Massa is quicker than Barichello).

There is no doubt Ferrari will have a tough time facing FW-26 and MP4-19 but there is no way that the gap will be that big.

First test where FW26 and MP4-19 will run side by side will be very exciting, I bet the teams and drivers will push really hard. Kimi should be back behind the wheel this month and it'll be interesting to see him run on the same day as Monotya.


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## SteveT (Dec 22, 2001)

Juan and Ralf are also likely to be very competitive as they test. Juan has just done a very nice time in the FW26 regardless of the program. He'll be continually compared to Ralf this year for sure. Any doubts about JPM's commitment to BMW and Williams can be put aside.


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## The HACK (Dec 19, 2001)

There's also rumors that Spoonface *will* retire if him and Ferrari can't win another WDC and WCC.

He's made it pretty clear that if he can no longer compete for the top-dog spot in F1 then he'd rather not compete at all. Will be a sad day at the end of this season... :eeps:

Way too early for predictions, but what if JPM wins the title this year, Spoonface retires and Ralf replaces his brother at Ferrari? FW brings in one of the young guns for the 2nd seat, and Button returns to Williams for his 2nd stint? There are signs that Sir Frank Williams wants Ralf to take a significant pay cut and base his salary on a more "performance based" pay structure...Ralf may balk at the prospects.


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## F1Crazy (Dec 11, 2002)

I wouldn't be surprised to see Ralf leave the team, honestly I'd be relieved  

Button back at Wiliiams, now that is the thought! :thumbup:


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## Clarke (Oct 21, 2002)

racerdave said:


> [email protected] straight!
> 
> This is the prettiest F1 car ever...


Yes,Dans Eagle was a beauty!


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## drmwvr (Feb 21, 2003)

The HACK said:


> That is jet fokkin' black, man.


 :rofl:


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## F1Crazy (Dec 11, 2002)

Times from today:

driver/time/laps completed

1 J. Montoya Williams (FW26) 1.16.705 83 
2 M. Gené Williams (FW25) 1.17.184 106 
3 F. Montagny Renault 1.17.884 82 
4 J. Trulli Renault 1.17.900 132 
5 R. Zonta Toyota 1.17.968 106 
6 P. de la Rosa McLaren (MP4-19) 1.18.209 61 
7 F. Massa Ferrari 1.18.456 76 
8 O. Panis Toyota 1.18.656 88 
9 L. Badoer Ferrari 1.18.681 74 
10 D. Coulthard McLaren (MP4-19) 1.19.167 17 

Yesterday Williams worked on FW26 setup, hence the quick times, they probably did the same today. 
Gene continues with tire testing and it's good to see that Michelin is still moving forward (look at Ferrari times, Massa very likely is tire testing as well). 
Too bad DC had reliability problems and Kimi is still recovering after the surgery, I'd love to see MP4-19 driven hard.


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## Alex Baumann (Dec 19, 2001)

BTW, Mclaren is still using the 3 piece rear wing in the tests. Only 2 piece wings will be allowed in the 2004 season.

The new aerodynamic package is not ready yet, I've heard.


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## The HACK (Dec 19, 2001)

What did I tell ya?

http://forums.atlasf1.com/showthread.php?threadid=65071




taken from AtlasF1 Forum said:


> Dear Forum,
> 
> I found this article very interesting published today, coming from a F1 journalist
> of Globo(Brasil) called Celso Itiberê. I am translating just the highlights:
> ...


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## F1Crazy (Dec 11, 2002)

The HACK said:


> What did I tell ya?


 :rofl: Ralf will drive for toyota, no doubt!


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## The HACK (Dec 19, 2001)

The HACK said:


> Well, at least it looks likely the car won't understeer.
> 
> You know by mid season almost ALL the cars will have that nose, if the FW26 is competitive.


Again, what did I tell ya? There's rumors (in fact, an article on F1.racing-live.com mentioned this but I couldn't access the article) that Renault is already thinking of copying the same design for their nose as well.


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## F1Crazy (Dec 11, 2002)

The HACK said:


> Again, what did I tell ya? There's rumors (in fact, an article on F1.racing-live.com mentioned this but I couldn't access the article) that Renault is already thinking of copying the same design for their nose as well.


The problem with front wing is that it affects aerodynamics of entire car so the changes have to be done to more than just the wing. I bet every big team is testing this new design in their wind tunnels as we speak...

I think that Ferrari is worried by the pace of both FW26 and MP4-19, they are said to unveil the new car, possibly named F2004 as early as January (26th possibly) and they may scrap the idea of racing F2003-GA in first races.


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## The HACK (Dec 19, 2001)

They've ALREADY scrapped the idea of running the F2003GA at the beginning of the season. I believe Brawn has already indicated that at the first race in Australia, they'll be running the F2004.

There was a cool picture of the FW 25 composed on top of an FW 26...It's pretty cool. The 26 is SIGNIFICANTLY shorter in overall length and slightly shorter in wheelbase.

Found it:


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## The HACK (Dec 19, 2001)

Get used to seeing this...


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## racerdave (Sep 15, 2003)

Damn! That pic of the FW25 and 26 is cool! Way cool! It's not super-easy to discern the differences, but you can.

Also significant is the length and angle of the engine cowling at the back. The 26 is a lot shorter, presumably to allow more air to the rear wing. Sweet.


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## richard (Apr 3, 2002)

No way Hack...Kimi will blow JPM away and look much better doing it. I do like the fact that Williams are going with a shorter wheelbase. F1 cars were beginning to look more like dragsters, being so long and narrow. God, that FW26 is goofy looking.


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## The HACK (Dec 19, 2001)

richard said:


> No way Hack...Kimi will blow JPM away and look much better doing it. I do like the fact that Williams are going with a shorter wheelbase. F1 cars were beginning to look more like dragsters, being so long and narrow. God, that FW26 is goofy looking.


If you look closely at the MP-19, you'll see it's running a 3 element wing, which is illegal this year in F1. This is a test mule designed to test the full top-speed potential of the chasis, thus it'll be significantly faster than the FW-26 since BMW/Williams has already started race condition testing.

I believe this year Williams will have a chasis advantage AND an engine advantage at the beginning of the season.


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## The HACK (Dec 19, 2001)

Today's time...



> *Jerez - 09/01/04*
> 1. M. Gene Williams-BMW FW25B 1'17"299 71 laps
> 2. J.P. Montoya Williams-BMW FW26 1'17"498 56 laps
> 3. J. Trulli Renault R23 1'17"683 87 laps
> ...


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## racerdave (Sep 15, 2003)

Richard... this is Juan's year.


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## wrwicky (Jan 17, 2003)

Hell yeah it is! Also The 61? Ferrari with the beak nose is stunning.

Where can we go and find pictures of 60s racers to use on this forum without screwing the photog and wrongfully using copyrighted material?



racerdave said:


> [email protected] straight!
> 
> This is the prettiest F1 car ever...


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## racerdave (Sep 15, 2003)

Well... not sure. I just did a Google on 67 Eagle jpg and found that one.


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## SteveT (Dec 22, 2001)

Ferrari hasn't had a new car for the start of the season for quite a while have they? Obviously, last year sent a message to them and the FW26 will too. Even if the message from the FW26 can be debated, something new that MIGHT be a step forward will have everyone looking closely.

As for Kimi, he might be checking out his ride for 2005...or that might be as close as he gets.


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## richard (Apr 3, 2002)

In re-reading my post above I thought I'd better clarify something. When I said Kimi would look better beating JPM I was refering to the CAR. I could see how you guys might get the wrong impression LOL. I hope Kimi and JPM are both with McLaren next year...can you say Senna/Prost. Hopefully it won't get that ugly.


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## F1Crazy (Dec 11, 2002)

Kimi managed to set a new record at Jerez circuit today with the time of 1,16.125.

Is there anything better to do while waiting for the season to start than following the winter testing?


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## SteveT (Dec 22, 2001)

McLaren didn't field a new car in 2003. Well, the MP4-17D was pretty much a new car by the end of the year. Anyway, they finally start testing a new car, the -19, and along comes the FW26 and puts it in the weeds. I'm sure they wanted to put it on the top of the sheet. They probably ran light to get set the time. It is testing. No one inspects the cars at the end of the day.

F1Crazy, all we can do is talk about it. March will be here soon and then we'll find out for sure.


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## F1Crazy (Dec 11, 2002)

You know what I think, we can talk all day long about what car is better but at the end of the day I think the tires will win this upcoming season, even more than last year and I think Michelin will be on top.


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## Jetfire (Jun 20, 2002)

These testing times are all very exciting...but unfortunately, they're just test laps. The BS stops when the checkered flag drops. :thumbup:

I'm going to be following the '04 season from the beginning. After catching every race since Monaco last year, I'm pretty hooked.


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## SteveT (Dec 22, 2001)

Jetfire said:


> These testing times are all very exciting...but unfortunately, they're just test laps. The BS stops when the checkered flag drops. :thumbup:
> 
> I'm going to be following the '04 season from the beginning. After catching every race since Monaco last year, I'm pretty hooked.


Tivo...it doesn't let you miss a race. 

I've been hooked for 30 years. Testing is still fun to follow. It's amazing now, that we can be watching the rollout of the car a few hours after it takes place in Europe. And we can follow their test results the same day they conduct the tests.

Tires make a big difference. There were those who insisted that the Ferrari advantage in 2002 was not mostly tires. The advantage Ferrari has is that Bridgestone develops their tires only for them not for the other teams. In 2003, the tire manufacturers could develop tires specifically for each team. Michelin designed tires for their teams, but I don't think Bridgestone has ever designed a tire for any team other than Ferrari. As a result BAR has moved to Michelin. We'll see if they do better.


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## wrwicky (Jan 17, 2003)

F1Crazy said:


> You know what I think, we can talk all day long about what car is better but at the end of the day I think the tires will win this upcoming season, even more than last year and I think Michelin will be on top.


Like they have for the last several years:flipoff:



I heard a lot of talk about the vast superiority of the tires that continually place second or lower in the WDC and are run by more teams. I'm not sure either tire is better in the dry, just that they are developed around particular cars.

In the rain, Bridgestone is clearly superior, but Michelin looks strong and is getting stronger. Can't wait for another year.


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## The HACK (Dec 19, 2001)

Looks like BMW/Williams is WAY ahead of the pace. They ran a full race simulation with proper fuel load and fully compliant car. Fastest lap was over a second faster than Toyota's fastest lap.



> From Autosport.com again:
> 
> *Confidence at Williams sky high over FW26 *
> 
> ...


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## Alex Baumann (Dec 19, 2001)

.


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## Jetfire (Jun 20, 2002)

:thumbup:


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## richard (Apr 3, 2002)

Nice pictures Alex. Unless I'm blind, no bargeboards. Now if they could get rid of all the winglets, swoops, flipups, etc. I might not even mind the nose. All those aero bits just make the car too busy looking. Great livery though.


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## Jetfire (Jun 20, 2002)

So Alex...where are the new Ferrari pics? :stickpoke:


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## Alex Baumann (Dec 19, 2001)

Jetfire said:


> So Alex...where are the new Ferrari pics? :stickpoke:


:eeps: :eeps:

Not much different from last year's car. But I'm still waiting for the 'real' car in Sydney.


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