TECH UPDATE
From small acorns…
HRT and Marussia missed the final F1 pre-season test, but now look to be competent performers in 2012
with the exception of two that, as the issue closed for press, had yet to appear. HRT and Marussia both failed to prepare their new types in time for final winter tests at Barcelona and, as a result, were limited to just 100km of running on hard ‘demo’ tyres before arriving at Albert Park for the Australian Grand Prix. Marussia had hoped to make
T
it to Barcelona but, shortly before the team was due to leave for Spain, the MR01 failed one of its crash tests. Under a new regulation introduced at the start of the season, all cars must be fully homologated before doing any official running, and that failure left the Russian-badged car unable to take part.
MCLAREN PARTNERSHIP After some modifications, the car passed its tests and managed a low key roll out at Silverstone. Immediately noticeable was the fact that the MR01 does not feature the nose hump found on every other 2012 F1 car, apart from the McLaren. Perhaps this is no surprise, though, as part way through last season the team signed a technology partnership with McLaren. This has resulted not only in a low nose but also the use of the McLaren transmission, which features a composite front case and a titanium rear. Using this casing limits the team to using the McLaren inboard rear suspension pick-up points and means the car has pullrod-actuated dampers, whereas the 2011 car, which utilised the Xtrac 1044 transmission, had a pushrod rear
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www.racecar-engineering.com
he April edition of Racecar Engineering featured the new- for-2012 grand prix cars,
BY SAM COLLINS
suspension layout. The Marussia continues to
use the Cosworth CA 2.4-litre V8, which is thought to produce approximately 733bhp. It does not, however, feature an energy recovery system, putting it at a disadvantage compared to its rival, Caterham. Beyond the nose of the car, it is fairly conventional, with one of the few notable elements of the design being the upper side impact structures sat slightly forward of the sidepod ducts. These are similar in concept to those of the Lotus E20. This generally conventional
approach has rewarded the team with a very reliable car straight out of the box and, as Racecar Engineering closed for press, that meant the lucrative 10th place in the Constructors’ Championship. However, once Caterham iron
out all of the gremlins in its more advanced CT-01, it is likely to out perform Marussia on track.
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