Honda Do Screenshot Of Google Earth, Paste Onto Car February 25, 2007
Posted by Seb Patrick in Honda, Launches.2 comments
Well, we’ll know on Monday if this is genuine or not; but the site that originally posted the following image were quickly asked to take it down by representatives of Honda (always a sign that something is the real deal). Make of it what you will – I’m not sure I know what to think of it just yet, save that (if it is true) it’s… different. Which is, of course, exactly the intention – sod all this “green” stuff (how can you claim to be “green” when you fly equipment around the world in order to drive cars quite fast in circles?), Honda simply haven’t (for whatever reason) managed to attract a major sponsor for this season, and so have found another way to get people talking about them and their car.
Alternatively, someone high up in the team has simply gone bonkers. Or is perhaps on drugs. Anyway, I’ll stop waffling and give you the picture – we’ll find out on Monday if it’s real, and if so, there’ll be plenty of discussion then :
Only three to go as Spyker launch… February 5, 2007
Posted by Seb Patrick in Launches, Spyker.add a comment
So yes, Team Identity Crisis (alright, maybe I’m doing Spyker a disservice, maybe they’ll be around for years and become a noted F1 name – but come on, it’s hard to believe that this team was coming third in the championship with Frentzen as recently as 1999) have launched their car, and as expected, it’s orange. Very orange.
Remind anyone of anything?
Well, while it’s not exactly perfect, it at least demonstrates to Renault how it’s possible to put orange on a car and not make people want to throw up. Although, if anything, it is perhaps a little too orange in its patriotic fervour – a bit more black trim here and there wouldn’t have gone amiss, and as such it’s nowhere as lovely as this bad boy.
It’s an improvement on last year’s orange and silver job (which I didn’t hate as much as some, but which was a clear rush-job), and the chevrons are interesting, although I wonder how long they’ll last, and if a new sponsorship announcement is still forthcoming – I’ve heard rumours of DHL…
Williams launch FW29 (and a general round-up) February 2, 2007
Posted by Seb Patrick in Honda, Launches, Meta, News, Red Bull, Williams.add a comment
And the pictures that were leaked last month prove to be genuine, albeit with slight differences (look at the angle of the Lenovo brand on the sidepod) – I’m guessing that those original photos were of test mock-ups or something.
(picture from F1Racing.net)
It continues Williams’ recent tradition of having the nicest, smartest liveries on the grid; but weirdly, as I mentioned back when posting the leaked pictures, it actually feels more like a step back towards the 2001-05 BMW Williams livery. The shade of blue is lighter than on last year’s car, and the overall arrangement is more in keeping with that BMW design. I’m not sure it’s as nice as last year’s, but it’s still a good livery, which is pleasing to see when you consider how bad (or boring) some of the others have been this year.
The uniforms, too, are quite nice and simple – albeit with perhaps a bit too much white as opposed to blue. It’s interesting, too, to note the prominence that Lenovo get as opposed to title sponsor AT&T. It’s unclear as to whether or not this will be the car to help Williams bounce back from their 2006 slump, but it’s certainly a nice-looking one.
Meanwhile, two more launches have taken place since the Renault Monstrosity, but they were fairly devoid of interest so I didn’t report on them at the time, preferring to wait until the Williams launch to mention them. Honda launched their car, but we’re being forced to wait for their “dramatic” new livery (they’ve been running it in all black, which I’d be more than happy to see be the basis of the final look, actually – we haven’t had a decent all-black car since the gorgeous ‘98 Arrows, and it’s about time); while Red Bull, as expected, launched something that looked almost exactly the same as previous years, albeit with a slightly different configuration of lines across the side and nose, and a new sponsor in the form of Metro. Nice uniforms, though.
Only three teams left to launch, now (along with the Honda livery, of course), over the course of February and March; and so, as the season starts to get underway, in addition to commenting on any changes that teams’ looks undergo, I’ll start getting to work posting some of the retrospective articles that I’ve got planned. I’ll be starting by looking at the histories of some famous teams’ liveries – so expect articles soon on Benetton, Jordan and Arrows…
