Figure I’ll run with this until I get bored.

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The big news, of course, is the launch of the Ferrari F2009 F60 Formula One car.  The Internet has seen much wailing and gnashing of teeth over the FIA’s 2009 regulations, which call for (among other things) a taller, narrower rear wing and an end to “aero bits” like barge-boards and the chimneys and flip-ups previously found on side-pods everywhere.  “The cars will be ugly!”, they cry.  “Formula One will look like ass!”

Scuderia Ferrari have presented their rebuttal.

(What are those bar-codes all about?  Ferrari’s major sponsor is Marlboro, and most Formula One venues have laws against tobacco advertising at sporting events.  Works fantastically well, eh?)

More photos available with the launch article at f1technical.net.

Remember how I said that aero bits like barge-boards were strictly regulated?  Well, those bare fibre-coloured bits under the nose aren’t barge-boards… they’re mounting points for the lower suspension arms.  And those bare fibre-coloured bits in front of the side-pod intakes aren’t barge-boards either… they’re, uh, well okay, they’re barge-boards neutered to comply with the 2009 aero regs.  And the mirror mounts, as discussed elsewhere, are really quite clever.

The wide front wing and narrow rear wing about which half the internet seems to be whinging are products of the Overtaking Working Group, formed to address the low frequency of passing in Formula One (which is what that half of the internet whinges about when they aren’t whinging about FIA rules changes).  Will it work?  10 weeks ’til the Australian GP.

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Speaking of Scuderia Ferrari: they’re going to great lengths to generate more research time above and beyond the ever-more-restricted Formula One testing we get these days.  For one thing, they may (or may not) be testing their Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS, also known as regenerative braking) with Peugeot and their 908 HY diesel-electric hybrid Le Mans prototype.  (I think it’s a fantastic idea: Peugeot and Ferrari both benefit, and race-ready KERS technology propagates ever further through the motorsports scene.  In fact, joint development work like this rumour suggests would go a long way towards both cutting costs and making high-end racing more interesting.)

For another, they’re funding honest-to-balls academic research grants.  (I’m not working in a related field; the closest I come is the “human factors” stuff, as my lab deals with HCI as well as graphics.)  Looking at the wheel (what with KERS and the movable front wing section), you can see why they want HCI folks:

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And while we’re on the subject of Formula One: the 2010 and subsequent British Grands Prix will be run at Donington Park, not Silverstone.  Of course, it won’t be the same Donington Park:

• “Donington will deliver” (donington-park.co.uk)

Here’s a shot of what the circuit’s supposed to look like once Hermann Tilke et al. get done with it:

(Red track sections are new.)

Looks almost like it might maintain the character of the old circuit, doesn’t it?

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And for our final segue, we bring you from fast cars in Britain to fast cars from Britain:

• 2010 Jaguar XKR revealed with 510 HP (Jalopnik.com)

Nice to see that Jaguar can still make a coupe that doesn’t look like a big pile of suck deep-fried in ugly and served in a stale white-flour bun.

Now, I realize that it says “grand tourer” on the label, not “Grand Touring“, but I would very much like to see that car with a roll cage, a roof-height wing, and a splitter the size of California on the front — all dressed up in white and purple Silk Cut livery and lapping Le Mans half a second in front of an Aston Martin DBR9.

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That’s all for today, folks; tune in tomorrow for your usual political vitriol.