Williams rolled out their new car at the first test in Valencia, and it's... conventional.

High nose with just a small downward angle.  Larger sidepod intakes. Pretty vanilla.



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Mercedes brought out their 2010 steed today, and it's pretty clear why they didn't want to roll their car out first.  It's got some interesting things in it, things that we haven't seen before!

No glamour pics, I'm afraid.  Reportedly, this chassis has been worked on (as the Brawn BGP-02) since the 2009 "summer break", so they've already filed off the rough edges.  It's a high nose (though not as high as some), with a serious nod to last year's Red Bull RB5 in that it copies the "V-nose" concept.  You'll note the raised edges, which in the MGP-W01 run all the way back to the cockpit.  The sidepod openings are huge in comparison to those in the McLaren or Ferrari.  The really innovative bit, however, is the air intake above the driver's head.  The structure serves two purposes on a F1 car: it gets air to the engine (ergo the name) and it acts as a roll bar to protect the driver in case the car ends up upside down.  In the past, the entire thing has been protective, built up out of carbon fiber to meet the required strength.  In the Mercedes, however, there is a thick vertical support on the centerline of the airbox that serves the same purpose.  The inlet is, in effect, split into two and is considerably larger as a result.


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