BGP
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 22,863
Likes: 0
From: Toronto
BGP
Brawn GP Used Five Wind Tunnels, Three Designs To Create Dominant F1 Car
After the car won three-quarters of every race so far under the 2009 regulations, Alex Wurz has revealed the secret of the Brawn BGP001.
At times last year, the team's predecessor Honda had five wind tunnels at its disposal, according to Germany's Auto Motor und Sport, as well as a half-billion euro budget.
"The car was taken in three different directions in the wind tunnel," test driver Wurz told 'News'.
"Two directions were found to be wrong, so the team could just switch," he added.
Amid the shock of the global economic situation, Honda then pulled out and the Brackley team was rescued by a management buyout headed by Ross Brawn.
"The Brawn is probably the most expensive car with the lowest operating budget ever," the Austrian admitted.
Wurz, 35, gives Sebastian Vettel "ten out of ten" for dominating last time out at Silverstone, but doubts Red Bull will have it so easily for the remainder of the season.
"I would say that Brawn and Red Bull are at eye-level, and success from now on will depend on the circuits."
After the car won three-quarters of every race so far under the 2009 regulations, Alex Wurz has revealed the secret of the Brawn BGP001.
At times last year, the team's predecessor Honda had five wind tunnels at its disposal, according to Germany's Auto Motor und Sport, as well as a half-billion euro budget.
"The car was taken in three different directions in the wind tunnel," test driver Wurz told 'News'.
"Two directions were found to be wrong, so the team could just switch," he added.
Amid the shock of the global economic situation, Honda then pulled out and the Brackley team was rescued by a management buyout headed by Ross Brawn.
"The Brawn is probably the most expensive car with the lowest operating budget ever," the Austrian admitted.
Wurz, 35, gives Sebastian Vettel "ten out of ten" for dominating last time out at Silverstone, but doubts Red Bull will have it so easily for the remainder of the season.
"I would say that Brawn and Red Bull are at eye-level, and success from now on will depend on the circuits."
And people think it was RB that turned this team around!
Nope it was $$$$$$$$. What were those comments about Ferrari needing to spend and couldn't compete on a level playing field??? Opps.....
Former Moderator
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 46,399
Likes: 194
From: Albany, UPSTATE NY
^^ I think the money spent went for a worthy cause. Honda had to identify the bugbears in their performance and develop their car. They took this up as a challenge which explains the expense, and they sold it to the team they thought was the best equipped to run the show, which was Brawn, Fry & Co. It wasn't just enough to bring RB on board, they probably also had to commit to spending a vast numbe of $$$ so that he could see the worth in jumping ship from Ferrari. So I'd say they did not throw good money after bad. Bringing RB on board and giving him a vast budget was the best thing they could do to improve competitiveness.
It was another story that they made a conscious decision to pull out of F1, because they did not see justification in spending while their market was shrinking, so they went into damage-correction mode. They'll be back sooner or later.
Ferrari and McLaren's R&D revolves around F1 and their whole F1 expense is written off as R&D expenditure whereas for Honda, Toyota & Renault this would count as marketing expenditure.
I know we can do a lot of armchair speculation, but to say RB had nothing to contribute to Brawn's performance is akin to saying it wasn't Michael Schumacher, but the car (that was machined by a certain Ross Brawn
) that restored Ferrari back to its glory and gave the tifosi bragging rights 
It was another story that they made a conscious decision to pull out of F1, because they did not see justification in spending while their market was shrinking, so they went into damage-correction mode. They'll be back sooner or later.
Ferrari and McLaren's R&D revolves around F1 and their whole F1 expense is written off as R&D expenditure whereas for Honda, Toyota & Renault this would count as marketing expenditure.
I know we can do a lot of armchair speculation, but to say RB had nothing to contribute to Brawn's performance is akin to saying it wasn't Michael Schumacher, but the car (that was machined by a certain Ross Brawn
) that restored Ferrari back to its glory and gave the tifosi bragging rights
Registered User
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,740
Likes: 0
From: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
I had read murmurs about the Brawn being the most developed F1 car ever. Seeing some stats attached to that development is sobering though. Pity Honda didn't stick around to see their car clean up. Question is though - would it have been as quick had the Honda engine stayed?
Former Moderator
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 46,399
Likes: 194
From: Albany, UPSTATE NY
Originally Posted by saaboteur,Jun 29 2009, 01:36 PM
Question is though - would it have been as quick had the Honda engine stayed?
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,091
Likes: 0
Originally Posted by matrix,Jun 29 2009, 05:24 PM
500M Euro is in the neighbourhood of 750M USD!!!! Ferrari, McLaren and Toyota who had the biggest budgets of the past were in an around the 400 - 500M USD, with Toyota being the highest. This is about 50% higher spending!!!!
And people think it was RB that turned this team around! Nope it was $$$$$$$$.
What were those comments about Ferrari needing to spend and couldn't compete on a level playing field??? Opps.....
And people think it was RB that turned this team around!
Nope it was $$$$$$$$. What were those comments about Ferrari needing to spend and couldn't compete on a level playing field??? Opps.....
MCLAREN MP4/4 FTW!
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,091
Likes: 0
Originally Posted by aashish2,Jun 29 2009, 05:34 PM
^^ I think the money spent went for a worthy cause. Honda had to identify the bugbears in their performance and develop their car. They took this up as a challenge which explains the expense, and they sold it to the team they thought was the best equipped to run the show, which was Brawn, Fry & Co. It wasn't just enough to bring RB on board, they probably also had to commit to spending a vast numbe of $$$ so that he could see the worth in jumping ship from Ferrari. So I'd say they did not throw good money after bad. Bringing RB on board and giving him a vast budget was the best thing they could do to improve competitiveness.
It was another story that they made a conscious decision to pull out of F1, because they did not see justification in spending while their market was shrinking, so they went into damage-correction mode. They'll be back sooner or later.
Ferrari and McLaren's R&D revolves around F1 and their whole F1 expense is written off as R&D expenditure whereas for Honda, Toyota & Renault this would count as marketing expenditure.
I know we can do a lot of armchair speculation, but to say RB had nothing to contribute to Brawn's performance is akin to saying it wasn't Michael Schumacher, but the car (that was machined by a certain Ross Brawn ) that restored Ferrari back to its glory and gave the tifosi bragging rights
It was another story that they made a conscious decision to pull out of F1, because they did not see justification in spending while their market was shrinking, so they went into damage-correction mode. They'll be back sooner or later.
Ferrari and McLaren's R&D revolves around F1 and their whole F1 expense is written off as R&D expenditure whereas for Honda, Toyota & Renault this would count as marketing expenditure.
I know we can do a lot of armchair speculation, but to say RB had nothing to contribute to Brawn's performance is akin to saying it wasn't Michael Schumacher, but the car (that was machined by a certain Ross Brawn
) that restored Ferrari back to its glory and gave the tifosi bragging rights 2. After spending a bazillion dollars on this car thats going to dominate, why would you then leave the series? If thats the case why build it in the first place? How do you market the car you just spent $$$$$ on, to then not be able to market it....... cause your not racing anymore?
Its like i sold my nice house to move into a shanty so i can buy a ferrari, well now i can't afford the fuel. But hey at least everyone knew i had a ferrari right? Now my neighbor has it and i got $10 for it. But its all good.
Trending Topics
Registered User
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 5,771
Likes: 2
What I heard (on Speed) was that the Honda engine was lighter, produced more power and sat lower in the chassis than the engine they finally had to use.
So apparently it would have been faster and handled better had Honda stayed.
So apparently it would have been faster and handled better had Honda stayed.
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 22,863
Likes: 0
From: Toronto
Originally Posted by aashish2,Jun 29 2009, 04:34 PM
^^ I think the money spent went for a worthy cause. Honda had to identify the bugbears in their performance and develop their car. They took this up as a challenge which explains the expense, and they sold it to the team they thought was the best equipped to run the show, which was Brawn, Fry & Co. It wasn't just enough to bring RB on board, they probably also had to commit to spending a vast numbe of $$$ so that he could see the worth in jumping ship from Ferrari. So I'd say they did not throw good money after bad. Bringing RB on board and giving him a vast budget was the best thing they could do to improve competitiveness.
It was another story that they made a conscious decision to pull out of F1, because they did not see justification in spending while their market was shrinking, so they went into damage-correction mode. They'll be back sooner or later.
Ferrari and McLaren's R&D revolves around F1 and their whole F1 expense is written off as R&D expenditure whereas for Honda, Toyota & Renault this would count as marketing expenditure.
I know we can do a lot of armchair speculation, but to say RB had nothing to contribute to Brawn's performance is akin to saying it wasn't Michael Schumacher, but the car (that was machined by a certain Ross Brawn ) that restored Ferrari back to its glory and gave the tifosi bragging rights
It was another story that they made a conscious decision to pull out of F1, because they did not see justification in spending while their market was shrinking, so they went into damage-correction mode. They'll be back sooner or later.
Ferrari and McLaren's R&D revolves around F1 and their whole F1 expense is written off as R&D expenditure whereas for Honda, Toyota & Renault this would count as marketing expenditure.
I know we can do a lot of armchair speculation, but to say RB had nothing to contribute to Brawn's performance is akin to saying it wasn't Michael Schumacher, but the car (that was machined by a certain Ross Brawn
) that restored Ferrari back to its glory and gave the tifosi bragging rights RB was just at the right place at the right time - he was at BGP to pick up the pieces after Honda spent the load to make the car...
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 22,863
Likes: 0
From: Toronto
Originally Posted by saaboteur,Jun 29 2009, 04:36 PM
Question is though - would it have been as quick had the Honda engine stayed?