Cllr Sam S Collins Profile picture
Hitchin Lib Dem Cllr - mostly talking or writing about small bits of racing cars/tractors/Hertfordshire/Politics/Engineering.
Feb 19 19 tweets 8 min read
The Red Bull RB20 is something of a mystery machine, despite having been shaken down at Silverstone a while ago very few pictures of it are in circulation at the moment. Short tech observation thread.
#F1Testing #F12024 #F1 #RB20 Image While Red Bull did issue some launch renders these are never particularly reliable sources, so I’m not going to use those much here. Image
Feb 12 18 tweets 8 min read
Aston Martin issued a few low quality renders of its 2024 F1 car, the #AMR24, before taking the real thing out on track at Silverstone - so here is a Technical Observations Thread. #F1 #AstonMartin #F12024 Image Aston Martin claim that the team hope to be fully in the development fight this season, last year the team’s development stalled out badly and the AMR23 became less competitive.
Feb 12 23 tweets 10 min read
The RB team (previously known as Alpha Tauri, Toro Rosso and Minardi), launched its latest F1 car recently. So here is a Technical Observations Thread. #F1 #F12024 #VCARB01 Image The VCARB01 was developed in the Red Bull wind tunnel, at the old RAE Bedford facility in England, it utilised the oldest wind tunnel in the UK - more on that here -
Feb 9 28 tweets 13 min read
Alpine was the first F1 team to reveal an actual 2024 car releasing some images of the car at its UK factory. The Alpine A524 - it is the fifth Alpine #F1 car design. Tech observations thread. I only do these when there is a real car to look at - so far Alpine is the only one! Image At first glance the car seems to have a lot in common with the late season A523, but according to the team the new car is a “brand-new concept created for the next two seasons.” This may suggest that the chassis may carry over into next season. Image
Jul 8, 2023 8 tweets 3 min read
A question we get all the time on #F1Live is why do @WilliamsRacing not have the dash display on the steering wheel like everyone else - very short thread to answer that:

#F1 #BritishGP I put that question to @paddylowe when he was in charge at Williams - this is what he told me: "I don’t actually remember the history of how all the other teams migrated to having the dash on the steering wheel, or indeed why they did it"....
Feb 15, 2023 30 tweets 15 min read
Ferrari launched its 2023 #F1 car yesterday, and ran it for the first time on the Fiorano circuit after the formal launch. Looking over the initial photos I thought I’d share some thoughts and observations in this Tech Thread. #Ferrari #F12023 Image Starting at the front Ferrari has changed its nose concept, with the blunter tip no longer meeting the forward most wing element as was the case with the F1-75 (shown for comparison). Instead it joins the second element, while the leading edge has a noticeable dip in the centre. ImageImage
Oct 29, 2022 16 tweets 7 min read
So - @redbullracing's wind tunnel really is a relic of the Cold War and the oldest in use in Formula 1. As promised in Feb, and in the wake of the comments made by Christian Horner yesterday I thought I would do a short thread on its history... #F1 The tunnel was first built as part of the Royal Aeronautical Establishment facility at Thurleigh Airfield near Bedford, England. Construction on the Twinwoods Farm site started in 1947, and its aim was to advance British military aviation technology.
Mar 13, 2022 34 tweets 19 min read
Here is the very late @AlpineF1Team #A522 Technical thread. Yep this is a very late, but there is a lot to say about the car with #F1Testing done and dusted (it was quite dusty) - next is the #BahrainGP but first the tech thread! Renault owned Alpine launched the new A522 Formula 1 car in a ceremony in Paris, however the cars at the launch were simply show cars. The real A522 would appear shortly afterwards in Catalunya.
Feb 18, 2022 23 tweets 12 min read
World Champion @MercedesAMGF1 launched its new #F1 car the #W13 during Storm Eunice at Silverstone earlier today. Tech thread. #MercedesAMGF1 The long wheelbase, and indeed the whole concept of the W11/W12 has been replaced as a result of the new rules this year, so don’t expect much carry over. Compared to last year the team has stated that only the steering wheel remains the same.
Feb 17, 2022 19 tweets 9 min read
The #Ferrari F1-75 appeared officially earlier today - so I thought it would be a good time for a Tech thread #F175 #F1 #F12022 (I only use official images and don't cover leaks) Great hopes have been placed on the F1-75 as Ferrari diverted most of its technical effort in 2020 and 2021 to this design, so it should, in theory at least be a step forward from last season. The team calls it an innovative and daring design.
Feb 16, 2022 22 tweets 9 min read
bit late this - @WilliamsRacing took a curious approach to launching its #F12022 specification #FW44, by revealing a show car (see here in render form), then almost immediately testing the real thing at Silverstone. Tech observations thread. #F1 Why did Williams do the showcar -real car shuffle? almost certainly as its online launch video and media assets had been created earlier. It probably wasn’t directly to hide anything… probably. Though the team has only released two images of the real FW44. ( showcar render here)
Feb 11, 2022 25 tweets 11 min read
The @McLarenF1 #MCL36 was revealed earlier today at the team’s woking factory, like all 2022 F1 cars the Mercedes powered design is a completely new concept as a result of the new technical regulations. (Tech Thread) Most strikingly the McLaren is very different to the Aston Martin AMR22 (the only other 2022 F1 car to be launched at the time of writing. Unfortunately McLaren would not let us take any pictures of the real car, meaning that at present only renders are available.
Feb 10, 2022 19 tweets 11 min read
The @AstonMartinF1 #AMR22 is the first 2022 #F1 car to be revealed, and as such gives us a first real indication of the trends expected this season. Tech thread.. The car features a Mercedes power unit and Mercedes transmission, but unlike the AMR21 and R20 this car is not based on a Mercedes car concept. Surprisingly Aston Marin claims that 10% of the car has carried over from the AMR21.
Jul 29, 2021 18 tweets 5 min read
So the Red Bull attempt to have Hamilton's #F1 #britishgrandprix penalty increased has failed. Here is a short thread explaining why and the impressive lengths Red Bull went to for the case - including a special test run. Red Bull conducted a private test run at Silverstone on 22nd June, with Alex Albon at the wheel of a RB15. This test run took place during the opening days of. @FormulaStudent - disturbing the scrutineers at Copse Corner!

Jun 6, 2021 19 tweets 7 min read
I thought that I would take a short look at the tyre issues in the #AzerbaijanGP today as I've had a fair few questions about it already! (Thread) Aston Martin were trying an alternate strategy with Lance Stroll during the race, starting on the (C3) hard tyre and running deep into the race, hoping for a safety car and to get track position as a result. It seemed to be going well, and then it wasn't.
May 24, 2021 10 tweets 6 min read
In case you are wondering what happened to the wheel stuck on the Mercedes of Bottas... It is still stuck on there! @F1

Mini post #MonacoGP #F1 thread. (sorry @MercedesAMGF1 ) 1/8 When Bottas pitted the wheel gun stripped the wheel nut, rounding it off, and leaving no faces for the tool to drive on. This was one of those moments where F1 TV's Pit Lane Channel came into its own. 2/8
Mar 29, 2021 15 tweets 7 min read
I decided to take a bit of a longer look at the track limits goings on at T4 during the #F1 #BahrainGP yesterday. There is a bit more to this than I think some people have picked up on. /Thread. On Friday - after Free Practice the rules relating to track limits at T4 were changed. "Advantage" in terms of 27.3 here means overtaking or defending not lap time. This document was circulated to teams and drivers. /2