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Formula one, the world's fastest, most sophisticated motor-racing series, finished last season with a problem: Things were a bit boring. For the fourth year in a row, German driver Sebastian Vettel and his Red Bull Racing team utterly dominated the competition. The worst part was that it surprised exactly no one.
世界上最快、最尖端的賽車系列“一級方程式”（Formula One，簡稱F1）在上個(gè)賽季結(jié)束時(shí)遇到了一個(gè)問題：比賽顯得有些乏味。德國車手塞巴斯蒂安・維泰爾(Sebastian Vettel)和他的紅牛車隊(duì)(Red Bull Racing)連續(xù)第四年稱霸賽場。最糟糕的是，誰都不覺得意外。
Long before Vettel sealed the title with three races to spare, the powers that be decided to shake things up. In 2014, F1 cars will undergo the most radical changes in a decade.
在維泰爾提前三站鎖定冠軍之前很久，主辦方就已經(jīng)做出了改革的決定。2014年的F1比賽用車將出現(xiàn)10年來最激進(jìn)的變化。
As the 19-race campaign kicks off March 16 in Australia, almost no part of the machine has been spared. Gone are the V8 engines that growled at 18,000 revs per minute. They've been replaced by smaller, turbocharged V6s. Gone are the sleek airplane nose cones. Get used to stepped 'anteater' noses. And you can kiss reliability goodbye; these new models could fail up to 50% of the time early in the season.
當(dāng)3月16日共19個(gè)站的比賽在澳大利亞開賽時(shí)，F(xiàn)1車幾乎沒有哪個(gè)零部件沒被改造過。每分鐘轉(zhuǎn)速達(dá)18,000轉(zhuǎn)的V8發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)不見了，取而代之的是排量更小的V6渦輪增壓發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)。光滑的飛機(jī)式鼻錐不見了，“食蟻獸”一樣呈階梯狀的鼻錐你就習(xí)慣一下吧。也可以跟可靠性吻別了，因?yàn)樾碌能囆驮谫惣境跗陔A段出故障的可能性最高可達(dá)50%。
The main reasons behind the shift have to do in large part with the sport's attention to green technology. In an effort to reduce emissions and fuel consumption, teams have expanded the use of kinetic energy recovery systems (Kers), similar to those in your hybrid hatchback. There were also improvements in safety, an area of huge progress since F1's last driver fatality (Ayrton Senna in 1994).
這些變化背后的主要原因，很大程度上跟F1對綠色科技的關(guān)注有關(guān)。為了降低排放和燃料消耗，各車隊(duì)已經(jīng)更多地使用Kers動(dòng)能回收系統(tǒng)（類似于普通混動(dòng)車使用的系統(tǒng)）。安全性也有改進(jìn)。自從上一次出現(xiàn)F1車手死亡事故（1994年，艾爾頓・塞納(Ayrton Senna)）以來，安全方面已經(jīng)取得了長足進(jìn)展。
The result is a car that is unlike anything seen in 60 years of F1. As it hits the track, we look back at a few other revolutionary designs throughout F1 history that marked the beginning of new eras in the sport.
改變后的車型跟F1賽車60年以來的任何車型都不一樣。在它進(jìn)入賽道之際，讓我們回顧F1史上另外一些開創(chuàng)新紀(jì)元的革命性設(shè)計(jì)。
Ones to Watch
后起之秀
The cars aren't going to be the only new thing on the track this season. Here's a look at some of the youngest guns in Formula One
這些車型不會是本賽季唯一的新事物。讓我們來認(rèn)識一些最年輕的一級方程式車手。
Daniel Ricciardo
丹尼爾・里恰爾多
Daniel Ricciardo won the sweepstakes for the hottest seat in racing: the No. 2 spot at Red Bull. The 24-year-old Australian isn't exactly an unknown -- he's been in F1 since 2011 -- but he's never finished on the podium. It's hard to say whether he'll repay the faith Red Bull has put in him to replace the retired Mark Webber, but by the end of the season -- despite some testing hiccups at Red Bull -- he should have the car to do it.
丹尼爾・里恰爾多(Daniel Ricciardo)幸運(yùn)地奪得了賽車運(yùn)動(dòng)中最熱門的位子：紅牛隊(duì)的二號車手。準(zhǔn)確地講，這位24歲的澳大利亞人并非默默無聞──他從2011年起就參加了F1，只是從來沒有站上領(lǐng)獎(jiǎng)臺。還很難說他會不會報(bào)答紅牛隊(duì)讓他取代已退休的馬克・韋伯(Mark Webber)所體現(xiàn)的信任，但是在賽季結(jié)束前，他應(yīng)該會有合適的車來幫助實(shí)現(xiàn)這個(gè)目標(biāo)──盡管紅牛隊(duì)在試車期間出了一些小問題。
Daniil Kvyat
丹尼爾・古夫亞特
Daniil Kvyat will be only 19 years old when the season begins -- the same age Sebastian Vettel was when he made his first race start. The similarities don't end there. Like Vettel early in his career, Kvyat will race for Toro Rosso, the Red Bull sister team that operates as the finest finishing school in the sport.
本賽季開始時(shí)丹尼爾・古夫亞特(Daniil Kvyat)才19歲，跟塞巴斯蒂安・維泰爾第一次參加比賽的年齡一樣。相似之處不只這一個(gè)。和早年的維泰爾一樣，古夫亞特也將效力于紅牛隊(duì)姊妹車隊(duì)、在F1比賽中起到培養(yǎng)新人作用的紅牛二隊(duì)(Toro Rosso)。
Marcus Ericsson
馬庫斯・埃里克森
Marcus Ericsson is the third true rookie on the grid this season.
馬庫斯・埃里克森(Marcus Ericsson)是本賽季第三位真正的新人。
The 23-year-old Swede isn't expected to make an immediate splash racing for Caterham, the last-place team in 2013. But as the most experienced rookie, he has the potential to surprise. This season could be a little gentler than usual on the rookies. With reliability issues expected to plague even the biggest players early on, Ericsson is already in the same boat as everyone else.
這位23歲的瑞典人效力于2013年排在末位的凱特漢姆車隊(duì)(Caterham)，預(yù)計(jì)不會馬上產(chǎn)生很大的影響。但作為經(jīng)驗(yàn)最為豐富的新人，他具有成為黑馬的潛力。對于新人來講，本賽季可能比平時(shí)顯得更加容易一些。最大牌車手起初都可能遇到新車的可靠性問題，埃里克森面臨的問題跟其他所有人是一樣的。
Kevin Magnussen
凱文・馬格努森
After failing to win a single Grand Prix last season for only the second time in 15 years, McLaren is rebuilding. And that starts with Jenson Button's new partner, Kevin Magnussen. The Danish rookie, whose father also raced in F1, has already impressed during preseason testing in Spain and Bahrain. It remains to be seen whether McLaren's engineers can give the drivers a chance to be competitive in 2014, but in a preseason where even the big boys have struggled, the early returns are promising for the team.
上個(gè)賽季，邁凱輪一次錦標(biāo)賽也沒有贏過，不過這只是15年來的第二次。現(xiàn)在它正在重振旗鼓。它首先寄望于簡森・巴頓(Jenson Button)的新搭檔凱文・馬格努森(Kenvin Magnussen)。這位丹麥籍新秀的父親也曾參加F1比賽，在西班牙和巴林的季前賽試車期間，他已經(jīng)驚艷四座。邁凱輪的工程師能不能讓車手們在2014年擁有奪冠機(jī)會仍然有待觀察，但在大牌車手都遇到困難的季前賽當(dāng)中，初期結(jié)果讓這個(gè)車隊(duì)看到了希望。
Max Chilton
麥克斯・奇爾頓
Young British hope Max Chilton never finished above 14th in his first season in F1. And yet, it was a memorable rookie season: He was the only man on the grid to complete all 19 Grands Prix in 2013, despite driving a mediocre Marussia car. Can he deliver a repeat under tougher circumstances this year?
年輕的英國籍新人麥克斯・奇爾頓((Max Chilton))在參加F1的第一個(gè)賽季期間從來沒有進(jìn)入前13名。但那是一個(gè)讓人難忘的新人賽季：盡管奇爾頓所開的瑪魯西亞(Marussia)表現(xiàn)一般，他仍然是2013年唯一一個(gè)參加了全部19站錦標(biāo)賽的車手。在今年更苛刻的環(huán)境下，這樣的成績能不能再現(xiàn)？
