The 2012 Formula 1 Thread
The 2012 Formula 1 Thread
Many exciting and not so exciting changes for this season. Exciting is the return of former world champion Kimi Raikkonen with the newly rebranded Lotus team (formerly Renault). For the first time there will now be 6 former world champions lining up to race. No more exhaust-powered diffusers or weird antilag-style overrun, which should eliminate some of Red Bull's advantage over the other teams and even out the playing field at the top of the grid. New rules are in place about ride height at the front of the car, so many teams (with the notable exception of McLaren) have had to put a step (or 'boxers nose') in their cars nosecone. Also Pirelli have made the markings on the tyres much more obvious as sometimes it was difficult to tell who was running what tyres when the cars were in motion.
Not so exciting: Only Sky will have full live coverage so those of us who don't/can't have Sky will have to watch highlights packages on the BBC in the evenings.
No one else seems to have started one... so here goes!
Many exciting and not so exciting changes for this season. Exciting is the return of former world champion Kimi Raikkonen with the newly rebranded Lotus team (formerly Renault). For the first time there will now be 6 former world champions lining up to race. No more exhaust-powered diffusers or weird antilag-style overrun, which should eliminate some of Red Bull's advantage over the other teams and even out the playing field at the top of the grid. New rules are in place about ride height at the front of the car, so many teams (with the notable exception of McLaren) have had to put a step (or 'boxers nose') in their cars nosecone. Also Pirelli have made the markings on the tyres much more obvious as sometimes it was difficult to tell who was running what tyres when the cars were in motion.
Not so exciting: Only Sky will have full live coverage so those of us who don't/can't have Sky will have to watch highlights packages on the BBC in the evenings.
The teams have been unveiling their new cars over the last week prior to the start of pre-season testing:
McLaren - note the smooth curved nose:
![[Image: 1328095282.jpg]](http://cdn.images.autosport.com/editorial/1328095282.jpg)
Ferrari were forced to cancel their launch event and show off the car online instead, as Northern Italy has been badly affected by the snow!
![[Image: 1328259831.jpg]](http://cdn.images.autosport.com/editorial/1328259831.jpg)
Force India's car:
![[Image: 1328262593.jpg]](http://cdn.images.autosport.com/editorial/1328262593.jpg)
Lotus car (The team that were previously Renault):
![[Image: 1328459902.jpg]](http://cdn.images.autosport.com/editorial/1328459902.jpg)
The Caterham car (formerly Team Lotus):
![[Image: 1327491191.jpg]](http://cdn.images.autosport.com/editorial/1327491191.jpg)
Sauber:
![[Image: 1328522870.jpg]](http://cdn.images.autosport.com/editorial/1328522870.jpg)
Edit:
Red Bull car:
![[Image: 1328533676.jpg]](http://cdn.images.autosport.com/editorial/1328533676.jpg)
Toro Rosso:
![[Image: web-str7.jpg]](http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2012/02/web-str7.jpg)
Williams:
![[Image: williams2_get_2130999b.jpg]](http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02130/williams2_get_2130999b.jpg)
Mercedes:
![[Image: 1329474899.jpg]](http://cdn.images.autosport.com/editorial/1329474899.jpg)
Marussia's (formerly Virgin Racing) car won't be ready until the Barcelona tests in March. HRT's new car failed 2 FIA crash tests so they've had to redesign it, which means it's also not ready yet. Hopefully they will get to do some testing before the Friday of the Australian GP, unlike last year...
CARS
The teams have been unveiling their new cars over the last week prior to the start of pre-season testing:
McLaren - note the smooth curved nose:
Ferrari were forced to cancel their launch event and show off the car online instead, as Northern Italy has been badly affected by the snow!
Force India's car:
Lotus car (The team that were previously Renault):
The Caterham car (formerly Team Lotus):
Sauber:
Edit:
Red Bull car:
Toro Rosso:
Williams:
Mercedes:
Marussia's (formerly Virgin Racing) car won't be ready until the Barcelona tests in March. HRT's new car failed 2 FIA crash tests so they've had to redesign it, which means it's also not ready yet. Hopefully they will get to do some testing before the Friday of the Australian GP, unlike last year...
There are a fair few driver changes for this year. Reubens Barichello is sadly without a seat, the 'most experienced' man in F1 last year. Sébastien Buemi moves to Red Bull as a test driver, and Jaime Alguasuari is nowhere to be seen, Toro Rosso preferring an influx of new blood, screening potential future Red Bull drivers. Despite all the hype about Russian money, Vitaly Petrov will not be driving in F1 in 2012. Unfortunately neither will Robert Kubica as he continues his troubled recovery from his horrific rallying accident.
Red Bull Racing
Driver #1: Sebastian Vettel
Driver #2: Mark Webber
Test Driver: Sébastien Buemi
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
Driver #3: Jenson Button
Driver #4: Lewis Hamilton
Test Driver: Gary Paffett
Test Driver: Oliver Turvey
Scuderia Ferrari
Driver #5: Fernando Alonso
Driver #6: Felipe Massa
Test Driver: Giancarlo Fisichella
Test Driver: Marc Gené
Test Driver: Davide Rigon
Mercedes AMG
Driver #7: Michael Schumacher
Driver #8: Nico Rosberg
Lotus F1 Team Formerly Renault
Driver #9: Kimi Räikkönen
Driver #10: Romain Grosjean
Test Driver: Jérôme d'Ambrosio
Sahara Force India
Driver #11: Paul di Resta
Driver #12: Nico Hülkenberg
Test Driver: Jules Bianchi
Sauber F1
Driver #14: Kamui Kobayashi
Driver #15: Sergio Pérez
Test Driver: Esteban Gutiérrez
Scuderia Toro Rosso
Driver #16: Daniel Ricciardo
Driver #17: Jean-Éric Vergne
Test Driver: Sébastien Buemi
Williams F1
Driver #18: Pastor Maldonado
Driver #19: Bruno Senna
Test Driver: Valtteri Bottas
Caterham F1 Formerly Team Lotus
Driver #20: Heikki Kovalainen
Driver #21: Vitaly Petrov (previously advertised as Jarno Trulli)
Test Driver: Giedo van der Garde
HRT F1
Driver #22: Pedro de la Rosa
Driver #23: Narain Karthikeyan
Marussia F1 Formerly Virgin Racing
Driver #24: Timo Glock
Driver #25: Charles Pic
DRIVERS
There are a fair few driver changes for this year. Reubens Barichello is sadly without a seat, the 'most experienced' man in F1 last year. Sébastien Buemi moves to Red Bull as a test driver, and Jaime Alguasuari is nowhere to be seen, Toro Rosso preferring an influx of new blood, screening potential future Red Bull drivers. Despite all the hype about Russian money, Vitaly Petrov will not be driving in F1 in 2012. Unfortunately neither will Robert Kubica as he continues his troubled recovery from his horrific rallying accident.
Red Bull Racing
Driver #1: Sebastian Vettel
Driver #2: Mark Webber
Test Driver: Sébastien Buemi
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
Driver #3: Jenson Button
Driver #4: Lewis Hamilton
Test Driver: Gary Paffett
Test Driver: Oliver Turvey
Scuderia Ferrari
Driver #5: Fernando Alonso
Driver #6: Felipe Massa
Test Driver: Giancarlo Fisichella
Test Driver: Marc Gené
Test Driver: Davide Rigon
Mercedes AMG
Driver #7: Michael Schumacher
Driver #8: Nico Rosberg
Lotus F1 Team Formerly Renault
Driver #9: Kimi Räikkönen
Driver #10: Romain Grosjean
Test Driver: Jérôme d'Ambrosio
Sahara Force India
Driver #11: Paul di Resta
Driver #12: Nico Hülkenberg
Test Driver: Jules Bianchi
Sauber F1
Driver #14: Kamui Kobayashi
Driver #15: Sergio Pérez
Test Driver: Esteban Gutiérrez
Scuderia Toro Rosso
Driver #16: Daniel Ricciardo
Driver #17: Jean-Éric Vergne
Test Driver: Sébastien Buemi
Williams F1
Driver #18: Pastor Maldonado
Driver #19: Bruno Senna
Test Driver: Valtteri Bottas
Caterham F1 Formerly Team Lotus
Driver #20: Heikki Kovalainen
Driver #21: Vitaly Petrov (previously advertised as Jarno Trulli)
Test Driver: Giedo van der Garde
HRT F1
Driver #22: Pedro de la Rosa
Driver #23: Narain Karthikeyan
Marussia F1 Formerly Virgin Racing
Driver #24: Timo Glock
Driver #25: Charles Pic
"Life's goal is not to arrive safely at the grave in a well preserved body. But, rather to skid in sideways........
totally worn out and broken, shouting 'Holy ****, WHAT A RIDE!'"
FirebirdPhil
26-12-2018, 03:30 AM #4Robert Kubica had a fall and broke his leg - the same one he broke in that infamous crash - he is out for another year.
"Life's goal is not to arrive safely at the grave in a well preserved body. But, rather to skid in sideways........
totally worn out and broken, shouting 'Holy ****, WHAT A RIDE!'"
. He will be testing before the end of the year, I reckon."Life's goal is not to arrive safely at the grave in a well preserved body. But, rather to skid in sideways........
totally worn out and broken, shouting 'Holy ****, WHAT A RIDE!'"
FirebirdPhil
26-12-2018, 03:46 AM #6I hope so.
"Life's goal is not to arrive safely at the grave in a well preserved body. But, rather to skid in sideways........
totally worn out and broken, shouting 'Holy ****, WHAT A RIDE!'"
I cannot wait for Raikkonen to return, he was my favourite driver back when i were a lad! mostly for his fantastic interviews. hopefully there will be a few more like this...
Martin Brundle: “Kimi Raikkonen doesn’t seem interested in the proceedings going on up there. Kimi, you missed the presentation by Pele.”
Kimi (nonchalantly): “Yeah.”
Martin: ”Will you get over it?”
Kimi: “Yeah. I was having a ****.”
Martin: “OK, thanks for that! Obviously you’ll have a nice light car on the grid, then.”
Interviewer: The most exciting moment during the race weekend?
Kimi: I think so it's the race start, always.
Interviewer: The most boring?
Kimi: Now.
Well the Mclaren is yet again has the prettiest car, I cant stand the look of the stepped nosecone. Force India's car looks awful.
I cannot wait for Raikkonen to return, he was my favourite driver back when i were a lad! mostly for his fantastic interviews. hopefully there will be a few more like this...
Martin Brundle: “Kimi Raikkonen doesn’t seem interested in the proceedings going on up there. Kimi, you missed the presentation by Pele.”
Kimi (nonchalantly): “Yeah.”
Martin: ”Will you get over it?”
Kimi: “Yeah. I was having a ****.”
Martin: “OK, thanks for that! Obviously you’ll have a nice light car on the grid, then.”
Interviewer: The most exciting moment during the race weekend?
Kimi: I think so it's the race start, always.
Interviewer: The most boring?
Kimi: Now.
This whole nose job issue has got me a bit confused, I think I read somewhere that McLaren has the smooth nose as they were already running a lower nose last year that was within this year's regs, so no need for a change. Could that therefore be part of the reason why they struggled with downforce last year? With this change and the lack of blown diffusers, could McLaren suddenly have a slight edge?
Lower nose could also explain the trademark stiff suspension, although this won't change.
Really hope Kubica makes a decent recovery, I believe the leg despite being broken again isn't a major issue, it's still the hand that's holding him back.
2002 '02' IS200 SE Auto - DVD Satnav with Voice Activation - [COLOR="Blue"]Strathcaron Blue - Parking Sensors - 5000K HIDs with Anti-Glare Bulbs - PIAA 6500K Main Beams - LED Sidelights - Mirror/Sunroof Closure - TTE Styling Kit - 18" Styling Kit Alloys with nitrogen filled Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric Tyres - Bluetouch Multimedia Kit - Gromaudio AUX in - Black painted calipers with silver Lexus decals - 12 LED Dome Light - 96 LED Boot Light - Stainless Steel Sport Sill Plates - PIAA Silicone Wipers[/COLOR]
I'm also quite excited about Raikkonen's return!
This whole nose job issue has got me a bit confused, I think I read somewhere that McLaren has the smooth nose as they were already running a lower nose last year that was within this year's regs, so no need for a change. Could that therefore be part of the reason why they struggled with downforce last year? With this change and the lack of blown diffusers, could McLaren suddenly have a slight edge?
Lower nose could also explain the trademark stiff suspension, although this won't change.
Really hope Kubica makes a decent recovery, I believe the leg despite being broken again isn't a major issue, it's still the hand that's holding him back.
2002 '02' IS200 SE Auto - DVD Satnav with Voice Activation - [COLOR="Blue"]Strathcaron Blue - Parking Sensors - 5000K HIDs with Anti-Glare Bulbs - PIAA 6500K Main Beams - LED Sidelights - Mirror/Sunroof Closure - TTE Styling Kit - 18" Styling Kit Alloys with nitrogen filled Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric Tyres - Bluetouch Multimedia Kit - Gromaudio AUX in - Black painted calipers with silver Lexus decals - 12 LED Dome Light - 96 LED Boot Light - Stainless Steel Sport Sill Plates - PIAA Silicone Wipers[/COLOR]
Hate the stepped nose looks rubbish
I have skyHD so will enjoy the new channel but feel sorry for those who don't and will miss out
![[Image: FB_IMG_1474048273787_zpsnbfq6a3s.jpg]](http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee440/davis5835/Mobile%20Uploads/FB_IMG_1474048273787_zpsnbfq6a3s.jpg)
It should be a good year I'm hoping the changes even up the front runners and it comes down to the friver and how much they will push to overtake,
Hate the stepped nose looks rubbish
I have skyHD so will enjoy the new channel but feel sorry for those who don't and will miss out
If coverage is **** then the sat will be re-tuned to German coverage.
"Life's goal is not to arrive safely at the grave in a well preserved body. But, rather to skid in sideways........
totally worn out and broken, shouting 'Holy ****, WHAT A RIDE!'"
FirebirdPhil
26-12-2018, 12:42 PM #10I won't go back to Sky, just for F1, if BBC highlights are done well enough it should be ok.
If coverage is **** then the sat will be re-tuned to German coverage.
"Life's goal is not to arrive safely at the grave in a well preserved body. But, rather to skid in sideways........
totally worn out and broken, shouting 'Holy ****, WHAT A RIDE!'"
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