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Updated: 5 hours 12 min ago

Lotus E20 launch – first pictures of Lotus’s 2012 F1 car | 2012 F1 cars

6 hours 22 min ago

The Lotus E20, the team’s 2012 F1 challenger, has been revealed today. See the video above for the first images of the car.

The team which competed as Renault in 2011 has changed identities and has an all-new driver line-up for this season.

The E20 will be raced by Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean. Raikkonen will be first to drive the car in testing at Jerez in the coming week.

Lotus were known to have been working on a reactive ride height system for the E20, which they tested on its predecessor in Abu Dhabi last year. However the system was banned by the FIA last month.

Lotus E20 pictures

More images wlll be added here shortly

2012 F1 cars


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Image © Lotus F1 Team

Categories: F1 News

Lotus E20 to be launched today | F1 Fanatic round-up

Sat, 02/04/2012 - 19:01

Last year: Renault R31, this year: Lotus E20

The fifth of this year’s F1 cars will be seen for the first time today as Lotus prepare to unveil their E20.

The car takes its name from the Enstone factory the team is based at, which was previously home to Renault and Benetton. The E20 is the 20th F1 car to be built there.

Lotus are launching their car online at 4pm UK time.

F1 Links

F1′s Lewis Hamilton starting afresh after ‘battling everybody’ in 2011 (The Guardian)

“There were times last year when I was juggling too many things. There were too many things hanging over me, too many things which were unfinished, questions in my mind, whether it was purchases, investments, management, lawyers or family.”

Hamilton confident he can get better of Button (Daily Telegraph)

“I don’t even feel that when I was qualifying, even when I got pole, that I was extracting 100 per cent of what I can do. And in races even less than that.”

F1 teams hope to keep noses clean (The Times, subscription required)

“Speculation was growing [on Friday] night that Charlie Whiting, race director for the FIA, which sets the technical regulations that determine the shapes and sizes of Formula One cars, will fly to the first official test of the season next week to judge for himself whether they comply with the new rules. The season is yet to start, but controversy bubbles beneath the surface.”

Bianchi eyes non-F1 racing programme (Autosport)

“We are working on it. We are not sure yet, but I will try to have another programme as well [as F1].”

Sahara withdraws India cricket sponsorship, IPL team (Reuters)

“Sahara bid $370 million to become owners of the IPL Pune franchise in 2010 and invested $100 million in Force India for a 42.5 percent stake in the Formula One team last year.”

Follow F1 news as it breaks using the F1 Fanatic live Twitter app.

Comment of the day

Massa: "Er, I think Lewis already crashed into this one."

Once again we had lots of great suggestions for our caption competition.

Special mentions go to Mole, SamC, Sw6569, Arhn, Fcofdz and Mike the Bike Schumacher.

But the winner was robk23 – see his choice of caption on the picture here.

From the forum Happy birthday!

No F1 Fanatic birthdays today. If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is by emailling me, using Twitter or adding to the list here.

On this day in F1

Then-BMW motorsport boss Gerhard Berger voiced his unhappiness with the Williams FW24 chassis his engine would be mounted in on this day ten years ago:

“It is true that after the first tests the new car did not produce the lap times we were expecting,” he said. “I always regard the speed of a new car on its first outing as a very important sign. And, even taking into account the need to make chassis set-up changes, we are not satisfied.”

Image © Renault/LAT, Ferrari spa

Categories: F1 News

Caterham announce Giedo van der Garde as third driver | 2012 F1 season

Sat, 02/04/2012 - 11:33

Dutchman Giedo van der Garde has been announced as Caterham’s third driver.

Van der Garde finished fifth in GP2 last year, his best result in three years of competing in the category.

The 26-year-old said: “I’m very happy to become a part of the Caterham F1 Team family today and I’m very excited about the next step in my career within Formula 1.

“The team is fresh, with some fantastic people here. Tony Fernandes is extremely ambitious and he has brought in a lot of very good people in to help grow this team for future success. I’m looking forward to learning and moving forward with the team in and out of the car.

“It’s great for Holland that we again have a Dutch driver who is connected to Formula 1. Being the only Dutch driver now is very good for the sport in Holland, as the interest was perhaps on the decline since the [Jos] Verstappen years, however I hope to generate the same excitement for my country and really bring Formula 1 to them.”

Team principal Tony Fernandes called van der Garde a “very exciting prospect”.

He added: “His performances in GP2, particularly in 2011, mark Giedo out as one of motorsport’s brightest prospects, and securing him as reserve driver is a real coup for our team. I am sure he will flourish on and off track, and we wish him all the best as he takes the next step into Formula 1 with us.”

According to the team, van der Garde’s duties will include some appearances in first practice sessions during the season.

View the updated list of 2012 F1 drivers and teams

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Image © Caterham

Categories: F1 News

Caption competition 4: Ferrari F2012 | Caption competition

Sat, 02/04/2012 - 05:00

Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa, Ferrari F2012 launch, 2012

What do Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa really make of the new Ferrari?

It’s over to you to decide what Alonso and Massa had to say as they pulled back the covers on the new Ferrari F2012 yesterday. Supply your captions in the comments.

Remember to look out for a selection of the best in tomorrow’s Comment of the Day in the daily round-up.

Caption competition


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Image © Ferrari spa/Ercole Colombo

Categories: F1 News

Force India deny Sutil was dropped over Lux incident | F1 Fanatic round-up

Fri, 02/03/2012 - 19:01

Adrian Sutil, Force India, Korea, 2011

In the round-up: Force India insist the decision to drop Adrian Sutil was not influenced by his impending court case.

Links

Top F1 links from the past 24 hours:

Force India head insists Adrian Sutil snub had nothing to do with GBH incident (Daily Mirror)

Bob Fearnley: “Adrian did have an exceptional season, he is an extremely talented driver, and as importantly an extremely nice person who fitted in well with the team. But we had to look at where we felt our long-term strengths lay. Adrian had been with us for a number of years, and we genuinely believed the future with us was with Paul [di Resta] and Nico [Hulkenberg].”

Jerez running order revealed (Autosport)

“Mercedes is running last year’s car but using its three days of running to evaluate tyres, while HRT is only running Pedro de la Rosa in its 2011 challenger on the first two days.”

Launch Analysis: McLaren Mercedes MP4-27 (ScarbsF1)

“When compared to the maximum heights (the dotted line on the drawing), it’s clear this is a very low nose overall. This creates less space under the raised nose, but the teams snow plough device under the nose works aggressively as a turning vane, so perhaps the team don’t need the higher chassis to get the correct airflow to the sidepods leading edge.”

Roberto Mieres (The Guardian)

“One of Mieres’s finest performances came in the British Grand Prix of 1955, held at the Aintree circuit, formed from the perimeter road of the Grand National course. In front of a capacity crowd, he and his Maserati 250F succeeded in splitting the four cars of the all-conquering Mercedes-Benz team, leading the car of Piero Taruffi before retiring with engine failure.”

COTA gets a special visitor today (Circuit of the Americas)

“Today Texas Governor Rick Perry made a visit to the Circuit of The Americas construction site.”

Broadcast Award for BBC F1 team (BBC)

“The prize, for the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, was praised as ‘very slick, accessible and compelling coverage of the season finale’.”

Follow F1 news as it breaks using the F1 Fanatic live Twitter app.

Comment of the day

It’s fair to say most commenters weren’t impressed with HRT re-hiring Narain Karthikeyan. PT puts the case for the defence:

the idea that Narain isn’t a talented driver is as wrong as saying the sky is green. He was a consistent podium finisher and race winner in British F3 along with the likes of Takuma Sato, Anthony Davidson and Antonio Pizzonia. Narain was spoken of in the same light as these guys and in the 2000 Macau Grand Prix and Korean Super Prix was untouchable – he set pole and fastest lap on both the meetings and won the latter while crashing out at Macau.

He finished his first Formula Nippon race in 6th place. It was only after that, during his World Series by Nissan (now World Series by Renault) years from 2002 to 2004 that his motivation seemed to waver and began to appear like a mediocre driver.

But in first F1 year in Jordan he did impress and had a few great performances though he ultimately proved to be inconsistent was overtaken by team mate Tiago Monteiro.

You must remember that in 2011 he returned to F1 after six years away from it racing machines as wide apart as the LMP1 Audi R10 sports prototype (in which he did impress) and NASCAR trucks. By that time F1 had changed and he was placed in HRT along with Vitantonio Liuzzi who was an active F1 driver. Even Daniel Ricciardo was someone who was progressing through the single seater ranks and had tested extensively with Red Bull. These reasons could account for the fact that the team-mates got the better of him. He also did not have age on his side.

This year though would give an indication of Narain’s true potential because he is placed with someone who is older than him and who hasn’t been as active an F1 driver as Liuzzi was. Narain needs to perform better than him.
PT

From the forum Site updates

There are now ten different F1 Fanatic Quizzes with which to test your Formula 1 knowledge. Have you taken them all yet? Find them here:

Happy birthday!

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On this day in F1

Stirling Moss was unimpressed with paddock whispers that his Lotus 21 was so well-suited to the Warwick Farm circuit that he had the 100-mile race in the bag before it had even started.

So he decided to race a Cooper instead – and duly won the non-championship race, held on this day 50 years ago.

Image © Force India F1 Team

Categories: F1 News

Sauber technical director James Key leaves the team | 2012 F1 season

Fri, 02/03/2012 - 10:40

Sergio Perez, Sauber, Interlagos, 2011

Sauber have lost technical director James Key just days before the launch of their new car.

In a statement issued by the team Key said: “I’ve enjoyed the past two years working at the Sauber F1 Team.

“It has been a very intense and interesting time, in which we had to manage the transition from a much larger team to a smaller one, and everybody handled that very well. I think the team is now well set for the future and I wish it the very best. I have been offered a new role back in the UK, which I decided to accept.”

Team principal Peter Sauber added: “A qualified team shares the overall technical responsibility. This structure has proved to work well at other racing outfits.

“Over a period of almost two years, James has accomplished a lot for our team. Especially in the difficult transition period from a manufacturer team into a private enterprise, he contributed significantly to ensure the team regained stability. We would like to thank him for his efforts and wish him all the best for his future.”

Key joined Sauber in 2010 having previously worked for Force India.

The Sauber C31 is due to be launched on Monday in Jerez.

2012 F1 season


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Image © Sauber F1 Team

Categories: F1 News

Ferrari have “taken a few more risks”, says Fry | 2012 F1 season

Fri, 02/03/2012 - 09:17

Ferrari chassis director Pay Fry says the team have taken “more risks” with their new F1 car.

Fry described the Ferrari F2012 as “quite a step away from where we have been.”

He said: “It’s certainly taken a few more risks on the basic car layout and things like that. All in all everyone’s done a good job. Now we just need to knuckle down and start pushing again for all the upgrades for the first race and through the year.”

The first upgrades to the car will arrive in time for the start of the season: “We’re working on upgrading the aero, mainly,” said Fry.

“There will be an update for the third test and the first race. And then, in reality, it’s just a constant aero development all through the year.”

Ferrari F2012

He added: “The biggest differentiator is aerodynamics, still. I think there’s a lot less you can do now with engines affecting the aerodynamics.

“The engineering side of engine performance moves back to actually producing horsepower and making it fuel-efficient, rather than the opposite that we had been doing.

“I think it is just going to be a constant aerodynamic development all through the year, really.”

Chief designer Nikolas Tombazis described the demand for results at the team following the 2011 season, in which they won just once:

“As chief designer I feel even more pressure than normal this year because we are really all very keen and very eager to get back to being competitive and hopefully winning again.

“That pressure I believe is felt by everyone from the very upper levels of the company to the lower levels, this pressure is very tangible. It’s something that we’re all working to hopefully get a good result and relieve that pressure.”

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Image © Ferrari spa/Ercole Colombo

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Ferrari F2012 key changes explained | 2012 F1 season

Fri, 02/03/2012 - 08:22

Ferrari chief designer Nikolas Tombazis explained the key features of the new F2012, starting with the latest example of the distinctive 2012-style noses.

Ferrari F2012 nose

“The front wing is an evolution of the wing we introduced in the last races of last season. That was introduced in order to learn some initial lessons about this subject and we understood quite a lot and we have further developed it, and there’s going to be further development at the third test before the start of the season.

“The nose has a rather ungainly shape on the top. That is the result of the regulation which requires us to have the nose quite low, and an aerodynamic desire to have the lower part of the chassis as high as possible.

“So even though it is aesthetically not very pleasing, we believe it is the most efficient aerodynamic solution to that area of the car.

Ferrari F2012

“Going slightly further back, we get into one of the innovations of this car, which is the front suspension. For mainly aerodynamic reasons we have selected the pull-rod solution.

“It took us quite a lot of work in the structural and design office and vehicle dynamics departments, in order to regain all the mechanical characteristics that we wanted the front suspension to have. We believe we’ve achieved that, but we also have, I believe, an aerodynamic advantage out of the solution.

“Moving back we reach the area of the sidepod inlets. There we have reviewed completely the project and we have changed out philosophy for the lateral crash structures. The crash test we had to do was much more difficult to homologate the car. But it has left us with some aerodynamic advantage in the area of the main turning vanes and the vertical profiles that lie next to the sidepod inlet.

Ferrari F2012

“Going further back we have a much more narrow profile especially at the low part of the ‘coke panel’. That has been made possible out of the repackaging of the chassis and engine rear part, and also out of the gearbox that has been completely reviewed and made narrower.

“Whereas in the upper part of the sidepods we have a fairly wide solution because we have to host the new exhausts which are a result of the new regulations regarding exhausts.

“So we have had to abandon to low exhausts of the previous years because of the regulations. We spent quite a lot of resource and time in investigating the new exhaust scenarios and in fact it will be an area we will research during winter testing before we finalist the exact configuration for the first race.

“Regarding the gearbox, we have obviously got the external shape which is new and narrower but we have two different approaches from our side.

“One of them is the rear suspension we have adopted, like quite a few of the others in recent years, a pull-rod solution. But we’ve also hosted part of our radiator cooling on top of the gearbox so as to reduce the cooling area required at the lateral part of the car.

“The rear wing is basically similar to last year’s, but we have refined it and pushed the sections of the aerodynamic profile small, in order to produce more downforce.”

Tombazis said the consequence of Ferrari’s more aggressive approach to 2012 was that very few parts from the previous car had been carried over to the new one:

“The F2012 has a relatively small amount of carry-over compared to previous cars. The very desciptions I made indicate we have reviewed almost the whole car. So components that are either physically the same as last year or conceptually the same are much fewer, therefore we’ve had to work much harder in the technical office and in production in order to be able to do all this work.”

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Images © Ferrari spa/Ercole Colombo

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Karthikeyan: Indian Grand Prix performance key to HRT return | 2012 F1 season

Fri, 02/03/2012 - 07:46

Karthikeyan performed well on his comeback for HRT in India

Narain Karthikeyan says his performance in his last outing for HRT in the Indian Grand Prix helped secure his return with the team in 2012.

Karthikeyan qualified 0.022s behind Daniel Ricciardo at his home race. He finished 32 seconds ahead of his team mate, who was forced to make an extra, 42-second pit stop due to a faulty wheel.

HRT issued the following Q&A with Karthikeyan after confirming him as their second driver for 2012.

Q: It has finally been revealed that you will occupy the last seat available as an official driver, how are you facing this new challenge in Formula 1?
NK: It all really started after the Indian Grand Prix, where we had a good performance which led to the belief that I am still competitive to drive in Formula 1.

It is no secret how difficult it is to stay in F1 at this time, but I ensured that I was physically and mentally ready for any opportunity that arose. So I can’t wait to get back in the car and return to action once again.

Q: The uncertainty you’ve faced in the period spanning from the end of last season until the moment you’ve been confirmed can’t have been easy to handle. What have you done to keep yourself occupied?
NK: Well, there were more ups and downs than I can remember, positive and negative days – sometimes I just gave up but it was quickly followed by yet another glimmer of hope. It was exhausting mentally, but like the adage goes, all’s well that ends well.

There was plenty to keep me occupied during the winter though, like I said earlier I trained as hard as I would have if my drive was confirmed last season; fitness is critical in F1 and racing in general. Then there were lots of discussions, which meant a lot of travelling – flights, hotel stays and those sorts of things. So I didn’t have a whole lot of time to sit and mull over things, to be honest.

Q: This will be your third season in Formula 1, what targets have you set yourself?
NK: As far as results go, it largely depends on the development of the car, although I must say that things are looking promising. Otherwise, I have no doubts in my ability, I am extremely confident as last year and after the first few races, I drove better than ever. So I’ll be pushing hard no doubt about that.

A lot of things change this year even though it is the same team, and I am sure it’ll be for the better. The new management is wholly focused on all-round improvement and from what I have seen – they will do so.

Q: Practically the whole structure is new with respect to 2011, what sensations have the new directors given you?
NK: The team has some very capable and experienced people on-board now, like the new team principal Luis Perez-Sala and my team mate Pedro de la Rosa.

So things are definitely changing for the better ever since the new owners have taken over. Saul (Ruiz de Marco, HRT F1 CEO) has a very good approach to what F1 should be, by applying his entrepreneurship experience to the team and I’m sure that it will lead to better things. Everyone knows it is impossible to change things in F1 overnight but we have certainly taken strides in the right direction.

Q: How would you define yourself as a driver?
NK: One thing’s for sure – I never give up. I’m here, against all odds and expectations, which wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. I have worked incredibly hard, I believe in my ability and know that I am as quick as anyone else out there.

Q: What do you know about and what would you highlight about your team mate Pedro de la Rosa?
NK: My first ever test was with Jaguar in 2001 and I remember Pedro was the team driver at the time. Even though I don’t know him very well, I know that he’s very experienced and from what I’ve seen, has a pleasant personality. We should be getting on well – it is not about trying to beat each other but working harmoniously to help the team progress as a whole. Healthy competition will collectively allow us to get the maximum out of the car and fast-forward the development process.

He has a vast amount of developmental experience with a front-running team – so it’ll count a lot for the team in terms of approaching things and making the most out of our resources.

Q: What do you think you can contribute to the team this year?
NK: I am going to push as hard as possible, both inside and outside the cockpit and do whatever it takes to help the team progress in its rejuvenated form. Continuity is important in Formula 1 so I’m sure we’ll hit the ground running this year starting with some actual pre-season testing unlike last season where I first drove the new car on the opening race weekend in Australia.

So there is all the incentive for me to ensure that I carry the team forward by delivering results and ensuring that nothing is left on the table as far as performance is concerned.

Q: Coming from a country with not much motorsport tradition, what led you to pursue the dream of making it to Formula 1?
NK: Ever since I started my racing career, I had just one goal in mind – Formula 1. It was definitely an unconventional dream to have, considering we had very little by the way of motorsport in India.

Understandably, at the time I failed to realise what an uphill task it was. A more concrete picture emerged when I started racing in Europe, and it was during that time I came to terms with the harsh realities in earnest. We didn’t know the right steps to get to F1, but several setbacks made my resolve only stronger and my perseverance ultimately paid off when I made my debut in 2005.

Q: Last year you made history by becoming the first Indian driver ever to race at the Indian Grand Prix. What dreams do you have left to fulfill?
NK: For me, Formula 1 is a continued dream, it is always ultra-competitive and competing at the pinnacle of the sport is what I love. So I am very happy to have the opportunity to continue living my dream and I have every intention to make the best out of it.

More information on the 2012 F1 season.

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Image © Motioncompany

Categories: F1 News

Domenicali: F2012 is “not so pretty… but that doesn’t count”

Fri, 02/03/2012 - 07:17

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali admits the team’s new car is unattractive but says its performance is more important.

Speaking following the unveiling of the new Ferrari F2012, Domenicali said: “Well, actually, it’s not really so pretty from my personal perspective.

“But this is a value that doesn’t count in Formula 1. As you know these kinds of choices are coming from both technical and regulations constraints. And the choice is to try to maximise the performance of the car.

“And as our chairman has already said the fact that it is ugly or very nice doesn’t count a lot. The most important thing is that the car has to be performing. And in that respect we will see really if it’s true or what is the level of our competitiveness at, I would say, just the qualifying at the Grand Prix in Melbourne.”

Ferrari F2012

Domenicali said the car was the product of a change in direction from the team: “I’ve asked for a change in the approach of the design of the car and what you can see from the car we have launched just now, it’s for sure very different.

“It’s a different approach both from the mechanical point of view and also from the aerodynamic point of view. So that is for sure something that it seems we have achieved. But I will be happy only when I will see that this car will be competitive.”

He expects the same teams to be competitive in 2012 and said he’s not underestimating Mercedes:

“I would say that the competition will be against the usual drivers and teams. They are all very strong, I respect all of them. I would say as always we have Red Bull, McLaren, Mercedes – do not underestimate them because for sure they want to show how good they are after some difficult seasons.

“And we have Kimi [Raikkonen] back again. I know that he is very strong. He will want to show his level of competitiveness, because he is very, very strong.

“So I think it will be a very interesting season, I’m very convinced about it. There will be a lot of drivers who will want to fight for the win.”

Domenicali added that 2012 will be an important year for the sport: “There are a lot of political things we need to address. We need to make sure the regulations are right for the future. We will guarantee the transfer of technology from F1 to the road car side.

“We need to make sure that the commercial for the future will consider the need of the tifosi (fans), the need of the tracks, of the organiser, of the television, the media and the new media, and we need to actively go to the young generation.

“So a lot of points that, for sure, are important. Because we as Ferrari have been in Formula 1 since the first day, and we want to stay there for a long, long time.”

Ferrari have also confirmed an extension of their sponsorship from Santander, who will back the team until 2017.

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Image © Ferrari spa/Ercole Colombo

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VJM05 is “a big departure” – Green | 2012 F1 season

Fri, 02/03/2012 - 06:16

Force India VJM05, 2012

Force India’s technical director Andy Green says the team’s new car is “a big departure” from its predecessor.

“We’ve got a new front wing which sets up all the basic structures along the car and it’s a big step for us.” said Green at the launch of the Force India VJM05.

“It took us quite a long time and to go away from how perhaps we traditionally worked. The package is a big departure from what we’ve done before and the wind tunnel numbers are really encouraging and we’re looking forward to getting it on the track and seeing if it does produce what it should do.”

Green expects the banning of exhaust-blown diffusers to close the field up in 2012: “The loss of the blown-exhaust is a bigger effect than lowering the nose. Massively bigger.

“We were quite late with extracting what we could from our diffuser last year and I don’t think it reached its potential by a long way. There were teams out there who extracted way more than we did. Hopefully it will hurt them more this year than it will us.

“We spent the winter trying to salvage all the downforce we lost and I think we’ve got close. My feeling is that it should close the field up. You only have to look at Silverstone last year [where the regulations temporarily changed] to see what effect it had.”

Deputy team principal Bob Fearnley said the team aims to improve on its 2011 finishing position of sixth: “I don’t think Vijay [Mallya] will accept anything less than fifth. I was pleased in a way we didn’t finish fifth last year, otherwise we would need to finish fourth this year!

“It will be tough as most of the teams out there are capable of achieving fifth in the constructors’. I think the battle for fifth place will be as equally as exciting to watch as the scrap for the top of the table.

“It’s not going to be an easy ride, by any means.”

All the teams will have to contend with the longest ever F1 calendar this year, featuring 20 races. Team COO Otmar Szafnauer said Force India were “almost at breaking point with the 18 and 19 race calendar”.

“We have put some systems in place to make it easier for the staff to help them on their travels,” he said.

“We’re prepared and I think we’ll do okay. They’ll all do the same races and we won’t be employing additional people to help trackside, but we’ve invested in equipment that should mean on a Sunday night they don’t have to strip and rebuild the car ahead of the next race. It should save them a good six or seven hours. So Sunday will be less arduous for them.”

Quotes and additional reporting by Dan Cross.

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Image © Force India F1 Team

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Ferrari F2012 launch – first pictures and video of Ferrari’s 2012 F1 car | 2012 F1 cars

Fri, 02/03/2012 - 04:20

Ferrari F2012

Ferrari have revealed their 2012 F1 car in Maranello. The team’s latest challenger has been named the F2012.

After Fernando Alonso narrowly missed out on the championship in 2010, Ferrari endured a poor season by their standards last year. Alonso won just once and Felipe Massa never finished higher than fifth.

The team vowed to take a less conservative approach with their new car.

“The main changes when compared to 2011 concern the height of the front section of the chassis, the position of the exhaust pipes and the mapping for the electronic engine management,” said a statement released by the team.

“Practically every area of the car has been fundamentally revised, starting with the suspension layout: both the front and rear feature pull-rods, aimed at favouring aerodynamic performance and lowering the centre of gravity.

“The front wing is derived from the one introduced on the 150° Italia in the final part of its racing life and has been evolved from there. Further evolutions are planned in this area for the opening races of the season.

Ferrari F2012

“The nose has a step in it that is not aesthetically pleasing: with the requirement from the regulations to lower the front part, this was a way of raising the bottom part of the chassis as much as possible for aerodynamic reasons. The sides have been redesigned, through modifications to the side impact structures, the repositioning of the radiators and revisions to all aerodynamic elements.

“The lower part of the rear of the car is much narrower and more tapered, a feature achieved partly through a new gearbox casing and a relocation of some mechanical components. In recent years, the area of exhausts has been crucial in terms of car performance and much effort was expended on this front, based on changes to the regulations introduced this year. The rear wing is conceptually similar to the one used in 2011, but every detail of it has been revised and it is now more efficient.

“Naturally, it is still fitted with DRS (a drag reduction system,) which is operated hydraulically. The front and rear air intakes for the brakes have been redesigned and work was carried out in collaboration with Brembo to optimise the braking system.”

Heavy snow in Maranello forced the team to cancel their launch ceremony and scrap plans for a shakedown run on their Fiorano circuit.

Here are the first pictures of Ferrari’s new F1 car:

More images will be added here.

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Images © Ferrari spa/Ercole Colombo

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Force India VJM05 launch – first pictures of their 2012 F1 car | 2012 F1 cars

Fri, 02/03/2012 - 04:19

Force India VJM05, 2012

Force India have launched their 2012 F1 car at Silverstone circuit.

The VJM05 is their fourth car to use a Mercedes engine. It will be driver by Paul di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg, the latter taking Adrian Sutil’s place at the Silverstone-based squad.

The team aim to build on their best-ever result of sixth in the constructors’ championship last year.

Di Resta, who starts his second season with the team, said: “The thing we’re going for this season is a stronger start than we did last year.

“Our momentum towards the end of the year was incredible and I think everyone is still on a buzz from that and it would be great to start from where we left off.”

“I want to do better, that’s my main focus. Last year we were very close to coming fifth as a constructor and we met our ambitions by finishing sixth.

“We’ll keep moving on, as long as it’s upwards, that’s the main focus. We need to push and carry that momentum from last year.”

Di Resta and Hulkenberg each have a single F1 season to their name. Di Resta added: “Hopefully me and Nico can work well together. We’re quite young but we’re very ambitious.”

Hulkenberg, who drove for Williams in 2010 and was Force India’s reserve driver in 2011, said: “It feels good to be making a return to F1.

“I was very happy when I found out because last year, sat on the sidelines wasn’t easy. But still a good year because Force India gave me the opportunity to prove my skills on Friday mornings.

“I think I improved and continued to learn in 2011, but in different ways. Obviously I wasn’t driving, but behind the scenes, on the pitwall seeing how everything worked – these are all things that should help me in races.”

Here are the first pictures of Force India’s new F1 car:

More images will be added here.

Quotes and additional reporting by Dan Cross.

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Narain Karthikeyan takes final F1 seat at HRT | 2012 F1 season

Fri, 02/03/2012 - 03:09

Narain Karthikeyan, HRT, Buddh International Circuit, 2011

Narain Karthikeyan will return to F1 with HRT in 2012, the team has confirmed.

Karthikeyan started eight races for HRT last year before being replaced by Daniel Ricciardo. He made a one-off return to the team at the Indian Grand Prix.

HRT previously announced their other driver for 2012 will be Pedro de la Rosa.

Karthikeyan said: “It has taken a lot of hard work to make this happen but I am absolutely elated to feature on the 2012 grid with HRT F1 Team.

“I was pleased with our strong performance at the Indian Grand Prix, in front of my passionate home fans and I look forward to building on this result in 2012. I have been training hard since the end of 2011, ensuring I was ready for the rigours of F1 if an opportunity arose. I am delighted to have signed with HRT F1 Team. With the new management, Pedro, and the team, there is definite potential for progress.

“We need to understand that F1 is new to India, we hosted our first race only last year which was a resounding success. To build on that momentum, an Indian driver will certainly keep the interest engaged throughout the season. I am proud to secure an opportunity to forge a stronger connection between India and Formula 1 once again.”

HRT team principal Luiz Perez-Sala added: “I am pleased to count with Narain for this season, as he will contribute continuity and stability. He is a quick, intuitive and secure driver who met his expectations despite a lack of continuity last year.

“Of the eight Grands Prix he contested in 2011, he only failed to finish on one occasion and had a great performance in the last race he took part in. I’m sure that the fact that he will continue to work and drive on a regular basis will help him take a step forward this season. And if he advances, so does the team. This is a year in which you could say that the team starts from scratch and everyone’s input will be fundamental.”

Karthikeyan’s signing completes this year’s driver line-up. Here’s the full list of 2012 F1 drivers and teams.

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Ferrari and Force India to reveal 2012 F1 cars today | F1 Fanatic round-up

Thu, 02/02/2012 - 19:01

Ferrari F150 launch, Maranello, 2011

Ferrari and Force India will reveal their new F1 cars today.

Ferrari’s launch has been disrupted by heavy snow at Maranello. However they will be showing off their car online at 9am UK time at monoposto2012.ferrari.com.

Meanwhile at Silverstone Force India will pull back the covers on their new car at roughly the same time. Dan Cross will be at the track to cover the test for F1 Fanatic.

Pictures and news from the launches will appear here as soon as they are available.

Links

Top F1 links from the past 24 hours:

Shakedown for Williams (Sky)

“The team headed to the Idiada proving ground outside Barcelona, with reserve driver Valtteri Bottas behind the wheel.”

Hamilton eager to sort out future (Autosport)

“Probably after the first couple of races it’s something we will probably want to get out of the way.”

Australian Open costs a lot too: GP boss (The Sydney Morning Herald)

Australian Grand Prix boss Ron Walker: “The Grand Prix looks expensive but so is the tennis. We’ve never had the debate about the tennis before. They have committed another $368 million to keep it until 2036.”

Pedro de la Rosa via Twitter

“Impressed by what I have seen today at HRT. Great effort in less than three months. Good job guys.”

Roberto Mieres 1924–2012 (Joe Saward)

“Finally he went to Europe on his own and, thanks to his friendship with Harry Schell, did a deal to become the reserve driver of Gordini, where Schell was teamed with Maurice Trintignant, Jean Behra and Robert Manzon. While waiting for his chance he went to Italy and talked his way into a test with Lancia and went faster than the regular drivers.”

Retromobile Paris 2012 (Nick Mason via Facebook)

“My 1978 Ferrari 312 T3 (driven by Gilles Villeneuve) on the stand at Retromobile with Hall and Hall.”

Follow F1 news as it breaks using the F1 Fanatic live Twitter app.

Comment of the day

Yesterday’s article on the riding cost of attending F1 races elicited several responses from readers who are feeling the pinch:

I have been to the British Grand Prix since 2002, and made it every year bar one when my mother passed away. However, this year I won’t be going – the increases in price have made it uneconomical for me to go. I found paying £179 as I did last year for camping and three-day walkabout tickets was very expensive, but manageable, but £215 for the camping and three-day walkabout is too much to budget for.

It’s a shame, and I’ll miss the fantastic buzz, but at those prices, which have gone up year-on-year since I started attending (the first year I went, I got Copse B undercover tickets for £225 per person, and the second year three-day General Admission was £79 per person) and it has got to the point where I just can’t countenance the cost.
LazerFX

From the forum Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to BrawnGP!

If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is by emailling me, using Twitter or adding to the list here.

On this day in F1

It’s too cold for Ferrari this year but it was too hot on this day last year: the team suffered a setback in testing when Felipe Massa’s car caught fire:

Image © Ferrari spa/Ercole Colombo

Categories: F1 News

F1 General Admission ticket prices rise nearly 10% in two years | 2012 F1 season

Thu, 02/02/2012 - 08:33

Noticeable gaps in the crowd at Barcelona last year

The cost of holding F1 races is increasingly being passed on to fans as the price of the cheapest race tickets has risen quickest since 2010.

General Admission ticket prices rose 9.52% at ten circuits between 2010 and 2012. However the price for admission to seated areas remained stable at several venues, and average prices for those rose by only 1.84%.

Sepang International Circuit is a notable exception to the rise in prices. At the home of the Malaysian Grand Prix, general admission tickets are 37% cheaper than they were two years ago as the race organisers try to attract fans in the face of increased competition from nearby Singapore and its glamorous night race.

However several other race organisers have had to put prices up: General Admission tickets for the Belgian, Canadian, Monaco, British and Italian Grands Prix have gone up between 18 and 30 percent.

Here is a breakdown of the lowest and highest prices for the 2012 F1 race tickets currently available, and comparisons to the same prices two years ago:

Three-day General Admission tickets #dummytag{width:100%;}#sepang2{width:8.50322580645161%;}#shanghai2{width:32.4903225806452%;}#hungaroring2{width:48.2%;}#montreal2{width:50.1483870967742%;}#monza2{width:50.8774193548387%;}#hockenheimring2{width:53.0193548387097%;}#catalunya2{width:64.2645161290323%;}#valencia2{width:64.2645161290323%;}#singapore2{width:64.7096774193548%;}#spa-francorchamps2{width:69.6193548387097%;}#albertpark2{width:80.7548387096774%;}#monte-carlo2{width:96.7741935483871%;}#silverstone2{width:100%;}
Sepang
£13.18
Shanghai
£50.36
Hungaroring
£74.71
Montreal
£77.73
Monza
£78.86
Hockenheimring
£82.18
Catalunya
£99.61
Valencia
£99.61
Singapore
£100.3
Spa-Francorchamps
£107.91
Albert Park
£125.17
Monte-Carlo
£150
Silverstone
£155

Availability of General Admission tickets varies considerably from track to track. Inevitably, it’s the expensive seats that have the best views.

Of the 13 tracks surveyed, Silverstone had the most expensive three-day general admission ticket. However this has not stopped the circuit attracting crowds other circuits would envy: last year’s race attracted a three-day attendance of 315,000.

Cheapest three-day tickets with seats #dummytag{width:100%;}#shanghai{width:18.5869565217391%;}#sepang{width:20.1478260869565%;}#hungaroring{width:21.4739130434783%;}#hockenheimring{width:26.8891304347826%;}#monza{width:27.0695652173913%;}#catalunya{width:32.4826086956522%;}#singapore{width:32.8152173913043%;}#valencia{width:34.2869565217391%;}#montreal{width:36.3413043478261%;}#albertpark{width:45.595652173913%;}#silverstone{width:48.9130434782609%;}#spa-francorchamps{width:63.1608695652174%;}#monte-carlo{width:100%;}
Shanghai
£85.5
Sepang
£92.68
Hungaroring
£98.78
Hockenheimring
£123.69
Monza
£124.52
Catalunya
£149.42
Singapore
£150.95
Valencia
£157.72
Montreal
£167.17
Albert Park
£209.74
Silverstone
£225
Spa-Francorchamps
£290.54
Monte-Carlo
£460

Inevitably the Monaco Grand Prix is consistently among the dearest races to attend.

But it’s striking how expensive tickets are for seats at the Belgian Grand Prix, although the long Spa-Francorchamps circuit boasts ample room for spectators with General Admission tickets.

Dearest three-day tickets #dummytag{width:100%;}#montreal3{width:46.9506666666667%;}#shanghai3{width:48.0186666666667%;}#sepang3{width:49.1786666666667%;}#albertpark3{width:49.616%;}#catalunya3{width:49.8066666666667%;}#valencia3{width:49.8066666666667%;}#hungaroring3{width:49.8066666666667%;}#hockenheimring3{width:55.2293333333333%;}#silverstone3{width:56%;}#spa-francorchamps3{width:60.8746666666667%;}#monza3{width:64.1946666666667%;}#singapore3{width:86.992%;}#monte-carlo3{width:100%;}
Montreal
£352.13
Shanghai
£360.14
Sepang
£368.84
Albert Park
£372.12
Catalunya
£373.55
Valencia
£373.55
Hungaroring
£373.55
Hockenheimring
£414.22
Silverstone
£420
Spa-Francorchamps
£456.56
Monza
£481.46
Singapore
£652.44
Monte-Carlo
£750

At the top end of the price range the costs are similar between most circuits, with Singapore and Monaco attracting the top spenders.

2010 and 2012 ticket prices compared

F1 race organisers face significant economic pressure at the moment. Foremost among which are the rising cost of race hosting fees charged by Formula One Management and economic uncertainly leading fans to spend less on attending races.

On top of that, F1′s move away from free-to-air broadcasting to paid channels in some areas is likely to have a direct effect on the purchasing power of F1 fans. A year’s subscription to Sky in order to watch the ten races not being shown for free in the UK costs £363 – more than a weekend ticket to the British Grand Prix.

As one British fan put it to me recently, why pay money to see one of the races that’s being shown on TV for free anyway, when that money could be spent on going to a different race, or put towards the cost of a Sky subscription?

Given the costs race organisers face, it’s perhaps surprising that ticket prices aren’t being driven higher at an even faster rate, despite already being quite high.

As race organisers feel the pinch of falling attendance there have been rumours more will move to share races with other circuits.

Spanish Grand Prix boss Salvador Servia said earlier this week: “The main thing is for the fans to come to the circuit. If the fans come, then there is no problem. But with the crisis, attendance has decreased in all circuits.”

Here are how the ticket prices have changed between 2010 and 2012 at the venues for which the data was available:

Cheapest Three-day (No seat) Cheapest Three-day (Seat) Dearest Three-day Average +9.52% +1.84% -3.2% Sepang -37% -11.4% -32.19% Shanghai +17.03% -1.35% -8.45% Catalunya +9.09% +5.88% -15.89% Monte-Carlo +20.34% +1.39% -0.72% Montreal +23% +17.58% +12.58% Valencia -2.56% -24.37% Silverstone +19.23% -2.17% +5.26% Hockenheimring 0% -25.13% 0% Hungaroring -5.26% -7.75% +5.14% Spa-Francorchamps +30% +9.38% 0% Monza +18.75% +36.36% +23.4%

Are you going to an F1 race this year? Have you stopped going to races because of the cost?

And how does the price of going to an F1 race compare to other sporting events and leisure activities? Have your say in the comments.

Plan your 2012 race visit

Going to an F1 race in 2012? Find other F1 fans who are and share tips on ticket prices and more in the dedicated race forums:

Notes on the research

All prices were obtained either from the official website for the Grand Prix or F1.com. Prices were not available for the Bahrain, Korean, Japanese, Indian, Brazilian, United States and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix. Prices not quoted in pounds sterling were converted on February 2nd 2012. No conversions were undertaken when comparing between tickets for the same circuits in different years.

All prices quoted exclude early purchase discounts. Prices do not include booking fees, car parking charges or other costs. Corporate hospitality not included. Some prices quoted may be for tickets that are no longer available. In a small number of cases, ticket prices were unavailable because they had sold out. ‘Seated’ tickets include bleachers, folding seats or grandstands but not grass areas. ‘General admission’ tickets do not include a seat and may restrict spectators to viewing in certain areas.

Thanks to Guilherme for researching the data on 2012 ticket prices. If you’re interested in contributing to F1 Fanatic. See here for details on how you can:

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Ferrari cancel F1 car launch | 2012 F1 season

Thu, 02/02/2012 - 02:43

Snow has forced Ferrari to cancel its launch ceremony

Ferrari have cancelled the launch ceremony for their 2012 F1 car tomorrow.

Heavy snow in Maranello has forced the team to rethinks its plans.

Ferrari announced on Twitter: “It is still snowing heavily here in Maranello. Therefore, the launch ceremony of the new F1 car has been cancelled.”

Ferrari added they will release images and technical details of their new car tomorrow.

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Hamilton hushed over Sutil criticism | F1 Fanatic round-up

Wed, 02/01/2012 - 19:01

Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, 2012

In the round-up: Lewis Hamilton keeps quiet as Adrian Sutil brands him a “coward” for not appearing as a witness at his trial in Germany.

Links

Top F1 links from the past 24 hours:

Sutil: Hamilton is a coward (The Telegraph)

“Lewis is a coward, I don’t want to be friends with someone like that. For me, he is not a man. Even his father sent me a (text message) wishing me luck at the trial. I got nothing from Lewis. He changed his mobile number. I couldn’t reach him.”

McLaren gag Lewis Hamilton after Adrian Sutil brands him ‘a coward’ (The Guardian)

“A McLaren spokesman intervened and said: ‘We’ve been told Lewis shouldn’t really go there because it might go under appeal, so can we move on to the next question”, to which the 27-year-old Hamilton added: “I’ll listen to him.’”

Pay-drivers ‘absurd’ – Massa (ESPN)

“Today, there are only four teams that can afford to operate without drivers that bring money. It’s an absurd situation and I don’t think it’s good for F1 and especially the young drivers. Even if you get very good results in the formulas below (F1), you either have to be lucky or have money in order to get a seat. That’s not F1.”

Tittle-tattle from the F1 world (Joe Saward)

“The latest rumours from the F1 world suggest that Giedo Van der Garde is about to be named as the Caterham F1 Team test driver, unless Vitaly Petrov comes up with money to take over Jarno Trulli’s drive. The word is that there was a deal between Petrov and Caterham, but that the promised money has yet to arrive from Russia. It is said that one of the reasons that Petrov lost his job at Lotus F1 Team (the old Renault F1) was that his money took a long time to appear.”

Maranello white-out (Ferrari)

“It now looks as though there is little chance of carrying out the planned promotional filming featuring action shots of the car at the Fiorano track: even if the snow was to stop it’s hard to imagine that the escape roads could be cleared of their blanket of snow which is gradually building up.”

Follow F1 news as it breaks using the F1 Fanatic live Twitter app.

Comment of the day

Joey-Poey on Martin Whitmarsh’s hope F1 will crack the American market:

Amusing that he chose to mention both soccer and F1 (and called it soccer, I thought it was football to you guys?).

Neither of those “world sports” have truly permeated the American consciousness yet. We’re aware of them, no doubt, but ask an average person off the street to name one player or driver and you’re likely to get a blank stare.

I do agree with him that if they want to tackle it and really corner the market, they’ve got to promote it more. But more than that, it has to be made more accessible here.

Of course NASCAR is popular when most states have a race and you’re likely to get more than one opportunity to be within driving distance of one. Two races a year will work to start with since the hardcore fans will make the journey.

But if it’s going to get bigger than that, it’s going to take a combination of being accessible by location and mentally/culturally accessible. Drivers don’t live and work over here. They don’t even show up much over here (The Tony Stewart/Lewis Hamilton car swap was a great idea to give F1 presence).

Even the teams rarely have a car over here. Red Bull are the only ones I can think of who’ve brought one for people to see: out at the new Circuit of the Americas and bringing the RB7 at the Detroit Auto Show. Two Grands Prix will at least give them the incentive to improve the accessibility to American fans and I hope they capitalise on it.
Joey-Poey

From the forum Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to Invoke, Oliver Queisser, Sriram and photozen!

If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is by emailling me, using Twitter or adding to the list here.

On this day in F1

The Lotus T128 was seen in the flesh for the first time on this day last year:

Image © McLaren

Categories: F1 News

Whitmarsh: “We are in the entertainment business, we have to make the show” | 2012 F1 season

Wed, 02/01/2012 - 10:19

Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren MP4-27 launch, 2012

Martin Whitmarsh said F1 must strive to keep up the action-packed racing it has produced in recent years.

Speaking at the launch of the McLaren MP4-27, Whitmarsh said: “For a few years I think people were a little bit worried.

“They recognised that Formula 1 is the pinnacle of motor sport: it’s the most technically advanced, has the best drivers in the world, the best teams.

“But they were a little bit concerned about the spectacle and the show. I think the last two seasons have been full of drama, fantastic overtaking, great races, and just a great television spectacle.

“We can always make it better – the sport sometimes is a little bit inward-looking, a bit introverted, it doesn’t always do the best job of promoting itself. We’ve got perhaps too much cynicism in a our sport because Formula 1 and soccer are the only true world sports.

“And we can make the sport a lot bigger and a lot better. It’s sometimes a challenge for teams to work together as we know – we’re trying to compete and trying to beat each other on Sunday afternoon. But we’re learning slowly – not quite as quickly as everybody would like!”

Asked if the sport was too reliant on “artificial” devices to increase overtaking, Whitmarsh said: “We often within the sport view it from a very purists’ perspective: we don’t like artificial elements. It’s the same argument for people who don’t like DRS. And I can understand and respect that.”

“But I think we have to accept that we are in the entertainment business, we have to make the show.”

Whitmarsh suggested the reduction in the performance gap between the tyre compounds offered by Pirelli may affect the quality of racing negatively: “The probability is that the gap between them will be narrowed. Purists will prefer it – I wonder, though, whether it will be to the detriment of the show.”

He urged the sport to make a success of its return to the USA ahead of the forthcoming race at the Circuit of the Americas in November: “I think of all the teams believe it’s very important.

“We’ve got to make a success of it this time. We know that our time in America has been spasmodic and unsuccessful. We treat it almost as a new market.

“But actually there’s a huge interest in Formula 1 that’s untapped in the United States. We’ve got to work hard and what we’ve got to accept is America doesn’t need Formula 1, we need it more than it needs us. So I think the onus has to be on the teams, the promoter, and the commercial rights holder, to work hard and ensure that we educate, we promote, we develop the interest, and we reach out in America.

“We’ve got to work harder than at perhaps for a Grand Prix in Europe or Asia or South America where there is a ready interest, a ready uptake. We’ve got a real challenge. But it’s important to our commercial partners, the States is a rather big market for any multinational company.

“As I mentioned earlier there are only two world sports – soccer and Formula 1 – and for us to be a great world sport we’ve got to conquer the States.”

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Whitmarsh expects no repeat of 2011 testing problems | 2012 F1 season

Wed, 02/01/2012 - 09:41

McLaren MP4-27, 2012

Martin Whitmarsh says McLaren should avoid a repeat of their poor start to the year pre-season in 2011.

Speaking at the launch of the McLaren MP4-27, Whitmarsh said: “We had, by anyone’s standards and McLaren’s standards, an abysmal winter testing session last year, where we didn’t have reliability or pace.

“It was really tribute to the fantastic team work, the engineers and everyone with the organisation to respond to the and arrive in Australia in a reasonable, competitive position, which I think surprised a lot of people.

“But it was a relatively stressful process so I’d be much happier to be not fighting those sorts of issues. We’ve put a lot of work into this car and we don’t think we’ll have a repeat of last winter.”

Whitmarsh added: “I’m sure it’s no surprise to everyone here that our goal is to win two world championships this year. That’s what we exist to do, that’s what we try to do every year. We don’t always succeed, it’s a very challenging, competitive series.

“We are there or thereabouts, we don’t like losing, coming second the last two years has had its frustrations. We’re proud of some great moments and some great moments in those years but ultimately we want to win and we want to win world championships.”

Whitmarsh moved to quell speculation over the future of McLaren’s engine arrangement. Engine supplier Mercedes are going into their third year of running their own team, and McLaren are gearing up their road car production programme.

But Whitmarsh denied there were plans for McLaren to produce their own F1 engines: “Firstly, we’ve got a great partner – we’ve been 18 years in partnership with Mercedes-Benz,” he said.

“They make probably the best engine in Formula 1 so the motivation to change is very limited, we enjoy that partnership and we intend to continue for a number of years.

“But I think ultimately Formula 1 is very powerful environment to promote a motoring brand and get brand exposure. We have no plans in the short term, medium term or long term to manufacture our own engines.

“I think we’re not trying to be a facsimile of Ferrari – we have great respect for Ferrari and what they’ve achieved. But we’ll do it our way and a feature of McLaren is having long-term, successful partnerships. We’ve got partnerships on [the MP4-27] in excess of 30 years, 27 years, and we’re very proud of the relationship with Mercedes-Benz.

“We think we bring value to their brand, we give them good exposure, good competition for their own team, and it works for both of us.”

He added: “People will speculate because of our road car programme, but at the moment it makes no sense for us.”

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