2012 FIA Formula 1 World Championship Pre-Season Thread

[BrokenVert]

Originally Posted by gary88

New Ferrari will be visible here in just under three hours.

http://singleseater2012.ferrari.com/english/web/#/home

Ferrari went with the stepped high nose. Not a fan

[BrokenVert]

I just bought something in preparation for the season

https://www.mclarenshop.com/webapp/w..._68154_VMM2002

[UltimateBMW]

Originally Posted by BrokenVert

I just bought something in preparation for the season

https://www.mclarenshop.com/webapp/w..._68154_VMM2002

I might get one of these.

[UltimateBMW]

New Ferrari F2012, and Force India Sahara VJM05!

[E90SLAM]

Holy crap its ugly, the nose killed it all!!!

[E90SLAM]

I hate step-nose...

[UltimateBMW]

Q&A with McLaren's Paddy Lowe & Tim Goss

www.McLaren.com

Q: After a successful 2011 season, what were your main aims with the development of the MP4-27?
PL: "Our main objectives for the 2012 season were to optimise downforce despite the changes to the blown floor, and to improve our understanding and utilisation of the Pirelli tyres, which were new to us last year.

TG: "Although you can't see it, there's a lot on this car that's changed. However, this year has seen more of an evolutionary set of rules, so there's less of the unpredictability that comes from balancing resources between seasons during a time of greater regulatory change."

PL: "Every year, we sit down and want to design a race-winning car. We didn't have the quickest car at the start of last season, but we're doing everything possible to build the quickest car possible."

Q: What are the key visual differences between the 2011 and 2012 cars?
TG: "I think the most obvious change is the loss of the U-shaped sidepod, which we pioneered on last year's car. We reverted to a more conventional sidepod shape for this season because the U-shape was less suited to the new exhaust geometry restrictions. For 2012, the exhaust tailpipes now have to exit along the U-channel - so that particular feature was no longer really viable due to the new geometry restrictions. As a result, we decided to adopt a different approach to the way we feed the rear of the car. We have cleaned up the roll-hoop area and now have much tighter rear bodywork."

Q: Were there any particular challenges in adapting to the new 2012 regulations?
TG: "The regulations around the exhausts are very prescriptive: the exhausts must now exit within a very tight space at the rear of the car in order to minimise their aerodynamic influence. The final 100mm of the exhausts must be cylindrical - so they can no longer be oval, or flattened - and must be sited at a particular vertical and horizontal angle - between 10 and 30 degrees upwards. That's to direct the exhaust exit away from the floor."

PL: "One of the more satisfying challenges was being able to develop and expand our knowledge of the Pirelli tyres. It's our second season with Pirelli - 2011 was very much a learning year. We have used our experience from the past 12 months to design the car's layout, aerodynamics and vehicle dynamics around improved tyre utilisation."

Q: Have there been knock-on effects to the design of the car due to the exhaust restrictions?
TG: "They have the inevitable impact on the flow-fields around the rear of the car, yes. In previous years, the exhausts exited directly into the rear corner of the floor; we can't do that any more so, as you'd expect, that changes the flow characteristics at the rear of the car. The knock-on effect is that all of the aerodynamic devices at the rear of the car have had to be re-designed."

Q: There have been a few departures from the technical team over the winter - are you comfortable with that?
PL: "I always say this, but Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is an extremely broad organisation. Bear in mind that we have 200 engineers working here - and, if those people all stayed in their job for 10 years, then we'd lose 20 engineers a year.

"Actually, we lose far fewer than that. It's easy to focus on those leaving, but we have just as many people arriving here. Also, we pride ourselves on bringing on new, young and clever guys, helping them get into the business. Inevitably, at some point, a few of those feel the need to fly the nest and join the competition - it's not something you can avoid. But we've got a very strong group of fantastically committed individuals here and we're proud of the work we've all done on MP4-27."

[E90SLAM]

step-nose...lego???

[E90SLAM]

My prayer, "Dear God, please tell Adrian Newey to not just design the fastest car, but also looks great like RB5/6/7..."

[E90SLAM]

Last spot has been taken!!
Narain Karthikeyan signs with HRT for 2012.

http://planetf1.com/driver/18227/747...-signs-for-HRT

Originally Posted by UltimateBMW

Might not be a bad idea to keep a running roster for the drivers this year. As many seats are still left open.

I'll help get it started. Below is only the confirmed drivers and team names.

Red Bull
1. Sebastian Vettel
2. Mark Webber

McLaren Vodafone Mercedes
3. Jensen Button
4. Lewis Hamilton

Scuderia Ferrari
5. Fernando Alonso
6. Felipe Massa

Mercedes AMG Petronas
7. Michael Schumacher (The Schum has it in his contract never to be the even number)
8. Nico Rosberg

Lotus
9. Kimi Raikkonen
10. Romain Grosjean

Sahara Force India
11. Paul di Resta
12. Nico Hulkenberg

Sauber
13. Kamui Kobayashi
14. Sergio Perez

Scuderia Toro Rosso
15. Daniel Ricciardo
16. Jean-Eric Vergne

Williams
17. Pastor Maldonado
18. Bruno Senna

Caterham
19. Heiki Kovalainen
20. Jarno Trulli

HRT
21. Pedro de la Rosa
22.

Marussia
23. Timo Glock
24. Charles Pic

[UltimateBMW]

Originally Posted by E90SLAM

Last spot has been taken!!
Narain Karthikeyan signs with HRT for 2012.

http://planetf1.com/driver/18227/747...-signs-for-HRT

Wow, I'm disappointed Karthikeyan got the spot. I would have much prefered Chandhok. Karthikeyan is trash, and from what I've seen not a team player.

[Echo M3]

That Ferrari is nothing short of ghastly. As long as it's quick, though, I'll be happy.

Thoughts on the stepped nose cars vs. the Mclaren? Have Mclaren simply found a more elegant solution, or do you think they missed the boat, so to speak? I guess we won't find out till March.

[UltimateBMW]

Originally Posted by pman10

That Ferrari is nothing short of ghastly. As long as it's quick, though, I'll be happy.

Thoughts on the stepped nose cars vs. the Mclaren? Have Mclaren simply found a more elegant solution, or do you think they missed the boat, so to speak? I guess we won't find out till March.

If you look at the past few years, McLaren's nose has been typically lower than the rest of the field. I think it's just a different approach to the general flow over the car. They also have the wing hidden up underneath the front nose which may help and/or replicate the difference.

I also believe that with their design they could bolt on a duckbill nose and end up with the exact same thing as the competition. Looking at the lines up until the front suspension mounts the nose in this area looks a little taller than the rest of the field actually. I wouldn't say they missed the boat though because this has been their approach for a number of years now.

[E90SLAM]

Originally Posted by pman10

That Ferrari is nothing short of ghastly. As long as it's quick, though, I'll be happy.

Thoughts on the stepped nose cars vs. the Mclaren? Have Mclaren simply found a more elegant solution, or do you think they missed the boat, so to speak? I guess we won't find out till March.

The step-nose is to meet new regulation while maximize the airflow over Bargeboards.

Front lower nose design will help drive more airflow over Bargeboards (Bargeboards are pieces of bodywork on open-wheel racing cars) serving a purely aerodynamic (as opposed to structural) function. They are curved vertical planes situated longitudinally, between the front wheels and the sidepods, held away from the chassis at the front on struts or other connectors, and connecting to the sidepods or extensions of the floor at the rear). The lower nose partition clear by F1 governing body (275mm high & 300mm extensive). But teams designed the radiuses that are allowed to be applied to the chassis boundaries. Consecutively to make the complete cross section lesser. All concepts provide drive improved aero performance, despite the higher centre of Gravity, Safety and better aero overcomes this to get better lap times.

Formula1.com provide more details about the new lower nose – (Formula 1.com) “In order to increase safety, for 2012 the FIA has decided to lower the height of the car's front section, primarily to lessen the chance of one's car's nose intruding into the cockpit of another in the event of a side-on collision. “

“As can be seen in this diagram, the height of the chassis immediately ahead of the cockpit can still be up to 625mm above the reference plane (PR), but then in the space of 150mm it must fall to 550mm. This is expected to lead to some rather awkward-looking, stepped-nose designs on the 2012 cars, including Ferrari's new machine.”

http://www.formula1.com/news/technical/2012/0/929.html

But McLaren took another approach to emphasize the airflow around the body and rear wing.

Also @martinbrundle on twitter has said, and I quote word for word

''Mclaren have tray/tongue system under front of their chassis and such a concept means they lower the chassis and not just the 'broken' nose''

and i hope McLaren is right....at least its good looking....what's wrose....the car is ugly and slow....

[E90SLAM]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/16864721

[gary88]

This is a contender for one of the ugliest Ferraris of all time. Heck I like the Lotus better. However the only thing that matters is if it's fast, so we'll just have to wait and see.

The Force India is no looker either but it's neat to see how they got the sidepods to be so small.

[gary88]

Comparison with the old car.

http://www.formula1onlive.com/2012/0...ari-f2012.html

[UltimateBMW]

Btw, I also find it funny that Ferrari is using a year old kers/gearbox intake design from McLaren. So much for being revolutionary.

[Echo M3]

Originally Posted by UltimateBMW

If you look at the past few years, McLaren's nose has been typically lower than the rest of the field. I think it's just a different approach to the general flow over the car. They also have the wing hidden up underneath the front nose which may help and/or replicate the difference.

I also believe that with their design they could bolt on a duckbill nose and end up with the exact same thing as the competition. Looking at the lines up until the front suspension mounts the nose in this area looks a little taller than the rest of the field actually. I wouldn't say they missed the boat though because this has been their approach for a number of years now.

Makes sense, thanks for the input.

[Echo M3]

Originally Posted by E90SLAM

The step-nose is to meet new regulation while maximize the airflow over Bargeboards.



http://www.formula1.com/news/technical/2012/0/929.html

But McLaren took another approach to emphasize the airflow around the body and rear wing.



and i hope McLaren is right....at least its good looking....what's wrose....the car is ugly and slow....

Thanks for the technical info. I agree. I would like to see a much closer fight for the championship as well as for race wins. A 3-way or even 4-way constructor's fight would be great for all of us

[johanness]

Originally Posted by UltimateBMW

Btw, I also find it funny that Ferrari is using a year old kers/gearbox intake design from McLaren. So much for being revolutionary.

Ouch. Sad

[E90SLAM]

More pics of the Ferrari F2012 and Sahara Force India VJM05