http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/95043 Sounds like the last few races will be about some testing as well as competition. Lets hope more aggressive works next year.
+1 Steve. Ferrari I hope will be strong at race 1. Mclaren might be the strongest right now behind Red Bull. Who do you think a 'dark horse' would be?
I reccon Mercedes will be a dark horse that could spoil Ferrari's and Mclaren's season next year. I also think that the above 3 teams will be closer to red bull relative to this season.
It's odd that Ferrari is talking about their 2012 contender so much. They act as if everyone else is standing on the sidelines with a group of idiots sitting on their thumbs. Ferrari's season is up in the air next year and it could be another 2011 as everyone is working very hard and yet keeps dumping good people and 'reorganizing' departments I believe is what they call it. I wish them luck for Nando's sake.
Evidently everyone is talking big about next year's car. Newey has come out and said that their 2012 car will surprise the entire paddock and even said, "next year's RB8 will amaze everyone". Who is to believe? With the new exhaust regs, I believe Red Bull's jig is pretty much up. The noses for next year's contenders must be lower, and the periscope exhuasts leave very little room for loopholes. However, there is a possibility of the sidepods being much lower than ever therefore allowing for a very low exhaust exit, but I do not believe we will see much of that. As for the lower noses, that simply means they will not be directing as much air from the front/center around the sidepods so I expect something different going on with sidepods in general. The magic 'thing' for next year will be?? I say exhaust gases once again. There will be some play on directing that high-flow energy to good aero use.
They talk a bit too much IMO. It also seems Dominicali is morphing more and more into a figure head, PR role. I don't recall Ross talking and smiling soo much to the cameras.
I refuse to believe it. Fernando Alonso claimed the 2010 Ferrari was the best car he's ever driven, but it did not give anything to the team. Then in 2011, pre season tests Ferrari were the fastest. Again, when the real thing comes along, nothing. IMO, no doubt Fred sits in the top 3 right now, but 2011 has to be one of the most embarrassing seasons for Ferrari's standard. If Ferrari continues like this, Kimi would probably Ferrari's last WDC for a few years to come.
It will only be a matter of time before we're back on top. Adrian Newey's design will take time to over come but it will be over come none the less.
+1 I believe Merc has significantly expanded toward the end of this season, and has hired on staff to near-Honda/pre-Brawn levels (double and triple filling their open positions in some cases). I will look for them to be a major threat next season.
Every race counts, so if you're in the title hunt at the last race you've done an excellent job. Doesn't matter if you had a slow start or a mediocre middle of the season. In the end the points count no matter what.
I don't get it when a team says that their next year's car will be "more aggressive". It's as if they're saying that in previous seasons they consciously decided to build a tame car or one that doesn't go as fast as they were technically capable of making it go. Surely, every new car is "aggressive". Although, I hope this isn't a return to 2009, when the car was fast on paper but too difficult even for F1 drivers to manage. All the best, Andrew.
I agree with Andrew. I hate hearing how "aggressive" next year's car is going to be. What's aggressive? I like to think the engineers/designers went all out every year...especially in years when the car lacked pace right from the beginning (Ferrari). Whenever I hear "aggressive," I think of the Williams Walrus. I admit, that car made me nervous for Ferrari's dominance at the time; right up until the first race when it got owned. Mark Image Unavailable, Please Login
I think that generally speaking The Scuderia talk too much and are becoming only talk. They need to stop making these silly and possibly damming statements about "being aggressive" or "not copying Red Bull's wing" or whatever the hell the PR machine told them to say. They need to quietly and diligently and coyly do whatever in the hell it takes to get a winning team together again on all fronts, design, management, development, etc, etc.
I have heard that we can expect many teams to have very different nosecones for next season. The rules of course regular lower noses but rumor has it that they will look different in 2012 rather than just a lowered version of what we have now.
I agree, but generally, ask ourselves...are we proud of Ferrari lately? trust me, Alonso is really making the car look good by finishing in places where the car doesn't belong to. What i'm saying is, at the end of the day, Red Bull still owned us. And frankly, I don't have confidence with Ferrari claiming to be aggressive. The last time they had a real car to challenge for the WDC and WCC was the F2008.
