2012 Formula One Season ***possible spoilers***

Just read that Schumacher's car is still last years car. they're working on the new tyres to get a fix on them.

i'm confused.

 

From James Allen

Fernando Alonso says he has already seen positive signs from the new F2012 that it is able to generate heat into its tyres more quickly than was the case with its predecessor – a key aim for the team this year.

Ferrari has struggled with tyre warm-up – particularly on the hardest compounds, where general performance issues have also been a perennial problem – over recent years and over the winter hired Bridgestone’s former F1 chief Hirohide Hamashima to focus on improving the interaction between car and Pirelli tyres.

Alonso certainly thinks progress has been made judging by what he saw at Jerez, even if other areas of the car still need plenty of attention: “I think we’ve managed to get more out of the tyres right from the first lap, which is something we weren’t able to do last year. What definitely needs improving is the aerodynamics and the reliability,” Gazzetta dello Sport quoted him as saying.

The performance of Ferrari’s latest challenger was one of the big talking points across the opening four-day test: the team initially not getting within 1.5s of the fastest time during the first three days before Alonso jumped to the top of the order on Friday morning with some short runs on the soft tyre.

Ferrari had stressed that the week was all about learning about the new car, rather than testing its outright performance, and Alonso says that policy meant that extensive set-up work has had to wait for the next test at Barcelona. The Spaniard nonetheless says that the F2012 responded well to the changes they did make, even if the set-up tweaks were taking longer to complete than normal given so many of the concepts on the car are completely new.

“These past few days we have done a great deal of laps, just to gather data, without being able to do much work in any depth on the set-up, therefore I think that, when we will be able to do that, we will also improve the performance,” Alonso said on Friday night.

“Already, here at Jerez, the moment we did make some changes, we got the response we were expecting, even if it’s true that the fact the car is more complex from a mechanical and aerodynamic point of view definitely makes the tasks more complex.

“Today we saw a good example of that: we have only done around forty laps partly because it took so much time to carry out the changes we needed to make on the car to complete our programme. I think that in Barcelona, when we will be back on track, the situation will be different and we will be much better prepared compared to this test, where above all we had to learn how to get to grips with this car.”

 

It's a truism to say that, while a driver's climb through the ranks to Formula 1 can be a long, hard slog, the descent once their career at motorsport's top table has petered out can be ruthlessly swift.

But as you'll see below though, there is very much a life after F1. Here we select 15 drivers from the last decade - some of who are more memorable than others - and see where their respective journeys around the world of motorsport have taken them in the intervening years...

Christian Klien - 49 races (2004-2010)
The Austrian-born former Jaguar and Red Bull driver, rather than the maker of stylish pants, was last seen in F1 circles as recently as the final races of 2010 when he was finally recalled from several years in the test driver wilderness amid an unpredictable driver merry-go-round at HRT. He performed solidly alongside Bruno Senna, but wasn't retained for 2011 and has since turned his attention to sports cars - driving for Aston Martin at both Le Mans and Silverstone last year. More recently has been seen trying to tame some muscle V8 supercars in Australia.

Kazuki Nakajima - 36 grands prix (2007-2009)
Having ended his two-year spell at Williams without putting a single point on the board in 2009, the low-profile Japanese was named as a driver for the mysterious Stefan GP team but the obscure Serbian outfit were never granted an official entry. Since then Nakajima, after a year out of the cockpit, has returned to racing in his homeland and finished as runner-up in last season's Formula Nippon championship.

Nelson Piquet Jr - 28 grands prix (2008-2009)
The son of three-time champion Nelson Sr quickly vanished from the F1 scene in the summer of 2009 after being axed by Flavio Briatore at Renault and then lifting the lid on the explosive Singapore GP 'Crashgate' scandal. Although granted immunity by the FIA during its investigations, the now 26-year-old soon headed for America to start a racing career of a very different kind in stock cars. Although yet to compete at NASCAR's top level, he regularly runs in the rather unfortunately titled 'truck' category while also making some appearances in the Nationwide - that's the second tier of NASCAR, rather than your high-street building society, by the way.

Sebastien Bourdais - 27 grands prix (2008-2009)
For those of you with very F1-specific motorsport blinkers on, it might seem that France's Sebastien Bourdais - who belatedly arrived at motorsport's top level in 2008 as a four-time Champ Car title winner no less - has sunk without trace since being dumped by Toro Rosso midway through 2009. Well, technically he hasn't - in fact he's been rather busy. He became a race winner in the football-themed SuperLeague series driving for Sevilla and Lyon - yes, a strange concept we know - and a winner in Le Mans sports cars with Peugeot. The Frenchman has also returned to America for some races in IndyCar.

Takuma Sato - 90 grands prix (2002-2008)
Sato became Japan's most successful, and one of its most popular, F1 exponents during his near century of races in the sport for Jordan, BAR and Super Aguri before the latter folded in early 2008 and left him without a drive. Like many a discarded F1 driver, he sought sanctuary in America - racing for the Jimmy Vasser co-owned KV Racing IndyCar team in 2010-11, scoring two pole positions last year. For 2012 he has joined Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

Ralf Schumacher - 180 grands prix (1997-2007)
The other Schumacher had something of an inconsistent decade in F1 to put it mildly; showing flashes of inspired big brother-beating pace on some days and crash-magnet form on others. Since his F1 career, and lucrative Toyota contract, ended over four years ago he's taken to German's DTM touring car championship and made steady progress as he has got to grips with the tin-top cars. Last year witnessed by far his strongest performances yet, with two podiums to show for his work, and Ralf stays on with Mercedes-Benz for 2012.

Markus Winkelhock - One grand prix (2007)
Surely the only man with a 100% record for leading a lap in every grand prix he ever competed in, the son of 1980s driver Manfred Winkelhock became something of a cult figure in his one and only F1 appearance on home soil at the Nurburgring for back-of-the-grid Spyker five years ago. Coming into the pits to change to wet tyres before the start as the team sensed a storm brewing, he found himself in the lead as the heavens suddenly unleashed a downpour of biblical proportions on the track, staying there for six laps before being overhauled by the big guns and soon retiring. With something of a mark made, he spent the next three years in DTM before switching to the FIA GT1 series in 2011.

Christijan Albers - 46 grands prix (2005-2007)
The abiding memory long-time F1 followers are likely to have of Holland's Christijan Albers - if, in fairness, they can remember him at all - was at the 2007 French GP when, apparently blissfully unaware that he had left his pit box with something rather large - a fuel hose - still attached to his Spyker, drove straight out of the pit lane. After much mirth at the time, Albers only lasted one more race before being quietly axed. After little success on a brief return to Germany's DTM, he reunited with his former boss Colin Kolles for some outings for the German's sports car team at Le Mans, although wasn't picked up on the mainstream motorsport radar in 2011.

Tiago Monteiro - 37 grands prix (2005-2006)
Former Jordan and Midland driver and sometime quiz question answer for being the other man (after Ferrari drivers Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello) to finish on the podium in the six-car US GP of 2005. Has raced extensively in the World Touring Car Championship since his F1 foray came to the end, and is now also a team owner - his Ocean Racing Technology outfit compete in GP2.

Juan Pablo Montoya - 94 grands prix (2001-2006)
A seven-time grand prix winner who seemed to like nothing more than taking on Michael Schumacher, Columbian firebrand Montoya was arguably one that got away for F1 when he split from McLaren mid-way through the 2006 season. Such was his profile as a former Champ Car champion in America that he didn't struggle to find a drive in the main NASCAR series and swiftly acclimatised to the very different challenge of racing in the category, winning a race in his debut year. He continues to compete in the series to this day, becoming a very established name on the category's huge entry lists.

Yuji Ide - Four grands prix (2006)
It's not often in F1 these days that a driver finds themselves clearly out of their depth, such is the deep level of driving talent on show, but Japan's Yuji Ide was unfortunately one such man. Although he had a decent track record in his home single-seater categories, at 31 he quickly found the F1 going somewhat tougher with the new Super Aguri outfit. So much so that after just four races he had his super licence revoked by the FIA, having demonstrated both a lack of pace and a penchant for wayward driving. Unsurprisingly, a swift return to home followed and he continues to race in Formula Nippon and Super GT with unspectacular success.

Ricardo Zonta - 36 grands prix (1999-2004)
Arguably best known as being the meat in a Mika Hakkinen and Michael Schumacher sandwich in the former's astonishing pass of the great German at Spa in 2000, Zonta had race stints for BAR, Jordan and Toyota before becoming a recognised test driver. Since his last noted F1 involvement, as a tester for Renault in 2007, the Brazilian has raced extensively in sports car categories back in his homeland and made a handful of appearances in last year's FIA GT1 series.

Cristiano da Matta - 28 grands prix (2003-2004)
Cristiano da Matta was one of several former Champ Car title winners who failed to leave a lasting mark on F1. After two unspectacular years in the early days of Toyota's F1 team, the Brazilian returned from where he came in America. However, in 2006 he was involved in a terrifying accident when he hit a deer that ran in front of him during testing at Road America. After nearly two years out of the cockpit as he recovered from his injuries, he returned to racing in sports cars and most recently competed in the American Le Mans series in 2011.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen - 156 grands prix (1994-2003)
When they were junior drivers racing sports cars for Mercedes, many rated this German driver more highly than another of a similar age who would go on to rewrite the F1 record books. While one is still racing at the top level, the other -Frentzen, if you haven't guessed yet - has plotted a different course since seeing out his reasonably successful F1 days with Sauber in 2003. After a trio of seasons in the DTM, and appearances in the defunct Speedcar series where several F1 veterans were also to be found, in 2011 he returned to racing in German sports cars and has signed for the new Indian Racing League, which is due to begin this year.

Ralph Firman - 14 grands prix (2003)
Yes, we'd almost forgotten about him too. The Irishman, whose sole F1 season came with Jordan nearly a decade ago, subsequently made a number of appearances for his country's A1GP team as well as winning races in Japanese Super GT sports cars. Most recently spotted in the Le Mans series, both in Europe and the US, and more GT events.

James Galloway

 

http://www1.skysports.com/formula-1/news/12538/7520924/The-Guessing-Game

If you think that Formula 1, with its wind tunnels and simulators, with its reliance on fluid dynamics and mass flow rates, is the most technically advanced of all sports then you'd be right. Yet even in this world, it's reassuring to know that the best thing about any sport - its uncertainty - thrives.

That much was immediately apparent as I prowled the Jerez paddock during last week's opening pre-season test. The first race is little over a month away and yet predicting how the season might unfold is anyone's guess.

And by anyone, I really do mean anyone. You or I could have just as good a stab at it as Adrian Newey. A Professorship of Vehicle Engineering might stand Dr Mark Gillan in good stead in his role as Williams' Chief Operations Engineer, but it doesn't grant him access to a crystal ball.

Yes, some people are rather more informed in drawing their conclusions and yet the secretive, almost neurotic, level of competition that exists in F1 ensures that no-one ever truly knows precisely what is going on. In displays that seem just as much showbiz as flow vis, screening panels are hastily erected around cars as they re-enter their garages, while mechanics are dispatched to record rival machines as they make practice starts - perhaps the engine note might reveal something they have that we don't?

I even found myself wondering whether social media is being drawn into the game of bluff: Caterham's Mike Gascoyne tweeted after the test that they had run high fuel levels throughout the week and yet their times, usually in the 1:22-1:23s bracket, tended to be quicker than those of Williams. Does this mean that Tony Fernandes' team are now in the midfield?

Maybe, maybe not. Sometimes it seems as though the more one stares at the puddle and furrows one's brow, the murkier it gets.

The drivers themselves played a straight bat, to a man saying it's far too early to make predictions. So perhaps body language might reveal something? Lewis Hamilton's eyes were aglow after his first run in the MP4-27 while Fernando Alonso seemed more muted.

Yet even that approach fell flat when faced with the inscrutable visage of Kimi Raikkonen - a man who might well wear his heart on his sleeve, but not within a million miles of an assembled media scrum.

We were also told that the two upcoming tests in Barcelona might reveal a little more, yet there are exceptions to that rule as well: remember McLaren last year? And what of Mercedes this? Has their gamble to skip Jerez and concentrate on developing the W03 paid off? Time will tell.

A fairly static technical rulebook tells its own story when trying to make predictions - one thing that everyone seems to agree on is that the order will not be shaken up massively. And yet lines are so fine in F1 that the order need not be shuffled by teams either making a major breakthrough or dropping a massive one.

The guessing game will continue right up until Melbourne - right up until qualifying probably. Never mind testing, Sebastian Vettel made an art of sand-bagging during a race weekend last year. The World Champion seemed happy enough in Spain last week; no change there then.

EARLY DAYS

How each of the teams appeared to be shaping up at Jerez...

Red Bull
Made a solid start, not putting as much mileage on the RB8 as some whilst failing to match the sorts of times set by others. World Champion Sebastian Vettel lost running time on the final day but didn't seem overly concerned.

McLaren
Ditto McLaren. Most of the week's attention centred on both the nose and the exhausts of the MP4-27 - the latter having apparently been deemed legal by the FIA despite fears amongst rivals that they offer an aerodynamic advantage.

Ferrari
Ditto Ferrari. Well, the exhausts anyway. The F2012 set the fastest time on the final day's running but completed much less mileage than any other car, prompting suggestion's Fernando Alonso's lap had been a 'glory run'. Work to do perhaps?

Mercedes
Set the fastest time on two of the three days they were present but it was in a 2011 car with a blown diffuser and therefore essentially meaningless. Their W03 gets its much-anticipated debut in Barcelona.

Lotus
Probably have more reason than any team to be happy with their week's work. The E20 looks a well-balanced car and clearly has a turn of pace as well. Kimi Raikkonen looks like he never left F1.

Force India
Will also be pleased with the debut of their car, the VJM05, which looked promising in the hands of Paul di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg. Reserve driver Jules Bianchi cost them a day's running on Friday, though, when he hit a tyre barrier.

Toro Rosso
Youngsters Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne were both conspicuous by their presence on track and both also set times that put them well up the timesheets. All well and good, until we remember that Williams were the pacesetters at Jerez last year.

Williams
Pace did not appear their priority this time, though, with reliability clearly the objective as first Pastor Maldonado and then, particularly, Bruno Senna, put in the laps. The Renault-powered FW34 will, presumably, get more of a chance to flex its muscles in Barcelona.

Caterham
The CT01 was also a ubiquitous presence on track and in terms of reliability the car, which is running KERS for the first time, passed with flying colours. Test driver Giedo van der Garde had an off on Thursday but there was no real setback to speak of.

Sauber
The C31 brought about more red flags than any other car during the week, although it also managed to get into the 1:19s as well. Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez will be hoping their reliability gremlins can be solved this week.

HRT
Pedro de la Rosa appeared on the first two days, albeit in an old car. It appears as though he'll have to content himself with more of the same in Barcelona after the team's new chassis failed its mandatory crash tests.

Marussia
Failed to make an appearance. Will do so in Barcelona, but Timo Glock and Charles Pic must wait until the second test at the Circuit de Catalunya to get their hands on the team's new car.

 

http://www1.skysports.com/formula-1/news/12538/7521583/Brundle-Q-A-The-2012-Grid


The driver line-up for 2012 is now complete. What are your thoughts on its composition and how it shapes up?
Martin Brundle: Well, it's a very curious and interesting mixture.

There's three distinct categories to the line-up, headlined by the presence of six World Champions on the grid. That in itself says plenty about the fitness of those drivers. It also speaks about the sport's safety levels and the lack of testing available - which means experience is considered critical by so many of the teams.

But it's a dramatic feature this year that one quarter of the grid is either a former or reigning World Champion and that two of them have actually returned to the sport after some years away. They just can't stay away or give it up - and that's not a criticism because I just can't park it either!

And then we have a very young contingent on the grid...
Martin: Yes, but only a few of them are absolute rookies. Daniel Ricciardo, for instance, drove for half of last season and Nico Hulkenberg is coming back after a year away. What's unusual is that a couple of teams in the midfield have gone for a complete clear-out and changed both their drivers. That doesn't happen very often.

Is that a reflection of how much more pressurised F1 has become for the drivers? Every year is now a trial.
Martin: But there's always been pressure. That's not a new thing. What is new is where it comes from. I remember when I was starting out that I was competing against South Americans - who were mainly from Brazil - and Europeans. Nowadays, there's competition from Russia, India and all across the globe because of the way F1 has spread and all the countries it has reached want to feed their own drivers into the sport.

So if there was a driver pairing on the grid that you think we should keep an eye on, which one would it be?
Martin: Vergne and Ricciardo at Toro Rosso is a very interesting pairing. They are both massively highly-rated but will need to do the same thing at the same time. It's a fascinating dynamic: They have an opportunity, but they also have pressure and the demand to impress.

Were you surprised that Toro Rosso changed both their drivers then?
Martin: No, I wasn't. My surprise was that they didn't change either of their drivers the year before. As Marko put it in his customary blunt fashion, neither Buemi nor Alguersuari did enough to convince they could make the next step up. They had their chance and they didn't take it. That said, I was massively impressed with the way that Alguersuari handled the news.

Speaking about drivers who have an opportunity to impress, any fears about Paul di Resta?
Martin: The situation at Force India is very similar to the one at Toro Rosso, isn't it? But if I had a fear about Paul it's only that year two is very often harder than year one. I know Paul well and saw him up close again recently at the Force India launch. I sensed a confidence in him about the year ahead and a growing maturity. These might be famous last words, but I don't have any worries about Paul next season.

You rate him then?
Martin: I rate him very highly.

So which of the driver announcements over the winter did surprise you?
Martin: It was an announcement which was made last year rather than over the winter, but, I must admit, I didn't see Pedro de la Rosa coming back. That news caught me completely by surprise - when I saw the 'De la Rosa to HRT' headline, I just thought 'that's a good move - Pedro will make a good team boss'. It was only when I read the story that I realised he was coming back as a driver! Can I blame him? Not at all. I'd do the same if I could. Other surprises? Charles Pic coming in to Marussia. I thought Jerome d'Ambrosio had done a steady job there.

And Kimi Raikkonen coming back. Was that a surprise?
Martin: No, that wasn't a shock. We heard that Kimi was talking to Williams and I think he'll do a very solid job at Lotus. What I'm hearing is that the Kimi who has come back is completely different to the Kimi who went rallying. I've no doubts that he'll still be quick enough. I think he'll be coming back fresh and motivated and focused. What he's learnt in the last couple of years is that the grass isn't always greener - and that the trees are a lot harder in rallying.

Although Michael's comeback hasn't exactly been a raging success...
Martin: Except that Kimi is a decade younger than Michael, and coming back for different reasons and with a different dynamic.

Final question. Which driver in 2012 is under the most pressure to deliver?
Martin: I think there are three drivers who really need a strong year in 2012 - Mark Webber, Lewis Hamilton, because Lewis has to get his career back on track, and Felipe Massa. And of that trio, Felipe is under the most pressure because I just can't believe Ferrari won't make a change to their line-up for 2013 whatever happens.

Ok, I lied. That wasn't the final question. But this one is: what about Nico Rosberg - isn't it time he delivered?
Martin: Nico has been threatening for a long time to show that he is something special but so far it's only been a threat. It's only a gut feeling but my suspicion is actually that this will be Michael's strongest year since he came back. I can't see him matching Nico for raw pace but I think he'll be more in tune with the car and the tyres than he has been in the last two years.

It will be an interesting battle at Mercedes - but, as I said, the great thing about 2012 is that there are very interesting team-mate battles all the way through the field.

 

Just a gut feel, but I think we'll get some very good coverage from Sky this year.

 

I did not see this coming...........

Caterham makes change with Petrov replacing Trulli
http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2012/02/caterham-makes-change-with-petrov-replacing-trulli/

 

The new Mercedes

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTr-G6F1XTc&[/ame]

 

Live timing for pre season testing. seems to be quite cold!

http://live.autosport.com/commentary.php/id/439

 

Martin Brundle :-
Heard Channel 10 Oz are taking my commentary with @CroftyF1 Hopefully many other countries will too for year 16. Getting my one-liners ready

 

From James Allen.

Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull continue to be the team to beat as the F1 testing season reached the half way point today.

I was trackside today in Barcelona, getting a first view of the 2012 cars in anger and sounding out the feeling of teams and engineers up and down the paddock.

On Day two of the second of three tests, the Red Bull carried out a race simulation run in the afternoon. It wasn’t spectacular, which gave other teams some encouragement, but the car clearly works in all conditions and is fast and well balanced. It picks up where last year’s car left off.

The fastest time on Day 2 was set in the morning by Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg, using the super soft compound tyres for the first time, but the Red Bull is acknowledged up and down the pit lane as the form car. “We’ll win races this year,” said one leading figure in the team, somewhat ironically.

However the picture is emerging of how the rest of the teams are shaping up and a good battle appears to be in prospect for the season. McLaren are not ahead of Red Bull, but nor did they expect to be. However they believe that they are likely to be close enough next week, once the definitive Melbourne specification parts are fitted to the cars, to know that they can take Red Bull on this season. It’s a long season with development again likely to be the key and McLaren look happy enough with where they are.

Ferrari’s disappointment has been well chronicled, but this is more disappointment that they are not ahead of Red Bull, as they expected they might be with the dramatic step change in direction they have taken. The signs are that they won’t be challenging for honours at the start of the season, but the car has potential and it’s really a question of whether they can get it working well soon enough to challenge for the championship. Understandably there is some nervousness about that in the team.

Meanwhile the Mercedes appears at first sight to be a good car with some interesting solutions in the diffuser, the exhausts and other areas, but it does not contain the silver bullet that some were expecting. It is a step forward for the Silver Arrows and should certainly bag some podiums this year, but whether it’s enough to challenge for the odd race win, it’s too early to say.

Although it suffered some reliability issues today, the Toro Rosso looks a good package and is likely to score points certainly in the first half of the season. The midfield battle with Force India, Sauber and the rest will be very tight this year, but I fancy Toro Rosso to start out at the front of it.

Lotus’ dramatic setback, with a chassis failure on Day 1 here, has been a major talking point. It appears that they thought they’d come up with a super new way of making lighter weight monocoque using clever composite techniques, but when the car tested in Barcelona, for some reason, perhaps to do with loadings, perhaps a construction issue, the chassis failed. This was verified when the other chassis was put on the test rig at the factory.

Although the problem area can be repaired, this comes at the worst time in the testing cycle for the team, as they have lost the entire middle test and are only able to claw back one day of the four that will have been lost, which they can add on to next week’s test. The car had appeared to be going well so it is a major setback.

Elsewhere in the field, the Williams looks a better car than last year’s, is very reliable with the highest mileage so far, but lacks some pace still.

Vitaly Petrov was out in the Caterham today, but struggled to get comfortable in the car at the start of the day, before getting down to work.

BARCELONA TEST, Day 2
1. Hulkenberg Force India 1m22.608s 112 Laps
2. Perez Sauber 1m22.648s +0.040 85
3. Vettel Red Bull 1m22.891s +0.283 104
4. Alonso Ferrari 1m23.180s +0.572 87
5. Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1m23.639s +1.031 48
6. Hamilton McLaren 1m23.806s +1.198 121
7. Rosberg Mercedes 1m24.555s +1.947 82
8. Bottas Williams 1m25.738s +3.130 117
9. Petrov Caterham 1m26.605s +3.997 69
10. Pic Marussia 1m27.343s +4.735 108