-Formula 1 - Season 2012 -

[m_waqas]

awesome pictures steve..

so is there anything new in Merc? i heard that they were hiding some innovation under their car :S .. not sure, Moin said it could be some sort of double diffuser thing (which obviously can't be exactly that).. but i hope whatever it is, works for them.

Horner admits to RB8 secrets

?? right.. so isn't is the same car which is being used in the testing?

[genius83]

Ross Brawn says F1's competitiors could end up regretting that four teams quit FOTA
Ross Brawn believes the decision by four of his rivals to quit the Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA) was short-sighted, and fears all the sport's competitors may live to regret it.

Daniel Ricciardo believes the Toro Rosso STR7 can move the team up the grid
Daniel Ricciardo is confident Scuderia Toro Rosso has produced a car that will enable it to move up the order in 2012.

Vettel notes difference in grip
Sebastian Vettel says that the 2012 cars "have less grip than last year" but insists he does not know if Red Bull has the quickest car after setting the fastest time of the opening day in Barcelona.

Nico Hulkenberg sets the pace in second morning of F1 testing at Barcelona
Nico Hulkenberg put Force India on top of the timesheets on the second morning of pre-season testing at Barcelona, setting the fastest time of the week so far at the Catalan circuit.

<font face='Courier New'>[U]<font color='DarkGreen'>Barcelona PreSeason Testing 1</font>
<font color='DarkSlateBlue'>Day 2</font>
<font color='RoyalBlue'>Morning Session</font>[/U]</font>
<font color='Navy'>Pos  Driver         Team            Time        Gap    Laps</font>
 1.  Hulkenberg     Force India     1m22.608s           63
 2.  Perez          Sauber          1m22.648s  +0.040   51
 3.  Vettel         Red Bull        1m22.891s  +0.283   31
 4.  Ricciardo      Toro Rosso      1m23.639s  +1.031   45
 5.  Alonso         Ferrari         1m23.640s  +1.032   52
 6.  Hamilton       McLaren         1m24.040s  +1.432   45
 7.  Rosberg        Mercedes        1m24.555s  +1.947   75
 8.  Bottas         Williams        1m25.858s  +3.250   69
 9.  Petrov         Caterham        1m26.605s  +3.997   36
10.  Pic            Marussia        1m28.092s  +5.484   47

@m_waqas
W03 certainly has something but it is not Double Deck Diffuser as DDD is banned and neither it is Exhaust Blown Diffuser. It is something on the front end something like F-Duct but instead of stalling rear wing this will be stalling the front wing.

Yes, RB8 has secrets and yes the current car that is testing has them but remember RedBull is only sandbagging for now they will reveal their true pace in the next testing session.

[genius83]

[U]
Nico Rosberg (W03)

Vitali Petrov (CT-01)

Valtteri Bottas (FW34)

[/U]

[genius83]

[genius83]

Force India's Robert Fernley says Formula 1 costs still too high
Formula 1 must do much more to bring down costs in the future, says Force India's deputy team principal Robert Fernley, if the sport is to remain sustainable.

Nico Hulkenberg puts Force India on top on day two of F1 testing at Barcelona
Nico Hulkenberg's morning efforts were enough to ensure Force India topped the second day of pre-season testing.

[U]<font face='Courier New'><font color='DarkGreen'>Barcelona PreSeason Testing 1</font>
<font color='DarkSlateBlue'>Day 2</font>
<font color='RoyalBlue'>Afternoon Session</font></font>[/U]
<font color='Navy'>Pos  Driver         Team            Time        Gap    Laps</font>
 1.  Hulkenberg     Force India     1m22.608s           112
 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   120
 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

Tom Blomqvist joins McLaren's Driver Development Programme
British driver Tom Blomqvist has joined McLaren's Driver Development Programme, the British squad said on Wednesday.

Alonso concedes Ferrari not the quickest car, but says it's too early to judge
Fernando Alonso has conceded that Ferrari may not be heading into the new season with the quickest car - but he still thinks it is too early to judge where the F2012 stands in the pecking order right now.

[genius83]

[m_waqas]

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[m_waqas]

<autosports content="" removed="" as="" per="" their="" new="" policy="" :S</autosports>Autosports content removed as per their new policy :S

[m_waqas]

Autosports content removed as per their new policy :S

[genius83]

Lewis Hamilton optimistic McLaren will fight at the front in Australia
Lewis Hamilton is optimistic McLaren has the pace to fight at the front in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix when the season kicks off next month.

Sergio Perez urges Sauber to keep developing promising C31
Sergio Perez says Sauber has good reason to optimistic for the opening races of 2012 after labelling the new C31 as a good starting point to work from this season.

Valtteri Bottas reckons he can give Williams what it wants on race weekends after his first run in new Formula 1 car
Valtteri Bottas feels ready to make a big contribution to the Williams team's race weekends this year, after completing his single day of pre-season testing at Barcelona on Wednesday.

Vitaly Petrov not setting targets for himself ahead of F1 season with Caterham
Vitaly Petrov sees no point in setting targets for himself and Caterham this year - and instead thinks the most important thing right now is simply in getting to understand the team better.

[genius83]

[genius83]

[m_waqas]

Jenson Button presents Rihanna with her Best International Female Award at The Brit Awards 2012 in London on February 21, 2012.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/QhH4D1Drp5g" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
courtesy Sladex

[genius83]

Hulkenberg encouraged by early form of Force India's VJM05
Nico Hulkenberg says the adaptability of Force India's VJM05 added to his feeling of optimism after topping the timesheets following the second day of pre-season testing in Barcelona.

Lotus set to get extra day of running after pulling out of Barcelona F1 test
Lotus is set to add an extra day of private running to the final pre-season test after abandoning this week's Barcelona test with a chassis problem.

Pastor Maldonado puts Williams on top on third morning of F1 testing at Barcelona
Pastor Maldonado topped the third morning of testing in Barcelona, setting the fastest time of the week so far.

<font face='Courier New'>[U]<font color='DarkGreen'>Barcelona PreSeason Testing 1</font>
<font color='DarkSlateBlue'>Day 3</font>
<font color='RoyalBlue'>Morning Session</font>[/U]</font>
<font color='Navy'>Pos  Driver         Team            Time        Gap    Laps</font>
 1.  Maldonado      Williams        1m22.391s           52
 2.  Schumacher     Mercedes        1m23.384s  +0.993   54
 3.  Kobayashi      Sauber          1m23.582s  +1.191   59
 4.  Button         McLaren         1m23.918s  +1.527   39
 5.  Vergne         Toro Rosso      1m24.433s  +2.042   42
 6.  Massa          Ferrari         1m24.771s  +2.380   48
 7.  Webber         Red Bull        1m24.835s  +2.444   26
 8.  Glock          Marussia        1m26.173s  +3.782   51
 9.  Petrov         Caterham        1m26.929s  +4.538   23
10.  Di Resta       Force India     1m27.180s  +4.789   20

Ferrari still trying to understand 'complex' F2012 - Alonso
Ferrari is still some way from having a full understanding of its new car, according to Fernando Alonso.

Perez urges Sauber to develop
Sergio Perez has urged Sauber to develop the C31 ahead of the first race of the season in Melbourne.

Force India pleased with 'faultless' car
Force India chief engineer Jakob Andreasen described the VJM05 as running "faultlessly" as the team completed 112 laps on day two at Barcelona.

Rosberg explains Mercedes absence
Nico Rosberg explained that a transmission oil leak prevented him from running during the final three hours of the second day of testing at Barcelona.

Vettel enjoys 'fun' Hamilton battle
Sebastian Vettel admitted his battle with Lewis Hamilton was "good fun" after having to pass the McLaren on track during a long run on Wednesday.

Petrov feeling valued at Caterham
Vitaly Petrov says that he is pleased that Caterham was willing to listen to his opinion as soon as he joined the team, and has praised his new team-mate Heikki Kovalainen.

'Red Bulls probably quickest' - Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton reckons the Red Bull RB8 looks faster than his McLaren after he was pushed for a prediction on the second day of this week's Barcelona test.

McLaren nose design a match for rivals - Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton is confident McLaren's decision not to feature a stepped nose on its new car is not a negative.

[genius83]

Pastor Maldonado quickest for Williams on day three of Barcelona F1 testing
Pastor Maldonado's late morning run was enough to keep Williams at the top of the timesheets as the third and penultimate day of pre-season testing in Barcelona drew to a close.

<font face='Courier New'>[U]<font color='DarkGreen'>Barcelona PreSeason Testing 1</font>
<font color='DarkSlateBlue'>Day 3</font>
<font color='RoyalBlue'>Afternoon Session</font>
[/U]</font><font color='Navy'>Pos  Driver         Team            Time        Gap    Laps</font>
 1.  Maldonado      Williams        1m22.391s           106
 2.  Schumacher     Mercedes        1m23.384s  +0.993   127
 3.  Kobayashi      Sauber          1m23.582s  +1.191    99
 4.  Button         McLaren         1m23.918s  +1.527   114
 5.  Vergne         Toro Rosso      1m24.433s  +2.042    78
 6.  Webber         Red Bull        1m24.771s  +2.380    97
 7.  Massa          Ferrari         1m24.771s  +2.380    84
 8.  Di Resta       Force India     1m25.646s  +3.255    83
 9.  Glock          Marussia        1m26.173s  +3.782   108
10.  Petrov         Caterham        1m26.448s  +4.057    70

Rubens Barrichello says F1 not a closed chapter for him despite no 2012 deal
Rubens Barrichello insists that Formula 1 is not a closed chapter for him - even though he is on the verge of securing a deal to race in IndyCar for 2012.

Michael Schumacher sure Mercedes W03 is a step forward compared to last year's car
Michael Schumacher is sure this year's Mercedes is a step forward compared to last year's challenger after completing his second day of testing at Barcelona.

Former F1 world champion Alain Prost becomes a Renault ambassador
Alain Prost has renewed his working relationship with Renault, after becoming a brand ambassador for the French car manufacturer.

Ferrari, Red Bull change final F1 test plans
Red Bull Racing and Ferrari have changed their testing plans for next month and will now run at Barcelona from March 2-5.

[genius83]

Mark Webber (RB8)
[U]

Felipe Massa (F2012)

Jenson Button (MP4-27)

Paul Di Resta (VJM05)

Timo Glock (MVR-02)

Jean Eric Vergne (STR7)

Kamui Kobayashi (C31)

Pastor Maldonado (FW34)

Vitali Petrov (CT-01)

Michal Schumacher (W03)

[/U]

[genius83]

[genius83]

[aref]

Undoubtedly one of the ugliest F1 car of all times.

[genius83]

Button not expecting Red Bull to have 2011-like advantage at the start of the F1 season
Jenson Button believes Sebastian Vettel is not going to enjoy the kind of advantage he held at the start of last season when the new campaign kicks off in Australia next month.

Mark Webber not worried about reliability of Red Bull's new F1 car
Mark Webber says he is not unduly concerned by the reliability problems he suffered at Barcelona on Thursday, after a gearbox failure cut short a race distance attempt in the morning.