Sport Formula One - 2012

[ender4]

sorry with the questions...

If there are now 20 tracks, were there 19 last year?

if so, which is the new track?

[BOF]

Use google! Austin, Texas is the new track, though Bahrain is back and Turkey is gone so it's not just one addition. Also Germany has obviously alternated between it's own tracks too.

This year's Toro Rosso. A variation on the stepped nose we've seen elsewhere.

[BOF]

Day one of testing in Jerez. Raikkonen's WDC odds went from 50/1 to 25/1 in the first few hours. Very little (if anything) can be drawn from today's test other than the season is getting closer :nod:

#   Driver             Team          Time    Gap

1   Kimi Raikkonen     Lotus       79.670   0.000

2   Paul di Resta      Force India 79.772   0.102

3   Nico Rosberg       Mercedes    80.219   0.549

4   Mark Webber        Red Bull    80.496   0.826

5   Daniel Ricciardo   Toro Rosso  80.694   1.024

6   Michael Schumacher Mercedes    80.794   1.124

7   Kamui Kobayashi    Sauber      81.353   1.683

8   Jenson Button      McLaren     81.530   1.860

9   Felipe Massa       Ferrari     82.815   3.145

10  Heikki Kovalainen  Caterham    83.178   3.508

11  Pastor Maldonado   Williams    83.371   3.701

12  Pedro de la Rosa   HRT         83.676   4.006

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[Genie]

Anyone, like me about to upgrade their sky to the HD pack go via Quidco, you'll get £50 cashback plus a £50 M&S voucher 8)

[legov]

Might decide to start tuning into this instead, has to be way more exciting than watching Villa play this season.

[BOF]

Sky launching their F1 channel @ 8pm tonight.

[theunderstudy]

Looking forward to this. McLaren missed a trick as usual by the looks of it.

Still, Button and Hamilton are my favourite pairing for years.

Vettel to win, Button second, Alonso third. Just hope its a lot lot tighter than last year!

Btw despite its failings, I love the look of the new McL.

[BOF]

I think you might be a little harsh on the Mac. It's not that bad. Ferrari are the ones looking like they need to catch up. Lotus look interesting, especially with Kimi on board.

[theunderstudy]

I've been awaiting the Iceman's return Love Kimi even now, and even though he's tainted by Ferrari!

Caterham are interesting. Will do better than Williams I think. Cannot believe Williams have put Maldonado and Bruno Senna together. They're both rash and quite poor F1 drivers.

[BOF]

I've been weighing up the Caterham/Williams battle myself to be honest. On one hand I do believe Williams are the poorest of the non-expansion teams and Caterham are the best of the expansion teams, but I still think there is a gap between the two. Pre-season testing; as unreliable as it is; also suggests that Williams were consistently faster than Caterham. The gap, I think, is thanks in large part to Williams switching to the Renault engine for this season.

I agree that the Williams driver pairing is one of the poorest on the grid, certainly the poorest of the non-expansion F1 teams. I don't know why they went that way to be honest. No doubt finances had a lot to do with it. But I think you (or we) do Senna a slight dis-service. He is certainly not Ayrton, but he has improved vastly in his time in F1. Remember that he took to racing quite late in his life (Ayrton's death meant he wasn't allowed near a racing car) and as a result is playing catch-up and still learning. So in racing terms he's quite a young 28 year old. Maldonado showed last season that he definitely has the raw speed. He just couldn't do it for an entire grand prix (although he might have done it in Monaco had Hamilton not ploughed into the back of him). It's as if stamina was his issue. No doubt the best driver of the 4 is Kovalainen, so if Caterham are to bridge the gap from 'no man's land'* to the midfield then he's the one who'll do it. And if Caterham can't give him a car worthy of his talent then I'm sure someone else will in 2013.

But this is definitely one of the more interesting battles this year. It'll be fun to see if Caterham can join the midfield party. I expect that they will on occasion. I just don't know how regular it will be and whether it will truly be on merit or whether it will require retirements up ahead.

* Tony Fernandes' words

[Genie]

Looking forward to Sunday, actually hoping my boy wakes up nice and early both days so I have a good reason to get out of bed.

[dont_do_it_doug.]

Erm, anyone?

[Rodders]

enjoyed the return! first half exciting, 2nd half gaveway to a usual end of race line out - but mclaren and red bull are on a more even keel from the start which is great news. Alonso is awesome, wish he was in a team who aren't idiots and could give him a title winning car. Last lap madness.

not looking good for massa

mercedes? - dunno. good quali and pace for a bit, but then two retirements.

lotus: kimi was awesome, grosjean, own fault but qualied well so good news for another competitive team

sauber: good stuff

williams: gutted for maldonado, don't think senna is going to make it

force india: looking a bit flat mebbe? last lap madness aside

hrt - will they finish the season? I suspect not.

edit: rather obvious caveat, only one race in so very much treat early thoughts with care!

Oh and JB beating LH in a straight shoot-out! Will make that battle more interesting this year too!

[Juju]

Well Bernie, you greedy little old man....

No one's talking about it. No one saw it. Your greed in trying to "sell" your tedious processional "event" in a market with few bidders, (ie British Television) mean there was very little interest in an old, established market, ie the UK, where your teams are based. Are your sponsors happy no one saw it? I hope not, and perhaps you can rethink your continual milking of cash cow.

Or perhaps you'll just put more effort into grubbing up to the filthy rich oil nations with little historical interest and no real established pedigree, and take their cash for a few years til for Europe, F1 is totally dead. Well done.

[briggaman]

I enjoyed the Grand Prix and was more than happy to see it back. I thought Sky did a good job, apart from a few minor niggles.

The battle in the middle looks to be an interesting one. The likes of Mercedes, Sauber, Lotus and maybe Ferrari (if they don't pick up their game) could all have a good little battle. Hopefully one or more of these teams can put some good pressure on McLaren and Red Bull.

Good race from Button to win it and he was in control throughout.

[theunderstudy]

That ludicrous SkyPad, shoehorning Anthony Davidson and everyone's favourite Sky Sports woman Georgie Thompson, ruined it slightly. Otherwise good, enjoyed it. Glad Brundle's doing the commentary, though despite his dislikers I preferred Jake Humphrey to the bloke presenting it.

Good race, glad to see Jenson winning, looks like for once McLaren might be the ones with the good idea. Mercedes looked good but fell apart with failures on both Schumi's and Nico's car, Rosberg was in the hunt for a while before those last frantic laps.

Was gonna praise Maldonado, Raikonnen and Perez for very good drives, but Maldonado somehow manages to slip and crunch his front end into a place no-one crashes.

SC screwed Hamilton over a bit, Vettel did definitely benefit. The Red Bull certainly does not look as far ahead of the McL/Fer cars anymore, still a competitive car.

Got to feel for Grosjean though, dream qualifying, nightmare race. Glad to see the Iceman back and showing his customary lack of emotion. Onto Sepang! Oh and Lewis - stop **** sulking.

[Stevo985]

Lewis's dad needs to teach him how to shave. That bum fluff is embarrassing

[BOF]

Firstly Sky. I thought they did a very good job. I agree with Understudy that the Skypad is ridiculous as is Georgie Thompson. Piss off Georgie. We do need to hear more of Davidson though. Maybe integrate him in some way into the commentary during the race. Croft aided by Brundle is a very good commentary team. I get the feeling Brundle is much more comfortable being the technical co-commentator than being the lead. Ted is fantastic as usual. I didn't bother with the red button stuff because (for shame) I over-slept and had to watch the Sky+'d race 2 hours later. Of course I miss Jake. He is a brilliant presenter but I have no complaints about Simon Lazenby. He got the job done. If anything I think Eddie Jordan is the biggest miss. There's no wildcard at Sky who'll leggit after someone, drag them back and ask them properly awkward questions on camera where they can choose to stick their foot in it or squirm uncomfortably. There was an element of comedy about him but his contributions were (are on the BBC) definitely valuable and insightful too. He's well connected and not afraid to share.

As for the race. McLaren will at the very least make this a more interesting and competitive season than last season was. If Vettel is going to become the 3rd man in history to win 3 on the bounce he's going to have to work for it this time. Ferrari looked shockingly bad although Australia is a notoriously bad gauge of a car. We will know more from Sepang, though it looks like another season of shite from Massa. If I was Ferrari I'd be looking to replace him now (Sutil anyone?)

Again, predicating everything on Australia being a strange track ...

Mercedes look like they're ready to go at it with the big boys again. They've got the driver pairing that can do some serious damage to their rivals.

We need to see more of Lotus because theirs was a strange weekend. Showed pace but frailty both in their cars and in their drivers. Williams were amazingly quick and it was fantastic to see them genuinely fighting for 6th place. I hope they can keep that up going forward. Although their driver line-up bit them in the ass as predicted. Maldonado did that all of last season. Showed pace then let it slip, though not always in such spectacular fashion. Hopefully he can just get it to the end in Malaysia and get Williams some points on the board. It is looking very good for them though this season.

Of the midfield 3, I think Sauber can be the happier, not just because of their points haul but because of the manner they did it. They were comfortably ahead of the others all weekend. I'd be a little worried if I was Force India. They were supposed to be on the heels of Lotus this weekend but instead they scrambled one last gasp point away from Toro Rosso on the last lap to paper over a relatively disappointing weekend. Toro Rosso themselves I think were pretty much bang on with what I expected from them. There or thereabouts in the points and both drivers well matched.

Finally the new 3. Sadly for Caterham, just as they were catching the Williams Cosworth it became a Williams Renault and now they look further than ever from catching the midfield teams. Marussia showed fantastic reliability which is going to be key this season. They picked up a 14th & 15th place finish in Australia. 14th was Virgin's best finish all last season so they've already equalled it. Glock's highest finish last season was 15th so he's already better than that! I hope HRT can get their issues resolved enough that they can compete at the weekend. It doesn't do the sport any good to have teams not being able to participate. It looks unprofessional and the fans want a full grid.

All in all I was impressed with the race and with the manner it was broadcast

Roll on Sepang and an 8am race (every hour counts...)

[BOF]

Game changer. The Mercedes rear wing is officially legal. Fins in the rear of the Mercedes are creating an F-duct that pipes air all the way to the front of the car to stall the FRONT wing when DRS is opened.

Charlie has basically said that the driver CAN in fact alter the aerodynamics of the car* as long as he is doing it by activating the DRS mechanism. You would imagine this opens all sorts of potential electrickery and cleverness that can be integrated around the DRS systems from here onwards. I expect teams will exploit this loophole now to such an extent as to make a mockery of it and the FIA will be forced to close the loophole because it clearly allows precisely the kind of driver intervention that they are trying to avoid. Can. Of. Worms. Still, it'll be fun to watch this develop.

* It is explicitly in the rules that drivers can not change the aero of a car.

Mercedes controversial rear wing gets all clear from the FIA

Mercedes will be able to continue to run a controversial design feature on their car after governing body the FIA said it felt it was legal.

Rivals say a system that ducts air from the rear to the front of the car to boost straight-line speed is unlawful.

The system operates in conjunction with the DRS overtaking aid, which most teams understood to be limited to operation on the rear wing.

Rivals will now have to either protest the system or build their own.

Other teams believe the Mercedes system contravenes a rule that prohibits drivers altering aerodynamics and are considering lodging an official protest.

The driver has to press a button in the cockpit to operate the DRS - which in the race he is able to do in specified zones if he is within a second of the car in front at specific 'detection points'.

The Mercedes rear wing

The DRS - or drag-reduction system - operates the upper flap on the rear wing, lifting it and 'stalling' it.

When the DRS flap opens on the Mercedes it reveals a duct, into which the air flows before being directed back through the bodywork of the car and on to the front wing.

The system will provide an extra DRS boost, raising straight-line speed still further.

The argument has become particularly contentious because Mercedes have raised their competitiveness after two difficult seasons and are now contenders at the front.

The FIA has allowed the system because race director Charlie Whiting felt that it was simply an extension of the DRS and that it was impossible to draw a line saying it was not allowed.

His view is that the driver can affect the aerodynamics as long as it is only for the operation of the DRS - and that the Mercedes system is part of the DRS.

Rivals have claimed the front-wing blowing on the Mercedes constitutes a separate system, but Whiting feels that as the team are reducing drag - albeit elsewhere on the car than was originally intended by the DRS system - it should be allowed.

Other teams have further argued that because the movement of the rear wing opens a hole on the inside of the endplate, from which the air is then ducted to the front of the car, it is a separate system.

But the hole is partially open all the time, and becomes fully open when the driver operates the DRS. So Whiting said it was impossible to draw the line between the two.

There has also been controversy about an engine mode being used by Renault, who supply world champions Red Bull and Lotus - the two teams who have been most exercised by the Mercedes DRS boost.

Mercedes felt from audio analysis of the Renault engine that Red Bull were cutting more than the four cylinders allowed by the rules.

This could give an advantage in a number of areas: in fuel economy so the car can start the race lighter, gaining a performance advantage; as a form of traction control; in controlling the exhaust flow to influential aerodynamic parts at the rear of the car; and in controlling engine temperature.

But the FIA has looked at the data it has on how the Renault engine works and concluded that it is within the rules.

[Genie]

I expect teams will exploit this loophole now to such an extent as to make a mockery of it and the FIA will be forced to close the loophole because it clearly allows precisely the kind of driver intervention that they are trying to avoid. Can. Of. Worms. Still, it'll be fun to watch this develop.

FIA will probably tidy this rule up in the close season, meanwhile this year engineers will be furiously copying the MB design.