• as seen on newsnow.co.uk

Other Sites

Network Navigation

Vital Partners

'If It's F1, It's Vital'

McLaren, Ferrari & Force India launch 2012 car

The excitement around the 2012 Formula One season is now beginning to build with the launch of three new cars.

The Caterham team [formally Lotus] were the first to launch their new car for the 2012 Formula One season and the big talking point was the rather awful looking nose, which we thought was reminiscent of someone who had previously broken it!

The rather odd looking design was due to new regulations in Formula One which have been introduced to improve safety.

For 2012 the new FIA regulations require a lower nose for safety purposes, however the height of the chassis behind a certain point has remained the same as previous seasons, which leaves this rather unsightly appearance.

It was mentioned at the time of the launch that other teams would probably have similar designs, but when McLaren launched their car earlier this week it appeared that perhaps Caterham would be alone in their thinking.



However on Friday morning Force India unveiled their new car at Silverstone, while Ferrari also unveiled their eagerly anticipated 2012 car and both had similar looking noses to the Caterham.

Force India Technical director Andrew Green told Sky Sports: 'It's a bit of a hot topic this year. There's been a bit of a regulation change on the nose height. With our philosophy, we've gone with the drop nose.

He continued: 'Obviously a lot of people commented on the McLaren a couple of days ago. They have a different aero philosophy at the front, so they've managed to keep their nose down.

'For us, it's not a big deal. It's purely aesthetics.'


Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali said at the launch of the new Ferrari: 'From a technical point of view, we have many novelties in terms of mechanics and also the shape of the car,'

'we wanted some continuity here, and hopefully we will reach the right performance. We have only 12 days to work on the car and achieve reliability, and also test the new tyres that have been given to us by Pirelli.'








Join Vital F1

It's easy to join up and join in on VitalF1.com, simply click the link and enjoy getting involved!

If you are already a member of Vital Football, your logins will automatically work on VitalF1.com!

Writer: Red5 Mail feedback, articles or suggestions

Date:Friday February 3 2012

Time: 11:00AM

 

Have Your Say

Click here to register an account

Recent Articles

2013 Spa GP - Weekend recap - Massa (Wednesday May 15 2013)

VF1blog: Alonso's Home Run (Monday May 13 2013)

2013 Spa GP - Race - Result (Sunday May 12 2013)

Lotus seek improvements (Thursday May 9 2013)

Lessons learned for Silverstone (Thursday May 2 2013)

Remembering Ayrton (Wednesday May 1 2013)

The battle for survival (Monday April 29 2013)

Pirelli to introduce new hard tyre (Friday April 26 2013)

Hamilton enjoying new challenge (Thursday April 25 2013)

2013 Bah GP - Weekend recap - Vettel (Wednesday April 24 2013)

2013 Bah GP - Weekend recap - Grosjean (Wednesday April 24 2013)

Poll Result: Bahrain (Tuesday April 23 2013)

VF1blog: Deja Vu In The Desert (Monday April 22 2013)

2013 Bah GP - Race - Result (Sunday April 21 2013)

Red Bull conspiracy theories (Wednesday April 17 2013)

Kovalainen makes Caterham return (Wednesday April 17 2013)

Pirelli ditch soft tyre (Wednesday April 17 2013)

VF1blog: Red revolution (Tuesday April 16 2013)

VF1blog: Fernando Flies for Ferrari (Tuesday April 16 2013)

Who will win in Bahrain? (Tuesday April 16 2013)

2013 Chi GP - Race - Result (Sunday April 14 2013)

2013 Chi GP - Qualifying - Result (Saturday April 13 2013)

Horner hits back (Friday April 12 2013)

Red Bull to reduce 'team orders' (Friday April 12 2013)

Alonso backs pit-stop call (Thursday April 11 2013)

Mistakes were made says Rosberg (Thursday April 11 2013)

Webber will race on (Thursday April 11 2013)

Massa targets Ferrari improvement (Wednesday April 10 2013)

McLaren back on track (Wednesday April 10 2013)

Horner speaks out against RRA (Tuesday April 9 2013)

Who will win in China? (Tuesday April 9 2013)

Williams hoping to improve (Tuesday April 9 2013)

I made the right call says Brawn (Monday April 8 2013)

Rossi looking to impress (Saturday April 6 2013)

Title challenge still on for Button (Thursday April 4 2013)

Could Raikkonen line up for Red Bull? (Wednesday April 3 2013)

Ferrari in the mix (Wednesday April 3 2013)

Pic remains content with switch (Tuesday April 2 2013)

Vergne encouraged (Monday April 1 2013)

Briatore slams Red Bull (Thursday March 28 2013)

Signs of a Mercedes fall out? (Thursday March 28 2013)

Ferrari left to rue pit-stop decision (Thursday March 28 2013)

Archived Articles

List All Vital F1 Articles
Have your say
Click here to suggest an article
Click here to suggest a poll

Vital Members League (view all)

1. Red5 914
2. DJ 766
3. The Fear 738
4. Villaininthemerde 610
5. johnkelv 519
6. Druss_the_Legend 486
7. Push The Button 401
8. col8 334
9. __villa__ 145
10. The Intimidator 117

Current Site Poll (view all polls)

Will Kimi Raikkonen stay with Lotus for 2014?
Yes 72%
No 28%
Not sure 0%