F1′s new face of 2012 is polarising the sport.

It seems teams, drivers and spectators alike either love or hate the new great influence brought largely by Pirelli’s new generation of tyres.

An admitted critic is Michael Schumacher.

“It’s a 1000 piece puzzle that you need to put together at each race,” said the seven time world champion, according to Auto Motor und Sport.

Not for three decades have four different drivers driving for four different teams won the opening four grands prix of a season.

“From the standpoint of competition,” wrote Livio Oricchio in O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper, “there is no doubt that the Pirelli 2012 generation meets fully the objective of promoting the show.

“But if you think purely about the engineering challenge that is formula one, and the genius of the people and the immense financial and technical resources needed for success, the tyres have now taken on such an importance that the results don’t seem compatible.

“Myself, and many in formula one, hope the new versions of tyres that Pirelli is developing returns a little more predictability in terms of how they behave, without affecting the show too much.”

For now, however, the teams need to put their puzzles together, and that will undoubtedly be the focus of this week’s three-day in-season test at Mugello.

“He who understands the tyres first,” McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh astutely noted, “will have a huge advantage in the world championship.”

A broad understanding is already developing, including why 2012 winners Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso, Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel won from the very front of the field.

“When you’re in a battle, you can’t take the lines that are best for the tyres,” said Mercedes’ Ross Brawn.

All eyes are now turning to Mugello, where the understanding will continue.

“These test days could change the balance of power in formula one,” Norbert Haug predicted dramatically in Bild newspaper.

Not everyone is enthusiastic, however, including McLaren who oppose the Mugello test on cost grounds.

Williams’ chief engineer Mark Gillan agrees: “The days of test teams are gone, so this is not logistically easy,” he is quoted by Germany’s Sport1.

Bruno Senna added: “Mugello is not an ideal test track, as it’s very different to most of the tracks that are on the calendar.”

Jean-Eric Vergne has predicted a good season ahead for Toro Rosso.
Along with Daniel Ricciardo, French rookie Vergne makes up the Red Bull junior team’s new driver lineup, following the ousting at the end of last season of Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi.

Perhaps because their prize could be Mark Webber’s seat at the senior team in 2013, Ricciardo and Vergne set almost identical laptimes last week at Jerez as the new STR7 was tested for the first time.

And according to 21-year-old Vergne, the Ferrari powered car showed promising form overall.

“We hope to be one of the strongest teams in the middle of the classification,” he is quoted by the Italian website Tuttosport.

At the same time, Vergne is not getting carried away ahead of eight pre-season test days in Barcelona, starting next week.

“Barcelona could be different as Jerez was rather cold and the surface is very abrasive. I don’t think there’s much difference between the teams.”

Vergne is quoted by France’s L’Equipe: “What Jerez showed us I think is that we have a good basis.”

(TMS) Ferrari technical director Costa dares no opinion on the relative strength of: He explains the reasons and talks about Massa’s fiery exit .
Testing is like coffee grounds-reading. This experience also made the Ferrari team in Valencia. After the first three test days of the season, are where Fernando Alonso fifth place and a best time and Felipe Massa also has a fifth place to book, it is also technical director Aldo Costa too early for a location-determination.

“If we only look at our work, we can be satisfied,” sums up the Italians. “We are about where we expected, though much work lies ahead of us to understand the handling of the car -. Especially when it comes to aerodynamics and tire goes But it’s impossible on the question of where we stand compared to the other to give a precise answer. ”
Or will yet say nothing? “I’m not saying that we are groping in the dark completely, but almost, if one takes into account how many unknown factors play in here,” said Costa. A significant factor is the tires. “In that short time, Pirelli has done a great job,” says the chief technology officer his countrymen. “They have the tire and are brought here, in terms of design and reliability, on the right track.”

However, there is a continuous process, especially as both the development of the tires, and the car will constantly progress. “They are working on their mixtures, which will evolve from now on,” said Costa. “Then it’s up to us to work on the mechanical setup of the car to improve the behavior of the tires.”

The program of Ferrari could be reeled off the first of four tests with relative ease, only on the last day of the race car of Felipe Massa was suddenly on fire. Costa explained the reason for the departure of the fiery Brazilian.. “It was really a stupid thing A line was loose and the escaping oil came on the exhaust and the tires caused the turners, the little fire, and consequently the damage which forced us to a longer stop. It was a shame, because until then, everything went smoothly. “

Felipe Massa on Thursday got his 2011 campaign off to a fiery start.
With only a chilly shakedown at Fiorano behind him, the Brazilian was a few laps into his proper test debut in the new F150 at Valencia when oil began to leak onto the exhausts.

Massa stopped at the side of the track but a fire broke out.

“It is unlikely that the car will be back on track much before 3 in the afternoon,” said the Italian team after assessing the damage.

Before completing the first two of the three test days in Spain, Fernando Alonso had been working on adjusting the F150′s setup to the difficult new Pirelli tyres.

“Felipe must now continue this work,” the Spaniard had stridently told his country’s reporters at Valencia late on Wednesday.

Dr Helmut Marko is defiantly confident after the first two test days in the life of Red Bull’s 2011 car.
Wearing the number 1 on the nose for world champion Sebastian Vettel, the RB7 has been impressive so far at the Ricardo Tormo track near Valencia, Spain.

Wednesday’s action was watched on by the team’s owner Dietrich Mateschitz, but it was his right-hand man Marko who gushed the loudest.

“If a race were held now, we would lap everybody,” the Austrian told Bild newspaper. “How our car goes through the corners is amazing.”

Even the usually-reserved Mateschitz sounded very confident.

“This will be our third strong year in a row,” the billionaire energy drinks magnate predicted.

Said 23-year-old driver Vettel: “I cannot complain as I’m satisfied so far, but all the cars will still change considerably. Whether we’re ahead or not is hard to say.”

Mercedes’ Norbert Haug said: “I don’t think they’re looking too bad.”

And seven time world champion Michael Schumacher jokingly agreed. “The new Red Bull?” said the German. “Looks good. The colour, I mean …”

Jean Eric Vergne has emerged as the leading contender to become Red Bull’s F1 reserve driver in 2011.

The 20-year-old Frenchman this year replaced the energy drink company’s ousted junior driver Brendon Hartley, and he said in August he is becoming “more and more” involved in the F1 programme.

“The objective is preparing for grands prix: we try different setups and there is also work on the (2011 car) RB7,” said Vergne.

On Tuesday and Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, the new champion of British F3 will conduct the ‘young drivers’ test days for Red Bull’s second F1 team Toro Rosso.

“I am looking forward to it and hope there will be other opportunities to drive an F1 car in the future,” said Vergne.

The French publication Auto Hebdo said Vergne, who in 2010 also raced in Red Bull colours in the Renault World Series, “should be confirmed soon in the position of third driver with Red Bull Racing for 2011″.

Red Bull’s current third driver is 21-year-old Daniel Ricciardo, who is driving the title-winning RB6 in Abu Dhabi this week.

HRT on Monday announced that Pastor Maldonado will test with the Spanish team on three of the four forthcoming test days in Abu Dhabi.

The news follows reports the 2010 GP2 champion, who is substantially backed by the Venezuelan petroleum company PDVSA, is close to agreeing to race in 2011 with HRT’s new gearbox supplier Williams.

It has already been announced that Maldonado will test the Williams on the remaining day of the tests after next Sunday’s season finale.

Earlier, it was rumoured that Williams’ Finnish test driver Valtteri Bottas, and possibly even Nico Hulkenberg, might be among other candidates to test with HRT in Abu Dhabi.

Hulkenberg, however, is no longer a candidate, given that Maldonado has been scheduled for the whole of the Pirelli test on 19-20 November.

The 23-year-old German is not eligible to test on the young driver days.

Paul Ricard will host Pirelli’s next formula one tyre development test.

After the Italian marque began its 2011 programme with a shakedown at Mugello last week, it was reported that test driver Nick Heidfeld and last year’s Toyota car are now en route to Monza.

But according to Italy’s 422race.com, the high speed venue of the Italian grand prix will actually host the third test, with Paul Ricard’s configurable test track in Le Castellet to in fact be Pirelli’s host next week.

The Monza test will reportedly take place on 21 and 22 September; a little more than a week after the Italian grand prix there.

It is expected that Jerez in Spain will also host a closed Pirelli test, before all the teams run the tyres for the first time in Abu Dhabi after November’s season finale.

422race.com said that at Mugello last week, observers outside the Italian venue reported that Heidfeld recorded more than 100 laps on both test days.