Having cancelled its media launch event due to the snowy weather in Italy, Ferrari is preparing for a live internet reveal of its 2011 car on Friday morning.
Hot on the heels of the McLaren launch, and on the same day as the unveiling at Silverstone of Force India’s new car, Ferrari will show its 2012 single seater at 10am central European time, the Maranello based team said.

“The livery has been completed one hour ago and now we’re doing the photo shooting inside the logistic building,” said Ferrari on Twitter.

“This is always a special night, the one before the unveiling,” added the team late on Thursday.

An article in Autosprint said that the possible official names for the 2012 car are F2012, F12 or perhaps F2012-AA, in honour of the 60th anniversary this year of Alberto Ascari’s 1952 championship title.

Elsewhere, Williams gave its 2012 car, the newly Renault-powered FW34, its private track debut along the straight line at Idiada proving ground outside Barcelona on Thursday.

Finnish test driver Valtteri Bottas was driving.

And Pedro de la Rosa – the only confirmed HRT driver so far for 2012 – on Thursday had his seat fitted and pedals adjusted in readiness to test the Spanish team’s old car at Jerez next week.

“Impressed by what I have seen today at HRT,” the former McLaren test driver said on Twitter. “Great effort in less than three months. Good job guys.”

The teams, the fans and the world’s media will not be the only ones with their eyes firmly on the action at Jerez next week.
It is rumoured Charlie Whiting, the technical delegate of formula one’s governing FIA, has scheduled to attend the first test of the 2012 pre-season.

The news follows speculation some teams are flying too close to the limits of the regulations with their new cars, notwithstanding the banning of blown exhausts.

At the launch of the new McLaren, for instance, the exhausts and the diffuser were carefully hidden.

“The fact of the matter is that exhausts exist on a car, you have to have them, they blow gas,” said the team’s technical director Paddy Lowe.

“That will always generate some performance, a finite level of performance.”

When the very aggressive-looking new Ferrari was unveiled in Italy on Friday, team president Luca di Montezemolo said he hoped arguments about the rules would not overshadow 2012.

“There are reports that … Whiting may travel to Jerez next week due to concerns over the designs of the new cars,” correspondent Tom Cary wrote in the Telegraph.

 McLaren was left the odd-one-out on Friday, as Ferrari and Force India joined Caterham in launching new cars with ‘ugly’ noses.
The odd feature – a quirk of new regulations – is the centrepiece of Ferrari’s new F2012, launched on Friday morning at Maranello, and the Mercedes-powered Force India VJM05, whose covers were pulled off in the chilly Silverstone pitlane.

“(The car) looks very different actually from what we have seen in the past two years,” said Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso.

Agreed Felipe Massa: “Let me tell you that it looks very aggressive.”

Telegraph correspondent Tom Cary, however, had another view, insisting the Ferrari, Force India and Caterham have “nasty nose jobs”.

But McLaren’s new MP4-27 features a clean aerodynamic line at the front.

“It’s a bit of a hot topic this year,” Andrew Green, Force India’s technical director, acknowledged to Sky Sports.

“Obviously a lot of people commented on the McLaren a couple of days ago. For us, it’s not a big deal. It’s purely aesthetics.”

Paddy Lowe, McLaren’s technical boss, said the team had retained a more conventional look because last year’s car already had a “philosophy” in line with the new rules.

“You can’t see performance necessarily by eye, it’s a matter of fine-tuning the balance between all the relevant aspects,” he insisted.

 HRT, the Spanish team that until now had the final vacancy on the 2012 grid, has finally completed its race driver lineup by signing Narain Karthikeyan.
The Indian began last year’s championship with the back-of-the-grid outfit before he was replaced by Red Bull protege Daniel Ricciardo.

But with Australian Ricciardo moving to Toro Rosso for 2012, 35-year-old Karthikeyan – who briefly returned for his home race in India late last season – has taken back his full-time seat.

The news is a blow to Vitantonio Liuzzi, who had acknowledged that a driver with higher-paying sponsors could oust him for 2012 despite his long-term contract.

Karthikeyan will be Pedro de la Rosa’s teammate.

“It has taken a lot of hard work to make this happen but I am absolutely elated to feature on the 2012 grid with HRT F1 team,” he said in a statement on Friday.

De la Rosa will begin HRT’s pre-season preparations at Jerez next week, before Karthikeyan drives at the second test, at Barcelona.

With the launch event at Maranello cancelled due to heavy snow covering the entire area, the reveal of the Ferrari F2012 was done through a series of online streaming interviews with key players including Fenando Alonso who spoke about the new car and the season ahead.

“It looks very different from what we have seen in the last two years,” said Alonso of the F2012 which features a ‘platypus’ style raised nose which first broke cover when the Caterham CT01 was revealed to the world last week.

The Spaniard, who won the Formula 1 world title in 2005 and 2006, is motivated as ever, “This is my third season at Ferrari and I am going to start with the same strength and determination. I want to do great this year.”

“Of course it’ll be quite competitive for the whole season, but we want to see red cars on the podium. We start [testing] next week in Jerez and we keep working together. I am sure we will do well this year.”

“I believe in the skills we have here in Ferrari. We have two months to get ready before the first competition. We have to fight for the title and try and get as many points as possible. We really want to be right at the top of the ranking,” said the Spaniard who has 27 grand prix victories under his belt.

“We have to be as consistent and resolute as possible. I am sure, really, really sure we will be able to achieve great targets and fulfil the great responsibility of driving for Ferrari.”

 Force India has acknowledged it will not challenge for the world championship until the team is bigger.
Otmar Szafnauer, who is the Silverstone based team’s chief operating officer, told Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport that the former Jordan, Midland and Spyker team’s head-count is currently 310.

“Here at Silverstone we have 212, and there are 98 in our aero department in Brackley.

“500 would be too many,” he told the magazine. “We don’t have room for that.

“What is ideal? If we have 330 people next season, fifth place (in the world championship) should be possible.

“Can we be world champion with that? Probably not. We’d need 450.”

The next step for Force India is the inauguration in February of its new driver simulator.

“We are growing cautiously. (This year) five to 10 per cent more people, but only in the departments where we can follow suit with the equipment. CFD for example,” continued Szafnauer.

“In the wind tunnel, we are more limited.”

The issue is that Force India is effectively unchanged since the Jordan days, with departed team founder Eddie Jordan opting instead for the philosophy of minimising infrastructure and paying external suppliers.

“Even if we wanted to buy all the manufacturing machinery in the world tomorrow, we would have nowhere to put it,” explained Szafnauer. “We would need a new factory.

“We have autoclaves that are too small for a chassis or a floor.

“Strategically, it would be better to produce more parts ourselves because of the speed at which you can react.

“We felt that (last year) in the blown diffuser area as we had to wait for some parts, while we could have produced some of them ourselves overnight.”

Force India’s 2012 car, the Mercedes-powered VJM05 with a McLaren gearbox, will be launched at the chilly Silverstone circuit early on Friday morning.

“I’m not getting carried away,” race driver Paul di Resta told the Herald Scotland ahead of his second F1 season.

“A podium will be a massive challenge. We are a midfield team and you have to be realistic. I’m not saying it can’t happen but it will take a lot for us to achieve that.”

Adrian Sutil deserves to keep his formula one race career alive.
That is the claim of Nico Hulkenberg, the driver who is replacing his German compatriot at Force India in 2012.

Sutil, 29, has failed so far to secure an alternative seat, and days ago was dealt a further blow with a Munich court convicting him of grievous bodily harm for an assault on Lotus team executive Eric Lux last year.

He did, however, have a strong 2011 season, outscoring his teammate Paul di Resta – the Scottish rookie who has retained his race seat – by 15 points.

“Adrian definitely deserves a cockpit — more than some of the other current race drivers,” Hulkenberg, who steps up from the reserve role after losing his Williams race seat at the end of 2010, said.

“There is absolutely no bad blood between us,” the 24-year-old, referring to his relationship with Sutil, told Sport Bild magazine.

He blames the situation – with drivers like Sutil and Rubens Barrichello out in the cold – on ‘pay-drivers’.

“I was one of the few drivers in formula one who don’t need to bring any money,” said Hulkenberg.

“But that so many experienced drivers are without seats shows just how brutal the sport can be.”

His plan for 2012, therefore, is to ensure a place on the 2013 grid.

“At the end of the year I don’t want to have to worry about my seat for the next season,” insisted Hulkenberg.

And he said helping Force India to secure fifth place in the constructors’ world championship – one position better than in 2011 – is another goal for his second season in F1.

The Mercedes-powered VJM05 will be launched on a chilly Friday morning at Silverstone.

 McLaren on Wednesday stopped Lewis Hamilton from responding to former friend Adrian Sutil’s “coward” accusation.
Sutil, the 2008 world champion’s former F3 teammate, has been Hamilton’s closest friend in the paddock throughout their subsequent formula one careers.

But the German slammed his British rival for being “not a man” this week after Hamilton declined to appear as a witness at Sutil’s assault trial in Munich.

Despite sitting alongside Sutil in the Shanghai nightclub last April, Hamilton claimed in a written statement to the court he could not remember the details of the alleged assault on Lotus team executive Eric Lux.

“I do not want to be friends with someone like that,” Sutil, referring to Hamilton, said after receiving a 18-month suspended jail term and EUR 200,000 fine for grievous bodily harm.

A reporter asked Hamilton about Sutil’s anger following the launch on Wednesday of the 2012 McLaren car.

Before the Briton could answer, a McLaren spokesman intervened: “We’ve been told that Lewis shouldn’t really go there because it (the conviction) might go under appeal.

“So can we move on to the next question,” he added.

Hamilton told the reporter: “I’ll listen to him.”

The winner of 17 grands prix had a tumultuous season on and off the track in 2011 but on Wednesday thanked McLaren for granting him a long winter break that left him feeling “fresh” for the new year.

“What I have decided to do this year is just focus on the most important thing and that’s racing,” said Hamilton.

He also hopes to quickly ease rumours about his expiring McLaren contract.

“I think probably after the first couple of races it’s something we will probably want to get out of the way so we can focus on the rest of the year without the team being concerned and without it being something that’s just hanging around for us.

“Then you guys won’t be having to ask questions about it,” he smiled to reporters.

 The assembled world of F1 was surprised on Wednesday when Jenson Button declared the 2012 McLaren “beautiful”.
With the new Caterham featuring a radically-stepped front nose, and Ferrari also preparing to unveil a less-than-attractive single seater, most insiders expected the entire field of 2012 to be ‘ugly’.

“This is a beautiful car,” said 2009 world champion Button when the MP4-27 was unveiled to the media at Woking.

“Many of the others you will see won’t be,” smiled the Briton.

He is referring to the fact that, while the new regulations require a lower extremity of the nose section, the aerodynamic shape at the front of the McLaren remains smooth.

The MP4-27 will be debuted in team youngster Oliver Turvey’s hands at an aerodynamic test this weekend, before Button drives it at the opening of the Jerez test.

“It may look like a direct evolution of last year’s car, but we’ve analysed every area of performance over the winter and the whole car has benefited from lots of fresh thinking and new ideas in every area,” said Button.

 Adrian Sutil’s manager on Tuesday said the German driver is free to return to formula one.
29-year-old Sutil had emerged from a Munich court with a criminal conviction for grievous bodily harm, an 18-month suspended jail term and EUR 200,000 fine.

The former Force India driver also has no job at present.

“I can not say whether anyone in the sport wants to work with me,” he was quoted on Tuesday by the SID news agency.

Sutil’s manager Manfred Zimmermann, however, said the path is clear for his client to resume his career.

“This (conviction) does not mean Adrian has no future in formula one. There will be no consequences with the FIA and his driving ability has never suffered.”

His conviction is for attacking Lotus team executive Eric Lux in a Shanghai nightclub last April.

“The only positive thing is that I am now at peace with Mr Lux. At least it’s over,” Sutil said after Tuesday’s hearing.

“Maybe I’ll take a break, maybe I’ll do something completely different.”

The judge Christiane Thiemann said Sutil is lucky not to be heading to jail.

“Penalties exceeding one year are normally not suspended,” said the judge, explaining that Sutil’s current situation and his clean criminal record were taken into consideration.

Thiemann added that the punishment is “sufficient” and would probably have “serious professional consequences” for the F1 driver.

A Munich court on Tuesday found Adrian Sutil guilty of grievous bodily harm, wire news services reported.
The former Force India was on trial for attacking Lotus team executive Eric Lux in a Shanghai nightclub last April.

The court imposed an 18-month suspended jail sentence and ordered the 29-year-old to pay EUR 200,000 to charity, the BBC, Associated Press and Reuters said.

It is not clear what effect the conviction will have on the status of the German driver’s mandatory F1 superlicense.

 After his Toro Rosso ousting, Jaime Alguersuari could emerge with the Mercedes team in 2012.
The Spanish sports daily AS reports that Ipic, Abu Dhabi’s international petroleum investment company, is unhappy with Red Bull for ousting the young Spaniard from its driver programme.

IPIC owns the Spanish oil company Cepsa, which last year became a major Toro Rosso sponsor.

Alguersuari, according to the report, “had become the image of the company in its international expansion plans”.

Through its investment vehicle Aabar, Abu Dhabi is also involved in F1 as a significant shareholder and sponsor of the works Mercedes team.

AS said the Abu Dhabi link could see Alguersuari, 21, line up as the official reserve driver for Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg this year.

The report added that an Abu Dhabi-backed Alguersuari could be important to Mercedes, amid rumours the team’s title sponsor Petronas might leave the sport.

Petronas, the Malaysian oil company, recently stopped sponsoring the Yamaha team in MotoGP.

McLaren has played down reports its cars could be powered by engines produced by Craig Pollock’s new venture Pure in 2014.
Former BAR founder Pollock is targeting at least two customers for his new turbo V6 engine, and Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport said there has been contact between Pure and McLaren.

With Mercedes now running its own works team and no longer even a minor McLaren shareholder, the Woking based team faces the prospect of paying for its power beyond this season.

Gazzetta said the change in engine rules would be the ideal time for McLaren to switch.

“McLaren has had absolutely no contact with Pure for many months,” a McLaren spokesman told Reuters.

“Moreover, the contact we did have with Pure, many months ago, was of an entirely informal nature, and was merely a courtesy gesture.”

In late November, reports linked McLaren with rumours Honda is looking to return to F1 in 2014 as an engine supplier.

“We are very happy with and enjoying our partnership with Mercedes-Benz,” team managing director Jonathan Neale insisted at the time.

Indycar’s boss has admitted he would “love” longest-serving F1 veteran Rubens Barrichello to switch codes for 2012.
Having lost his race seat after a record-setting 19 consecutive seasons, the 39-year-old Brazilian is this week testing the 2012 Indycar in Florida, with his close friend and KV team driver Tony Kanaan also in action.

Barrichello has previously ruled out racing on dangerous American ovals, citing a promise to his wife Silvana, but now he is not ruling out the switch.

“By the time he gets out of the car he’ll have a pretty good idea what he wants to do,” countryman Kanaan said.

“Right now, we don’t have anyone signed for the other two cars. You can tell by his face he’s having a lot of fun.”

Indycar chief executive Randy Bernard is hopeful Barrichello will make the decision to race in 2012.

“He’s a champion, a driver who would be a tremendous addition to a series,” he is quoted by the Associated Press. “Indycar would love to have him.”

Bernard is quoted by racintoday.com: “If there is a transition, I want him to know that we’re here to help him.”

Robert Kubica’s comeback could be at the wheel of a turbocharged 2010 Ferrari, according to reports in the Italian media.
It emerged this week that, despite the recent setback of a re-broken leg after an icy fall, the Pole could be only months away from attempting some laps in a F1 simulator.

As for his track return, it is rumoured Ferrari sees Kubica as a potential test driver, with a view to ultimately becoming Fernando Alonso’s teammate.

The new Italian reports say a private test at Fiorano in June or July at the wheel of a two-year old Ferrari equipped with the marque’s 2014-specification turbo V6 prototype has been set as a tentative target.

The same reports suggest some sort of agreement may have been signed.

The unknown factor is the final phase of Kubica’s recovery, with the 27-year-old believed to be still unable to fully rotate his right arm that was almost severed in his rally crash last February.