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.”

 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.

 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.”

 McLaren has denied that a senior staff member expressed concern the team’s newly-launched 2012 car flies close to the limits of the technical regulations.
The staff member made the comments about the new MP4-27 single seater before it was launched by the British team at its Woking headquarters on Wednesday.

The story was only live on the internet for a short time before it was removed.

After that, members of the media were contacted by McLaren insisting that the quotes had not been accurate.

The saga caught the attention of the widely circulated German newspaper Bild, which wondered: “(the risk of a) protest? So maybe the car is illegal?

“The rivals will now be looking very closely (at the car) at Jerez,” wrote correspondent Frank Schneider.

He said the MP4-27 has “mysterious lumps” on the side, perhaps to “hide the exhausts”.

Spanish sports newspaper Marca’s correspondent Marco Canseco, meanwhile, said the new McLaren is “not revolutionary” at first glance, with the disappearance of the L-shaped sidepods of last year even indicating a “backwards step”.

The exhausts, however – with blown diffusers now banned – were “very well camouflaged” at the launch, “embedded in a strange bulge” at the rear of the engine cover.

The diffuser, added Canseco, is “nonexistent” in the MP4-27′s launch version “to avoid clues being given to the rivals”.

2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, laughed as he revealed that McLaren answered his call for better mirrors in the wake of several incidents last year.

He said the new MP4-27 mirrors are higher and “don’t flap around”, joking that “Felipe (Massa) will be very happy about that”.

 Snow looks set to spoil the scheduled debut on Friday of Ferrari’s 2012 car.
The Italian team had intended to give its new single seater a shakedown debut after its covers are pulled off at Maranello on Friday, or on the following day.

But on Wednesday, surrounding schools were closed for the rest of the week and Ferrari’s Fiorano test track is shrouded in snow, with the team announcing there is “no sign of a let up” in the weather.

Ferrari also said temperatures are dropping well below zero, ensuring “icy roads”.

“It now looks as though there is little chance of carrying out the planned promotional filming featuring action shots of the car at the Fiorano track,” said the team.

“Even if the snow was to stop it’s hard to imagine that the escape roads could be cleared of their blanket of snow which is gradually building up.”

A spokesman added, however, that work to set up the infrastructure to host the launch ceremony at Fiorano “is still going ahead, even if it is not proving straightforward”.

Team boss Stefano Domenicali said recently the Ferrari launch event will be “very conventional”.

The car is now likely to make its debut alongside its 2012 rivals at Jerez next week.

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.

Sauber’s 2012 car has an ugly bump on its nose, boss Peter Sauber has hinted.

Before the launch of the unseemly Caterham, Ferrari officials admitted their own Maranello built car is also “ugly” due to new regulations.

For this year, the FIA is requiring the pointed nose of the cars to be lower, while the actual monocoque height stays the same.

In the wind tunnels around Europe, it is believed most teams have found that the best solution is to radically taper the nose, despite the fact it is not pretty.

“Yes, for reasons of aerodynamics, this step in the nose is almost inevitable,” admitted Peter Sauber, a week before the Hinwil-built C31 is revealed.

The Swiss said the Ferrari-powered car has passed all the mandatory FIA crash tests and will be fired up for the first time this week.

What about the livery colour?

“That is a secret of course,” Sauber smiled to the Sonntagsblick newspaper. “All I can say is that the basic colour is white, but the overall impression is dark, with red.

“In short, it is different (compared to 2011). I remain a friend of the colour white, although often on television some cars cannot be well distinguished.”

This year’s Lotus car will be called the E20.
Last year’s Enstone-produced single seater was the R31, in accordance with the Renault numbering tradition.

But with the name-change to Lotus for 2012, the team has decided to honour the factory staff by naming the new car E20 — ‘E’ for Enstone.

The ’20′ is a reference to the fact the new single seater is the twentieth made at Enstone since the then Benetton team relocated in 1992.

The E20 will be revealed on February 5, the day before Kimi Raikkonen debuts it at Jerez on the eve of the opening 2012 group test.

 HRT is in talks with the city of Madrid to relocate its headquarters to Caja Magica.
Otherwise known as the Magic Box, the facility houses the Madrid Open tennis tournament, the Spanish Olympic Committee and – until last year – the Real Madrid basketball team.

After its first two seasons under the German-based Colin Kolles’ management, the former Hispania team has now entered a new phase with an increased Spanish identity.

Madrid regional officials told the Europa Press news agency that negotiations with HRT are underway.

The team “has approached the city with regards to relocating its headquarters to one of the spaces at the Caja Magica”, an official confirmed.

“At the moment there is nothing fixed, nor any pre-agreements signed,” the spokesman added.

HRT would not comment on media speculation.

 Caterham enters the 2012 season with a simple goal — a point.
In its first two seasons, then known as Lotus, the Tony Fernandes-led squad proved the best of the other new-in-2010 startups including Virgin (now Marussia) and HRT.

But a green-coloured car is still yet to score a point.

“That must be the goal (for 2012), but we are also realistic,” Malaysian Fernandes told Brazil’s Corride de Formula 1.

“We want to take steps forward in the right direction towards building long-term success. But the fact is that the only way to do that is to beat the teams that are ahead of us.

“All of them scored points in 2011,” he said, chiefly referring to Williams.

“So to beat them, we will at least have to score a point. That has to be the goal,” added Fernandes.

Marussia will sit out the forthcoming first test of the 2012 pre-season.
And it has also emerged that the former Virgin team’s new single seater will not make an appearance until the third and final test of the winter in Barcelona.

Kevin Eason, the London newspaper The Times’ veteran F1 correspondent, said the news is “worrying”.

After finishing its first two seasons dead last, however, the team has gone back to the drawing board with what boss John Booth describes as an “almost entirely new (car), with very little carry over”.

“Unfortunately our programme has slipped and there seems little point in fielding the new car before we can optimise the run plan for it.

“So the plan is to run the 2011 (car) in Barcelona from 21 February and the new (2012 car) MR01 from 1 March at the second Barcelona test,” the team explained on Twitter.

“We will hopefully gain more constructive track time than we might otherwise have achieved had we rushed the new car out for the second test,” added Booth.

Previously, Marussia planned to be at the forthcoming Jerez test with the 2011 car to give rookie Charles Pic some mileage.

The electric bicycle brand Yamimoto and HRT Formula 1 Team have signed a collaboration deal by which Yamimoto will become the team’s Official Supplier of sustainable mobility for 2012.

HRT will become, through this deal, a pioneer in the world of Formula 1 by integrating an alternative energy to petrol in its mobility plan and will use Yamimoto’s electric bicycles to move around at Grands Prix and away from them.

Alternative energies are assuming more and more importance every day in modern societies so, without a doubt, incorporating them to such an innovative and technologic environment as is Formula 1 would give the young Spanish team an added value.

Collaborating with national brands and companies is one of HRT’s basic lines of action and one that fits perfectly with the team’s philosophy when looking for synergies and the strengthening of Spanish brands in the world.

Manuel Muñiz, CEO and Partner, Bector Bikes: “Yamimoto is born from a commitment with the environment and the conviction of being able to unite this with a benefit in the quality of movement and cost for our clients. Yamimoto improves the day-to-day lives of its clients and the cities in which they live, as reflected on our tagline “Move Smart”. The agreement with HRT is a platform for Yamimoto from which to move on to new development and growth opportunities, but it also means a lot more will be asked of us and there will be more expectations with regards to our products from a technological and design point of view. The exclusive bicycle that we are designing for HRT will be the first step in this new stage of alliance between Yamimoto and HRT”.

Óscar Leyva, Business Development Director, HRT F1 Team: “The complexity of moving a Formula 1 team around the world doesn’t limit itself to the major distances covered by traditional modes of transport. There are also a large amount of short and medium distance journeys, in testing and Grands Prix but also in between races. The alternative that Yamimoto offers us doesn’t only contribute comfort and practicality but it is also an innovative company that adjusts to our philosophy of searching for synergies with Spanish companies to strengthen our brands in the world and the concept of Spain being a country that backs R&D&i”.

- Ends -

ABOUT YAMIMOTO

Yamimoto is the brand used by Bector Bikes to commercialize electric bicycles since 2007. It is a 100% Spanish company that pioneers in backing sustainable mobility in Spain, offering its clients a solution for intelligent and elegant movement. It is a company in constant evolution that strongly backs R &D, and a manufacturer of low-consumption, environmentally friendly and foldable vehicles.

The company’s philosophy contemplates the will to contribute a sustainable solution to the complex problem of transport, soothing the problems with traffic in major cities and respecting the environment whilst enabling a healthy lifestyle. The important savings that occur as a result of moving around on electric bicycles, with Yamimoto offering some very competitive prices, is also a significant aspect. Another notable feature is the commitment to the client given the quantity, quality and professionalism of its customer care and after-sales services.

Yamimoto uses innovative production processes, hybridization of materials and components, implementation of new technologies in the world of bicycle safety, bicycle control systems stemming from smartphones, use of lithium batteries employed in high-end electric sports vehicles or the design of frames that enable the integration of batteries in its interior. All these factors form a part of Yamimoto’s DNA, a company that continues to evolve and work for a future that will take a leap in quality thanks to the engineering of KeelWit Technology, a company that specializes in the development of advanced technologies in the field of sustainable mobility, and also in storage and energetic efficiency.

Contact Yamimoto:
Felipe Capdepón. Communications Director
felipe@yamimoto.com
Fernando Martí. Commercial Director
fernando@yamimoto.com
T. +34 91 524 12 87
www.yamimoto.com

 Toro Rosso’s new drivers have admitted a seat at senior team Red Bull Racing is an obvious target for the future.
Mark Webber’s contract expires at the end of this season.

For 2012, Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne have replaced Red Bull rookie team Toro Rosso’s former lineup of Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari.

“Of course I’d be happy to drive for Red Bull — that’s the big goal of all the Red Bull juniors.

“If we do everything right and we get the right results, then perhaps we will succeed in a year or two or three,” Australian Ricciardo told Austrian Servus TV.

He admitted his half-season with HRT is an advantage over Frenchman Vergne, whose first grand prix will be the Melbourne season opener in March.

“I think it will be perhaps a little easier for me to get into the season, but the advantage will not last long.

“I’m sure it will help me but there is a lot of testing before Melbourne and we’ll both be prepared,” said Ricciardo.

On the plus side for Vergne, he is known for having an extremely feisty racing style and is highly rated by Red Bull’s influential Dr Helmut Marko.

Known in the paddock as ‘Jev’, Vergne said he will not lose focus by eyeing Webber’s seat prematurely.

“Since my karting days I’ve always had the philosophy to think only of the present. For example, I’ve never thought about formula one, but only the season I was in.

“In 2012 I drove for Toro Rosso; 2013 does not interest me now. I will give my best and then we’ll see what comes up.”

 Marussia’s 2012 car is “not revolutionary”, according to a German-language report.
The former Virgin team will not give its new single seater its official track debut until Barcelona — the second winter test of the forthcoming 2012 pre-season.

That news raised expectations that the car, headed technically by the highly rated former Renault man Pat Symonds, could be a radical departure from the cars that finished the 2010 and 2011 seasons dead last.

Writing in the German-language Speed Week, Peter Hesseler cited Symonds in saying that the 2012 Marussia “will have little in common” with its Virgin predecessor.

But Symonds reportedly thinks the team’s spot at the very bottom of the constructors’ standings means the priority is a new car with “high quality” rather than innovation.

The goal for 2012, therefore, is to move into the midfield.

International media reports, meanwhile, say the former Renault team – now Lotus – has got its 2012 single seater through the FIA’s mandatory crash tests.

The news means the car is now ready to make its official track debut in Kimi Raikkonen’s hands at Jerez early next month.

 Details of Ferrari’s unlaunched 2012 car have emerged in the pages of Italian specialist publications.
On Tuesday, Autosprint publishes drawings by technical illustrator Giorgio Piola of Maranello’s latest creation, with some parts – including the sidepods – reportedly “inspired by (the) McLaren” of last year.

The weekly said the car, to likely be named F12 or F2012, also has “many other features that should make it really extreme”, as ordered by Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali last year.

“Some people called it (the car) bad after seeing the shapes, probably because of the hump on the nose,” read a report at Autosprint’s auto.it website.

“But the final version should be smooth.”

The magazine also says Ferrari has innovated to exploit the safety regulations for crash structures, producing a wing-like aerodynamic effect with the sidepods.

Another all-new feature for Ferrari – breaking a philosophy of more than a decade – is the Red Bull-style pull-rod suspension, and an engine cover rear ‘hole’ also similar to Adrian Newey’s title-winning 2011 design.

The car’s exhausts reportedly exit even higher than the new regulations dictate, possibly so the gases flow onto the main element of the rear wing.

This feature may not be seen – possibly for reasons of secrecy – on the initial launch version displayed by Ferrari on 3 February.

La Gazzetta dello Sport, meanwhile, said the 2012 Ferrari has “long, low and narrow” radiators and sidepods, with a lower seating position for the drivers.