The F1 Thread 2012 Season

[Rado_N]

Team & Driver Line Ups

Red Bull Racing - Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes - Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton

Scuderia Ferrari - Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa

Mercedes GP - Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg

Lotus F1 - Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean

Force India F1 - Paul Di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg

Sauber F1 - Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Pérez

Torro Rosso - Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne

AT&T Williams - Pastor Maldonado and Bruno Senna

Team Caterham - Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli

HRT F1 - Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan

Marussia Virgin Racing - Timo Glock and Charles Pic


2012 Calendar | Results

Australian Grand Prix
Melbourne, 16-18 March

Winner: Jenson Button
Second: Sebastial Vettel
Third: Lewis Hamilton

Full Results - Formula1.com
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Malaysian Grand Prix
Sepang, 23-25 March

Winner: Fernando Alonso
Second: Sergio Perez
Third: Lewis Hamilton

Full Results - Formula1.com
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Chinese Grand Prix
Shanghai, 13-15 April

Winner: Nico Rosberg
Second: Jenson Button
Third: Lewis Hamilton

Full Results - Formula1.com
________________________________________________

Bahrain Grand Prix
Sakhir, 20-22 April

Winner: Sebastial Vettel
Second: Kimi Räikkönen
Third: Romain Grosjean

Full Results - Formula1.com
________________________________________________

Spanish Grand Prix
Montmelo, 11-13 May

Winner: Pastor Maldonado
Second: Fernando Alonso
Third: Kimi Räikkönen

Full Results - Formula1.com
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Monaco Grand Prix
Monte Carlo, 25-27 May

Winner: Mark Webber
Second: Nico Rosberg
Third: Fernando Alonso

Full Results - Formula1.com
________________________________________________

Canadian Grand Prix
Montreal, 8-10 June

Winner: Lewis Hamilton
Second: Romain Grosjean
Third: Sergio Perez

Full Results - Formula1.com
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European Grand Prix
Valencia, 22-24 June
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British Grand Prix
Silverstone, 6-8 July
________________________________________________

German Grand Prix
Hockenheim, 20-22 July
________________________________________________

Hungarian Grand Prix
Hungaroring, 27-29 July
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Belgian Grand Prix
Spa-Francorchamps, 31 August - 2 September
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Italian Grand Prix
Monza, 7-9 September
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Singapore Grand Prix
Singapore, 21-23 September
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Japanese Grand Prix
Suzuka, 5-7 October
________________________________________________

Korean Grand Prix
Yeongam, 12-14 October
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Indian Grand Prix
New Delhi, 26-28 October
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Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Yas Marina, 2-4 November
________________________________________________

United States Grand Prix
Austin, 16-18 November
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Brazilian Grand Prix
Interlagos, 23-25 November
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[iSparky]

Jesus that was quick, Red bull will be the team to catch in 2012. As long as Newey is creating that car and Vettel is behind the wheel its a winning combo for quite some time ahead. If McLaren can close the gap with their car then they could give red bull a good run for their money

Alonso will have a good look in but ultimately dont think Ferrari will give him a good enough car to compete with, they are miles behind red bull and mclaren at the moment oh and massa will be shitter than ever

massa

 

[Rado_N]

Jesus that was quick,

I don't mess about

massa

 

[nemanja15]

Nice to see Massa's being given a fair chance for 2012.

For what it's worth, I can see Alonso winning the championship next year, run very close by Hamilton and Vettel.

 

[Zarlak]

Nice to see Massa's being given a fair chance for 2012.

A fair chance to do what? Nothing again?

 

[iSparky]

Nice to see Massa's being given a fair chance for 2012.

For what its worth massa is going to be shitter than ever before

 

[Ole's_toe_poke]

Massa

 

[Ole's_toe_poke]

Hope Ferrari and Mclaren make a better start to 2012. Red Bull have caught them out in terms of the way they've started the season.

If Alonso is given a competitive car, I will back him to win it. For me he is still the most complete and 'smartest' driver out there.

 

[F-Red]

Ferrari are supposed to have a radical design according to what they were saying earlier in the year, whether that amounts into anything will be the acid test.

Charles Pic has been confirmed as Marussia's second driver next season btw, replacing D'Ambrosio.

 

[nemanja15]

For what its worth massa is going to be shitter than ever before

And you know this how?!

 

[pauldyson1uk]

Nice to see Massa's being given a fair chance for 2012.

For what it's worth, I can see Alonso winning the championship next year, run very close by Hamilton and Vettel.

Vettel will be the one everybody is chasing nest season , just like this season.
I see a domination of F1 for quite a few seasons by Vettel.

 

[pauldyson1uk]

Nice to see Massa's being given a fair chance for 2012.

For what it's worth, I can see Alonso winning the championship next year, run very close by Hamilton and Vettel.

Was he not given a far chance this season ?
He is a shit and its time Ferrari realised this.

 

[mariachi-19]

Vettel will be the one everybody is chasing nest season , just like this season.
I see a domination of F1 for quite a few seasons by Vettel.

Will be interesting to see if Newey can buck the trend of having a few good seasons followed by a diabolically shit one.

Will be interesting to watch Mercedes development. Michael certainly has shown great race pace all year 'much more impressive then Rosberg' and whisper through the media is that he's built up a very strong relationship with the team 'much like he did with Ferrari'.

 

[F-Red]

Will be interesting to watch Mercedes development. Michael certainly has shown great race pace all year 'much more impressive then Rosberg' and whisper through the media is that he's built up a very strong relationship with the team 'much like he did with Ferrari'.

I think Mercedes will be the most exciting to watch over the winter, they're quietly confident with the 2012 car. The test with the new exhaust at the Abu Dhabi young drivers test was everything they expected from it, and with the addition of the new technical team earlier in the autumn should give them some positive signs for next year.

 

[iSparky]

And you know this how?!

hes been shit for ages now, you really think he is going to have a magical turn around and shine in among the likes of Vettel, Hamilton and Button? Not a chance, Ferrari should have let him go why they have resigned him is beyond me he is playing second fiddle to alonso and is even doing a terrible job at that

 

[Zarlak]

And you know this how?!

Because he hasn't had a single podium all season, broke a record for being a shit Ferrari driver, and constantly overtaken by people that he took the race lead from who went into the pits, when he himself had not pitted yet.

I can imagine Vettel thinking 'I need to pit soon, engineer who is behind me?'

'Massa'

https://s3.amazonaws.com/kym-assets/entries/icons/square/000/005/180/feckthat.jpg?1302809593

'Awesome, I'll give him a 20 second lead but I'll have overtaken him again having already stopped when he has not.'

 

[EdWeatherall]

Can someone link me or explain what sort of technical changes are required for the cars next season??

 

[Rado_N]

Can someone link me or explain what sort of technical changes are required for the cars next season??

Exhaust blown diffusers are effectively banned, with stricter regs on exhaust exit positioning.

In-season testing is back, but as far as I know there's only one test.

Maximum height of the nose is reduced from 62.5cm above ground to 55cm.

I think that's it.

Full sporting and technical regs are available from the FIA website if you're bored enough to read them.

 

[Leg-End]

Can someone link me or explain what sort of technical changes are required for the cars next season??

Theres 1 major change and a few minor ones. The biggest change is the banning of the exhaust blown diffuser or atleast a big reduction in its effectiveness. The exhausts will now have to be placed higher and away from the floor of the car much like they were before.

Other noteable changes, the nose of the cars must be lower by about 7.5cm's, doesn't sound much but that changes alot of the aero layout. Pirelli tyres are likely to go even softer in compound but probably maintain or improve endurance levels. Probably a few other minor things.

 

[gormless]

Will only see about half the races, but its gonna be weird to see a F1 season without Barichello, he's always been as far back as I can remember (94). Raikonnen is far too good for Williams. If Ferrari or Red Bull wanted to make things interesting, they'd cut the dead weight and go for Kimi, though not much chance of that happening

 

[pauldyson1uk]

Will only see about half the races, but its gonna be weird to see a F1 season without Barichello, he's always been as far back as I can remember (94). Raikonnen is far too good for Williams. If Ferrari or Red Bull wanted to make things interesting, they'd cut the dead weight and go for Kimi, though not much chance of that happening

I can see Red Bull needing another driver for the 2013 season , I think Webber will retire.
If Raikonnen has a good season with Williams , he could be the one to take over from Webber.

 

[ArmchairCritic]

Hopefully next year McLaren can make a rocketship, Lewis can keep his mind state right and Williams can start making progress for once. I'd love to see Alonso, Vettel, Hamilton and Button slugging it out for the title. Also I hope they get rid of DRS, at least in qualifying. They need to get rid of the flexi front-wings too. Some special qualifying tyres would be nice and less durable tyres from Pirelli would be great too. Can't wait for next year.

 

[rcoobc]

What changes would you guys like to see in F1?

 

[Leg-End]

What changes would you guys like to see in F1?

A return to wider rear wings, V10 engines and less limited set of techincal regulations. The beauty of F1 before it started to get really regulated was the various things teams came up with every season, be it X-Wings, active suspension or whatever. With the technical advancements we have had since those days I think it could maintain safety and really filter back into road cars.

We still get innovation of course but its usually by teams noticing a gap in the regs that others haven't and getting a 6 month head start developing it. 2009 was Double Deck Diffusers, 2010 F-Duct and 2011 EBD.

 

[Ubik]

Any chance of having qualifying tires next year? Not a fan of the "start on the ones you set your fastest lap on" rule.

Was quite looking forward to ground effect coming back but I think that's been decided against now in favour of DRS.

All I really want is for Red Bull not to be absurdly faster than everyone else. And for McLaren to not screw up winter testing quite as badly as they did last year.

 

[pauldyson1uk]

What they really need to do is something about Q3.
It is wrong that drivers get into Q3 and then dont even go out and then get free choice of rubber for the race.
If they don't go out for Q3 make them start the race on the rubber they finished Q2 with.

 

[Rado_N]

A return to wider rear wings, V10 engines and less limited set of techincal regulations. The beauty of F1 before it started to get really regulated was the various things teams came up with every season, be it X-Wings, active suspension or whatever. With the technical advancements we have had since those days I think it could maintain safety and really filter back into road cars.

We still get innovation of course but its usually by teams noticing a gap in the regs that others haven't and getting a 6 month head start developing it. 2009 was Double Deck Diffusers, 2010 F-Duct and 2011 EBD.

My sentiments exactly, but it'll never happen due to spiralling costs. F1 is almost becoming a spec series the regs are that restrictive these days, which is a shame.

Someone mentioned getting rid of DRS in quali; they are restricting its use for quali on safety grounds, not sure exactly how this will be implemented yet but they don't want people using it whilst still exiting corners as it's caused a few spins, it may well be restricted to straights or set parts of the track for FP and quali next season.

 

[ArmchairCritic]

Someone mentioned getting rid of DRS in quali; they are restricting its use for quali on safety grounds, not sure exactly how this will be implemented yet but they don't want people using it whilst still exiting corners as it's caused a few spins, it may well be restricted to straights or set parts of the track for FP and quali next season.

They'll just not use it much like the first 2 laps of the race, they'll probably programme the ECU to ensure any accidental presses don't occur. To be honest I'm not a fan of DRS anyway. Also narrower front wings with lower, wider rear wings would be nice. Less punctures and bits of debris will fly around and it'll look a million times better. They should also make the KERS regulations a bit less restricted.

 

[Rado_N]

I'd rather they just got rid of DRS altogether, I really don't like it. Not a fan of KERS either, but that's not as bad.

 

[ArmchairCritic]

I feel KERS has got the potential but the regulations are too strict. It fits in with the whole green F1 concept which they are trying to push forward too for future regulations. They won't really let them tinker with the engines so they might as well let them tinker with the KERS. Personally I'd lift engine regulations and bring back turbo's but that will never happen (they'll bring back turbo's but they'll regulate what you can do heavily).

 

[Rado_N]

Haven't they already confirmed 1600cc turbo engines for 2013?

 

[ArmchairCritic]

Yeah but I think they'll freeze it after each team has introduced their engine, then when someone whinges they'll unfreeze it, but they won't let the engineers do what they want.

 

[Rado_N]

Just had a quick google,wiki says 2014, and a few other sites reckon revs will be limited to 12,000rpm.

Eurgh.

 

[bazalini]

Brundle confirmed for Sky

 

[pauldyson1uk]

Welcome back

BBC Sport - Kimi Raikkonen to return to Formula 1 with Lotus Renault GP

 

[Rado_N]

Get in

 

[iSparky]

Brundle confirmed for Sky

McKenzie has also confirmed she is staying with the BBC, nice i hope she gets a bigger role and we see a bit more of her, i would love to give her titties a good old squeeze

Welcome back

BBC Sport - Kimi Raikkonen to return to Formula 1 with Lotus Renault GP

nice!

 

[WeasteDevil]

Just had a quick google,wiki says 2014, and a few other sites reckon revs will be limited to 12,000rpm.

Eurgh.

I don't see the problem, similar turbo charged engines were used in the 80s in F1. I also thought that the moaning from the circuits as to the noise generated made them up to RPM to 15,000? Either way, the cars will not go any slower.

 

[The Taurean]

Welcome back

BBC Sport - Kimi Raikkonen to return to Formula 1 with Lotus Renault GP

brilliant news.

Hope he gets a decent machine.

 

[Rado_N]

I don't see the problem, similar turbo charged engines were used in the 80s in F1. I also thought that the moaning from the circuits as to the noise generated made them up to RPM to 15,000? Either way, the cars will not go any slower.

A couple of years ago we had cars revving past 19,000, this year they were limited to 18,000, dropping it to 12,000 is a significant decrease and it's not just about speed it's about the feel of the sport. If they could make electric powered cars that went as fast as the old V12s would it be the same? Hell no.

1.8 litre turbos with a 12k rev limit doesn't sound like the pinnacle of motorsport to me.