F1 General News and Discussion thread 2012

[blacknwhite]

Yes what I had , have tried Chrome and Firefox after clearing cache without success....any ideas?

i use firefox, 8.01, and the site is loading up fine, so i am not sure why it wont work on your machine.

Whaddyano downloaded updated Firefox ( not my browser of choice and lo and behold it will now load in Firefox and chrome!
Would not load for about the last month...I put it down to change of contract or something!
All solved , all good...thanks Jiji!

[Mothers Worry]

The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights has asked the teams and drivers to boycott the Bahrain Grand Prix in late April due to ongoing unrest

However, at this stage, I would have to suggest that Bernie Ecclestone is unlikely to be convinced.

I suppose if the drivers and teams got behind it their may be something in this but, with a WDC to contest, I'd say those stakes are too high.

[Jiji_the_cat]

the situation in Bahrain is the same as last year. i wouldn't be suprised if Webber is the first to say something again.

[Jiji_the_cat]

A little bit of a round up the news overnight (doing nightshift, nothing better to do  )

Those Bennetton Boys of 94
Some of you maybe aware that JJ Lehto was jailed (a couple of weeks ago) for his part in a powerboat tragedy that resulted in the death of a friend. Well now its Jos Verstappen turn. Jos has been charged with attempted murder after running down his girlfriend with a car after an argument. The guy does have some anger issues as he has also been found guilty on 2 previous cases for assault. So whose next Schui or Flavio?? 

Force India Crash Tested
Force India has become the second F1 team to confirm that its new car has passed the FIA crash tests. Technical Directer Andrew Green had this to say

“There's always a buzz around when it's happening, I've been looking at the car in its model form for a while now but, for a lot of people, when it comes together will be the first time they've seen it. It's always an exciting time when the car fires up for the first time, and it's been born!
It is a busy time for us, and there's a huge unknown as well. We don't know how well we've done over the winter compared to our competitors, and thus there's a bit of anxiety just waiting to see what everyone else comes up with."
“We started working on it back in June, and the first wind tunnel tests were around July, we took it out of the tunnel for one week after August just to do an upgrade for VJM04, it was such a close 2011 season, fighting where we were fighting in those last few races, we didn't know which way it was going to go. We weren't really anticipating such a strong response from Toro Rosso near the end of the season – they seemed to have a reasonable upgrade around Suzuka time, it's quite unusual for a team to come up with such a huge change so late in the season.
So the concentration was right until the last race in Brazil you could say that, from that point on, it's been 100 per cent focus on the new car for us. We're on schedule, that's the good news! It's been a little bit tougher this year, having to homologate the chassis prior to testing, so there was a little bit of extra planning involved to get that sorted, the chassis has been homologated since December.
There were a lot of fingers crossed. You're hoping everything does what all the analysis says it should have done. It's always nice when you reel off the tests one-by-one without any dramas at all. It's a real credit to everybody. It was a different schedule, a different plan, compared to last year. Everything went to schedule, so we went into the holidays very relaxed that we'd got all that signed off. Everyone could go away and have a good break over the New Year knowing that we were ready to go.
Most people managed to get a few days off over Christmas to recharge their batteries, it was a long season, and it's a long season this year. The guys need time off, they need time with their families, but we try not to let the guys down the wind tunnel take much of a break! They keep working, as that's where the performance of the car comes from, so we're very conscious of not turning that tap off. We'll do what we can to give them a break at another point in the year...

whew long quote.... looking forward to see what they produce for 2012.

[Mothers Worry]

Ferrari have hired former director of Bridgestone's tyre development.

There is speculation that the Lotus has developed an adjustable ride-height system. The system, which it's reported is driver controlled via a switch in the cockpit, would maintain the ride-height of the car under braking and acceleration to ensure the car is running at the optimum height at all times.

[bpratt]

There is speculation that the Lotus has developed an adjustable ride-height system. The system, which it's reported is driver controlled via a switch in the cockpit, would maintain the ride-height of the car under braking and acceleration to ensure the car is running at the optimum height at all times.

If it is deemed legal and if they can get it to work 'as advertised', then they could find themselves up towards the pointy end of the field with a bit of luck.... sort of like the Lotus of old, who started the original active suspension, which was later refined to the "n'th degree" by Williams who then romped away to win just about everything.

[Mothers Worry]

Ferrari have now submitted their won ride height system plans to the FIA for approval.

[Mothers Worry]

Bernie Ecclestone on how to make the sport more entertaining. From an interview he did with the publication Salzburger Nachrichten:

"I hope not," he said when asked whether he hoped Vettel would dominate the season again. "Of course, Red Bull are still going to be there but I would much prefer a fight for the world title right to the end of the season."

When asked if Webber could beat Vettel in 2012:

"Yes. This year we will see a situation where he can show his talent much more."

I wish I had your confidence Bernie..........

"I would be surprised if Mercedes don’t win a race this year," he added.

Actually Bernie I would be more surprised of they do win a race based on their performances to date.

"At Ferrari, I can only hope for a significant improvement. Alonso is super-talented and deserves a perfect car."

............. he said stating the obvious.

[Ian G.]

Low-key quotes  from Bernie,he usually stirs the pot around this time each year to let everyone know the season is about to begin.

International Air Show went off without hitch in Bahrain last Week but i guess F-1 will be a bigger target.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/us-shifts-embassy-staff-to-avoid-bahrain-clashes/2012/01/24/gIQAZecZMQ_story.html

[Mothers Worry]

Pirelli unveiled its new tyres for the 2012 season on Wednesday morning at the Abu Dhabi circuit, with minor changes to the markings and compound colours.

[Mothers Worry]

Executives at Volkswagen will soon be presented with a proposal for one of its brands to enter Formula 1 as an engine supplier. The VW Group, which owns Audi, Skoda, Seat, Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini, as well as Porsche through its parent Porsche Automobil Holding SE, has a diverse engineering pedigree to call upon.

[bigrich]

it will be interesting to see how they regulate 20.3 below.

20.3   More than one change of direction to defend a position is not permitted. Any driver moving back towards the racing line, having earlier defended his position off‐line, should leave at least one car width between his own car and the edge of the track on the approach to the corner.

sounds to me like if you move off line to defend, and the guy behind is faster then you gotta just let him go through. 

[Mothers Worry]

Pirelli have confirmed the tyre compounds for the first three races of the season; Australia, Malaysia and China.

Melbourne: soft and hard compounds.

Malaysia: medium and hard compounds.

China: soft and hard compounds.

[BMW_320_IRL]

2012 could be a great season!
So much champions behind the steering wheels and I hope that Reb Bull lost some ground and some teams from the midfield are able to close the gap. I am looking forward to Australia
I think there will be great improvement with the exhaust. As you see with ferrari: numerous propable solutions..

[Mothers Worry]

Pirelli have secured the use of a Renault R30 to test its latest tyres for the 2012 season and beyond after coming to a deal with the now Lotus outfit.

[Oldtony]

I wonder how representative the Renault will be as a testbed. I guess they will have to modify the "blown floor" concept and the rear diffuser to make it more similar to the downforce levels of this years cars.

[DanielAquilina]

Ferrari Technical Director Pat Fry says that he would be very surprised if either of the Ferrari boys will be on the Podium at Albert Park saying that the steps they made at the Past test made the Car go backwards. They look to reverse those exhaust upgrades the moment they head back to Melbourne. They don't expect to make major progress until the May test in Mugello

[Mothers Worry]

Yes; so I have heard, The Tifosi will not be pleased........

[BMW_320_IRL]

It is a pitty
Ferrari hasn't built a great car and now they are running out of time ..
That's the problem with no tests in the season. It is impossible to close that hugh gap.

[Ian G.]

Off/Pre season talk is often misleading but Fry is usually a straight talker so Ferrari may have some problems,we will all know on the W/end.

http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2012/03/ferrari-not-writing-off-original-f2012-exhaust-design-yet/