Force India Reveal February Launch Date For New Car
Force India have revealed the date for the launch of their new 2013 machine, the VJM06, ahead of the 2013 season and the start of pre-season testing at Jerez. Just like their preparations for the 2012 season, Force India will unveil their new car at their home circuit at Silverstone on February 1st.
After a relatively successful 2012 season, Force India is targeting fifth in the Constructors’ Championship next season, following on from their competitive end to the 2012 season after Sauber-bound Nico Hulkenberg led the majority of the season finale at Brazil. Despite this competitive end to the season, neither Paul di Resta or Nico Hulkenberg were able to finish on the podium all season, which saw the Silverstone-based outfit finish 7th in the Constructors’ Championship with 109 points scored.
Force India currently remains the only team with both seats still vacant, although it is strongly predicted throughout the F1 fraternity that Scotsman Paul di Resta will remain with the team for 2013. However, di Resta’s team-mate for next year remains a hot topic throughout the world of Formula 1, with many drivers including reserve driver Jules Bianchi, ex-Force India driver Adrian Sutil, Jaime Alguersuari and Bruno Senna all rumored to be linked to the second seat at the team.
The Silverstone-based outfit will be eager to get pre-season testing underway in early February at Jerez, after Force India struggled during the early stages of the 2012 season, therefore putting the team on the back foot for the remainder of the year. The first pre-season test is scheduled to begin on February 5th at Jerez, before testing moves swiftly to Barcelona on February 19th.
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Michael Schumacher First To Drive New Mercedes
After officially confirming the launch date of their new 2012 Formula 1 car, Mercedes have now disclosed that 7-time World Champion, Michael Schumacher, will drive the new Mercedes W03 at Barcelona before his team-mate Nico Rosberg.
Even though Rosberg finished ahead of Schumacher in last years Drivers’ Championship by a clear 13 points, the team have awarded Schumacher the luxury of driving the new 2012 Mercedes first, shortly after they unveil the car to the media in the pits on the morning of the first day of the second test at the Circuit de Catalunya.
During the first test at Jerez, Mercedes ran their 2011 car, opting for more design time on their new car instead. Along with HRT they were the only team in the paddock that were using their old car, as the rest of the teams were running their 2012 cars. Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher both topped the timing sheets throughout the week at Jerez, even though they were using their old car.
Last week at Jerez, Michael Schumacher admitted that it was unlikely the new Mercedes would a Championship contender in 2012, although he has confidence that the team can build a car that is capable of battling for a Championship in the future.
Schumacher’s team-mate, Nico Rosberg, is confident of out-scoring his veteran team-mate in 2012 for a third consecutive season. With Rosberg yet to win a race in Formula 1, the German is confident his time will come and that Mercedes can propel him to that elusive maiden victory.
Testing in Barcelona gets underway on the 21st February, with Mercedes launching their new car on the morning of the opening day. Marussia will also be making their first appearance of 2012, racing their 2011 car.
Mercedes Confirm Barcelona Launch For New Car
Mercedes have confirmed they will be launching their new Formula 1 car, the F1 W03, at the second test which takes place at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona next week. The car will be unveiled to the media in the pit-lane on 21st February, on the morning of the first day of the second test week.
After racing their 2011 car at the first test in Jerez, and topping the timing sheets on two consecutive days, the team will be hoping their 2012 car can continue this pace and give the team a decent start to the 2012 season.
With the team opting for more design time on their 2012 car and a later release date, the team will be hoping the gamble pays off, otherwise they’ll be on the back foot as the 2012 season gets underway.
Mercedes will alternate their drivers throughout the second test, with Michael Schumacher driving on Day 1, before handing over to Nico Rosberg for Day 2. Schumacher then returns for Day 3 before once again handing over to his team-mate Nico Rosberg for the 4th and final day of testing.
Marussia and HRT are the only two teams apart from Mercedes who haven’t launched their cars yet, with Marussia making their first appearance of 2012 at the second test next week.
Lotus E20 Is Revealed
Lotus have become the latest team to launch their 2012 challenger, with the car being unveiled by their new drivers’ for the 2012 season, Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean. Like the majority of the new cars released, the new Lotus E20 features a step nose design, a move which only McLaren have failed to use as of yet.
Prior to the start of testing on Tuesday, Lotus will complete a short shakedown and demonstration run at the Jerez circuit. The following day the Formula 1 teams (except Marussia) will begin pre-season testing and Kimi Raikkonen will be the first Lotus driver to take the E20 out on track, handing over to Romain Grosjean after two days.
In comparison to the other cars that have the much talked about step nose design, the E20 doesn’t feature a step as drastic as the likes of the Ferrari and Force India, which were unveiled on Friday. Whether this slight change in design will benefit Lotus or not, time will tell.
The next teams to unveil their new cars will be Red Bull, Sauber and Toro Rosso tomorrow at the Jerez circuit in Spain, which will be followed by Williams Tuesday morning before testing gets underway.
New Lotus E20 Launch Day
Today at Jerez, the next car on the 2012 grid is set to be launched as the wraps come off the new Lotus E20. The new chassis has been named after their factory in Enstone, and is set to remain in the legendary black and gold color scheme.
Lotus have an exciting driver partnership for 2012, with 2007 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen returning to the sport after an absence of two seasons. The Finn was not re-signed by Ferrari after the 2009 season, and he went experimenting in the World Rally Championship and Nascar before eventually returning to F1.
Their number two driver is Romain Grosjean, who is also making his return to the sport. The Frenchman is reigning GP2 World Champion, and raced for the team back in 2009 when Lotus were known as Renault. The irony is he was replaced at Renault in 2009 by Vitaly Petrov, and now Grosjean is replacing Vitaly Petrov at the same team in 2012. This goes to show what a vicious circle F1 can be.
With the wraps set to come off the new Lotus a 4pm GMT (5pm CET), all eyes will be eagerly awaiting the design of the new car. Will it feature the ugly step nose design or will it follow McLaren’s design? All will be revealed soon.
Charlie Whiting To Visit Jerez Amid McLaren Legality Concern
Formula 1 Race Director, Charlie Whiting, is set to visit Jerez next week once testing gets underway amid concerns regarding the legality of the McLaren MP4-27, which was launched at their Woking factory on Wednesday.
A report has emerged from Spanish daily Marca that speculates that McLaren could well be hiding illegal aspects of their new car, the MP4-27, with the diffuser of the car non-existent at the launch, seemingly to avoid giving clues away to the opposition.
Another aspect of the car that has risen speculation is a strange bulge at the rear of the car, near the engine cover. With this in mind, the FIA have decided to step in, sending out Charlie Whiting to the Jerez tests with the job of scrutinizing the McLaren and other cars when pre-season testing gets underway.
With McLaren desperate to find more pace to be able to tackle the domination of the Red Bull’s this season, they have shifted away from their usual conservative design and openly admitted designing an aggressive looking car which could well spark legality concerns from their rivals.
With McLaren so far the only team to design a car void of the ugly step nose feature, questions have also arose as to whether this could be an advantage or a disadvantage heading into the new season.
With only a limited amount of time for the teams to test their new cars before the season opening Australian Grand Prix, a set-back from the FIA over legality concerns is the last thing a team like McLaren would need.
Williams Cancelled Planned Shakedown Due To Bad Weather
It has been confirmed today that Williams cancelled their planned shakedown yesterday due to adverse weather conditions, resulting in their new Williams FW34 not taking to the track, contrary to many who believed they completed a pre-launch shakedown.
With their Finnish reserve driver, Valtteri Bottas, traveling to the Spanish test circuit of Idiada yesterday, he was unable to get behind the wheel of the new Williams as bad weather plagued the circuit.
The plan was for Bottas to complete a shakedown of their new car, which is set to be launched next Tuesday at Jerez, as well as filming various promotional videos for the team. With these plans thwarted due to bad weather, the team are now preparing for the Jerez test which gets underway next week shortly after the launch of the new car.
It seems the weather is currently in control of Formula 1 as Ferrari were also hampered due to adverse weather at their Fiorano circuit today, resulting in the team canceling their planned shakedown and launching their car online instead. The Fiorano circuit has been hit with heavy snow over the last few days.
Williams Complete Pre-Launch Shakedown
Williams have today completed a shakedown of their new 2012 car, the Renault powered Williams FW34 at the Spanish test circuit of Idiada. Their Finnish reserve driver, Valtteri Bottas, got behind the wheel as the team prepare to launch their car next week.
With a strict testing ban currently in place in Formula 1, teams aren’t strictly allowed to test their cars before the official pre-season testing gets underway on Tuesday at the Jerez circuit. However, Williams have disclosed that both the team and Valtteri Bottas were at the circuit completing promotional filming of the new car.
Williams now head to Jerez where they are set to launch their new car on 7th February, with the team then running the car shortly after as pre-season testing gets underway. Venezuelan driver Pastor Maldonado will drive the car for the first two days, before handing over to new team-mate Bruno Senna on Thursday.
Ferrari Launch Event Cancelled Due To Heavy Snow
Ferrari’s launch event which was planned for tomorrow morning has been cancelled due to their Fiorano circuit currently under a thick blanket of snow. The event was due to include a shakedown of their new 2012 car, as well as opportunities for filming purposes.
Today Ferrari announced they had completely cancelled the event, with their new 2012 car set to be launched online. The usual ritual for Ferrari is to have their new car complete a certain number of shakedown laps on their own Fiorano test circuit, using the time to film promotional videos and take further pictures of their car in action.
Instead the car will be launched online, along with pictures, interviews and technical analysis similar to what was seen yesterday as McLaren launched their new car online.
“It is still snowing heavily here in Maranello. Therefore, the launch ceremony of the new F1 car has been cancelled,” was what the team announced on their Twitter page earlier today.
Felipe Massa will be the first driver to test the car once pre-season testing begins at Jerez next week.
McLaren Set To Unveil 2012 Car
McLaren will become the first of the front running teams to launch their 2012 car this morning, with the car set to be unveiled at 11am. This will be first in a series of car launches over the next few days as the teams prepare for pre-season testing next week.
Yesterday McLaren announced they are expecting a battle over the legality of the car, with the team stating their car has obvious design innovations which could spark questions or even protests from their rivals.
With McLaren hoping to be able to challenge or preferably beat Red Bull this coming season, it’s understandable they have opted for a car that could well spark controversy before it hits the track in anger at the Australian Grand Prix.
With under an hour before the car is unveiled, be sure to check back at Andy’s F1 Blog for more throughout the day, as well as watch the unveiling yourself at the official McLaren website.
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