After being forced to cancel their planned launch ceremony due to snow, Ferrari’s presented their 2012 car to the world via the internet on Friday morning. The F2012 will make its testing debut at Jerez in Spain next week.

As predicted, the Italian team’s new machine uses a stepped-nose design to meet new regulations on front chassis height and practically every area of the car has been fundamentally revised from its 2011 predecessor.

The rear suspension is now a pull-rod layout, in line with recent trends, but interestingly so is the front. Both changes are aimed at improving aerodynamic performance and lowering the F2012’s centre of gravity. (more…)

Fernando Alonso insists Ferrari “have to” fight for the titles this season as they seek to confine their dismal 2011 showing to the past.

Ferrari had a trying time last year as they struggle to take the fight to the Red Bulls and McLarens, eventually finishing a distant third.

Hampered by their inability to get heat into their Pirelli tyres in qualifying, they were permanently on the back foot on grand prix Sundays resulting in just one victory the entire season.

Ferrari’s woes led to the fall of technical director Aldo Costa who was replaced by former McLaren man Pat Fry.

Fry stated at the time of his appointment that one of Ferrari’s shortfalls was their approach to the design of their cars, which needed to be more aggressive – and that’s exactly what was on display when the Italian outfit took the covers off their new car on Friday.

“(The car) looks very different from what we have seen in the past two years,” Alonso said of his new boxer nose F2012. (more…)

Paul di Resta has billed his new Force India VJM05 as a “fine piece of art” despite unveiling a rather unattractive boxer-nosed machine…

Opting to launch their new car at the Silverstone circuit near the team’s headquarters, Force India duo di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg were on hand to take the covers off their 2012 challenger.

The car, named the VJM05, features a lowered nose and high front suspension similar to that of the new Ferrari F2012 and the Caterham.

But while the car may not be pretty by most people’s standards, di Resta is hoping it is at least quick.

“That’s the big aim this year, to come fifth as a constructor,” the Scot told Sky Sports News. (more…)

Ferrari chief designer Nikolas Tombazis says that the the team has adopted a new philosophy for the F2012 and that it has been aggressive chasing aerodynamic performance.

The new car was unveiled online on Friday, and features a prominent ‘stepped’ nose where the lower nose meets the front of the chassis. Having only won one race in 2011, Tombazis admitted that the team had adopted a more aggressive philosophy for the design of the car in order to close the gap to McLaren and Red Bull.

“At the start of the design phase of this car we decided to apply much more aggressive targets and we had as a principal objective to recover our aerodynamic deficit compared to our main competitors,” Tombazis said. “We have established – and I think it’s fairly clear – that we were down on aerodynamic performance compared to our opponents so we’ve had to work quite hard to recover that. (more…)

Narain Karthikeyan will partner Pedro de la Rosa in HRT’s line-up for the 2012 season. Karthikeyan competed at the first eight 2011 Grands Prix for the Spanish team, before stepping aside for Red Bull protege Daniel Ricciardo, but made a one-off race return at his home Grand Prix in India in October.

“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,” said the Chennai-born driver. “I was pleased with our strong performance at the Indian Grand Prix, in front of my passionate home fans and I look forward to building on this result in 2012. I have been training hard since the end of 2011, ensuring I was ready for the rigours of F1 if an opportunity arose.

“I am delighted to have signed with HRT F1 Team. With the new management, Pedro, and the team, there is definite potential for progress. We need to understand that F1 is new to India, we hosted our first race only last year which was a resounding success. To build on that momentum, an Indian driver will certainly keep the interest engaged throughout the season. I am proud to secure an opportunity to forge a stronger connection between India and Formula One once again.” (more…)