2012 Formula One Discussion

[cformula1]

The Ferrari of now is just like the Ferrari of the early 1990s- a disorganised, press-sensitive mess. And, like the Ferrari of the early 1990s, they aren't performing well on the track either. Seems that the hard work of Jean Todt to change this culture has gone to waste in recent years.

[phil1993]

Maria De Villota has joined Marussia as a test driver.

[Ferrariman60]

Maria De Villota has joined Marussia as a test driver.

Very pleased to see her getting the test drive. We need her on the grid so maybe she can boost F1's popularity in the US (Americans are very intrigued by women in racecars)

[phil1993]

Danica Danica Danica Danica Danica Danica - the coverage of Daytona

Feature coming tomorrow about women drivers (because of International Womens Day) - this will be added to it!

[donald29]

Maria De Villota has joined Marussia as a test driver.

Oh dear. Lets hope she never has the cash to race. Would do more harm than good for aspiring women drivers.

http://www.driverdb.com/drivers/maria-d ... ta/career/

[reppo]

Maria De Villota has joined Marussia as a test driver.

Didn't she say, she will be test driver of Lotus. Is it this time true?

[reppo]

No need to bash Ferrari. Italian press and tifosis take care of that. This is quote from Heikki Kulta's blog. Last Thursday he went asking Italian reporters how do they feel about Ferrari's testing:
http://blogit.ts.fi/formulablogi/2012/0 ... paansarky/ (in Finnish)

Alberto Antonini, Auro Sprint:
- You ask the hypothetical grid position. Ferrari probably ought to fall somewhere from ninth place and down, maybe fifth at it's best.
- Why? Because they have wasted these test weeks. They are back again in the starting point in an attempt to understand the car.
- When I look the other Italian team Toro Rosso now on Thursday, practicing pit stops, they are clearly ready for first race, while Ferrari is still a long way behind them.
- This is not fun to say out loud, but I fear that Ferrari can be expecting as bad season as in 2009, maybe even worse.
And how is the patience of tifosis in Italy?
- I believe that it is stretched to the limit in the same way as in Ferrari's garage. It is starting to get on the nerves - and is clearly visible. Similarly it is getting on nerves of us journalists, says Antonini.
What about whether there is light in the tunnel?
- You mean in wind tunnel ...? Maybe out there, but nowhere else. The first race where you can expect better is earliest when European season begins.

Marco Evangelisti, Corriere dello Sport:
- If we were in Australia right now, Ferrari's season would start very badly. The truth is that up to date the team has failed to understand the car. The car is completely different from what has been made in Maranello before. It is now based on English school. Details have been designed differently, and everything culminates to aerodynamic solutions.
- The team's organization has changed just as much as the ideology of building a car. Now Maranello is like little Woking. Small departments will work with each other, while all the experience in Ferrari is from operating in pyramid organization.
- There will tremendous difficulties to understand, first of all, how this organization can be operated effectively and how to learn it quickly the car it has built.
Evangelisti reminds that the car has not yet got a new aero update, which is obtained only for the last two days of the test.
- Time is running out. It is quite impossible to say how fast Ferrari is or how fast it comes. In reality, testing started in the afternoon at last day of previous test. It is impossible to say whether it is ready at all for the opening race.
- Now on Thursday Ferrari was working on various setups. It should have been done already in the first test in Jerez.
- And where Ferrari is now? At least it is behind Red Bull, McLaren and maybe also Mercedes, I'm not so sure about Lotus, because they too have had their own problems.
- Our patience is being tested in Italy. No one denies that. Tifosis have been very patient for a long time, but now in this year we have already gone to conditional patient. Everyone begins to be pretty skeptical. In the team everyone is very nervous, Evangelisti said.

Paolo Ianieri, La Gazzetta dello Sport:
- Ferrari's testing has gone in learning, learning, learning, and learning. At the moment, ahead of Ferrari are at least Red Bull, McLaren, Mercedes, probably Lotus and even Force India. From Ferrari's point of view it is really bad, that testing is so limited.
- In Italy the mood goes quite along with Ferrari. In the beginning it was really hard, but when the team assured to start to understand the car, it helped a little. Tifosis are waiting, lets wait and see, as Kimi has taught them his flying sentence.
- If the changes help, good, but who knows, Ianieri yearned.

This was published at 1st of this month, but I don't think much has changed in Ferrari after the test.

[reppo]

The Ferrari of now is just like the Ferrari of the early 1990s- a disorganised, press-sensitive mess. And, like the Ferrari of the early 1990s, they aren't performing well on the track either. Seems that the hard work of Jean Todt to change this culture has gone to waste in recent years.

Jean Todt once said:

"Stefano's role is the eye of the storm," Todt, referring to the immense pressure of leading Ferrari, told Corriere della Sera newspaper on Wednesday.
"I was also constantly the subject of criticism and I'm proud that in the end I made the decision about how I should retire after all the risks that I would be fired."

http://ferraricircuit.com/2011-12-29/f1 ... t-ferrari/

They have now changed about everything except Domenicali and Montezemolo. I hope Fry gets enough time to bring Ferrari up. Neither Stefano or Luca is the one who can do it.

[reppo]

http://www.ts.fi/moottoriurheilu/f1/319 ... stiautoksi (in Finnish)

Räikkönen's Valencia Renault becomes test car of Pirelli
F1 | Turun Sanomat 19:06

Long searched for test car of tyre supplier Pirelli has finally been finished, and Pirelli will test this year with Renault team's 2010 R30 car. The same car Kimi Raikkonen become accustomed to F1 in the test in January in Valencia.

Pirelli used for two years Toyota's 2009 car. Becuse it was from the time when refuelling was still allowed, determining the test data was very laborious.

The Italian company was seeking access to a newer car, but teams could not agree who's old car could be used without such team benefitting from the test data in some way.

Winter tests ended in Barcelona on Sunday and the only permitted test during the season will take place 1-3. May in Mugello. Pirelli is now able to drive their own test program and make their own experiments with Renault's car.

Pirelli plans to have 4-5 tests like in last year to be driven in Barcelona, Jerez, Monza and Spa. The first test takes place in May. Teams can send their observers to every test, even if the data information is not submitted at all to them.

- It was clear that we needed a more recent test car, Toyota TF109 had served us very well so far. However, it was already three years old, after which the technology has made significant progress, Pirelli Motorsport Director Paul Hembery said.

- With our new car we can drive according current fuel regulations and so we can simulate the race distance and balance changes caused by tyres more effectively.

Pirelli will announce their test driver later, but reportedly Jarno Trulli who left Caterham is one of the strong candidates. Last year in the test team there already has been Lucas di Grassi.

Turun Sanomat

HEIKKI KULTA

[donald29]

I love how AUTOSPORT just said Pirelli will use a Renault R30, in that Finnish article the headline is "Raikkonen's Renault." Everything about Kimi.

[phil1993]

Well, you have no idea how popular Kimi is He sells

[reppo]

I love how AUTOSPORT just said Pirelli will use a Renault R30, in that Finnish article the headline is "Raikkonen's Renault." Everything about Kimi.

Yes. And when Finnish press means Lotus where Kimi drives they write Räikkönen's Lotus Didn't bother to fix that

[reppo]

Well, you have no idea how popular Kimi is He sells

I'm just about to start realize that. I had no idea how popular he is outside of Finland

[sleenster]

For MTV3 headlines they say "Raikkonen's teammate" when they mean Grosjean, "Raikkonen's team" when they mean Lotus and "Raikkonen's boss" when they mean Boullier

[tderias]

My Prediction for Melbourne. Still liable to change ofcourse :P