Marussia's 2012 car made its track debut on Monday, despite having failed to pass all the mandatory FIA crash tests. But because the action at Silverstone is the team's 'filming and promotional' pre-season running, rather than an official test, it was allowed by the governing body and rival teams. Designed by former Renault man Pat Symonds, the MR01 - fitted on Monday with demonstration Pirelli tyres - does not feature a 'step nose', uniquely in common with technical partner McLaren's 2012 solution. "It has been […]

As a grand prix team, Sauber is really quite astonishing. Every season – except for the BMW days – they operate on a budget that amounts to roughly £1.50 and continue to fight in the midfield. However, could they be the team that struggles in 2012? Such a statement will only be pure speculation, but track side observers have noted nothing special from Sauber. It appears to be on a similar level to the C30, which finished seventh in the championship, although the problem could […]

Sebastien Buemi, Red Bull's reserve driver in 2012, spent time watching Wednesday's Barcelona test action from a trackside vantage point. "I like the Red Bull and the Force India the best," said the Swiss, after Nico Hulkenberg set the surprise pace. "(McLaren's Lewis) Hamilton and Hulkenberg can brake late and get back on the gas early. "You can tell that the Red Bull has fuel on board, but still the (RB8) is very good. But you can see that the tyres are old," explained Buemi. […]

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has admitted that the team is keeping its cards close to its chest ahead of the 2012 season. Under the glare of the F1 world's eyes, the title-defending RB8 has been in action for four days at Jerez recently. But when the Adrian Newey-designed car was officially launched, the team refused to host a traditional unveiling ceremony, instead releasing a short animated video. "We didn't want it photographed at the first opportunity from every side by our competition," admitted […]

Mercedes got its Barcelona test off to an early start on Sunday. At the same time, the rest of the F1 world was only setting up at the Circuit de Catalunya ahead of Tuesday's kick-off for the second of three pre-season testing sessions. Mercedes, however, trod a different path recently by keeping its 2012 car under development at its Brackley factory while main rivals including Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren got their test campaigns up and running. Again running Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg this […]

After step noses and clever exhausts, the latest buzzword in the Jerez paddock is 'Lotus'. "I am one of the happiest guys in the world right now," said Romain Grosjean on Thursday after easily outpacing Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel. The reigning GP2 champion was also quicker than the 2012 McLaren, steered for the first time on Thursday by Lewis Hamilton. Drawing conclusions based on test results is an unreliable practice, but the body language in the Lotus garage so far is confident. "For the first […]

Sahara Force India completed a second day of work in Jerez as new reserve driver, Jules Bianchi, enjoyed his first run in the VJM05. In the afternoon Paul Di Resta returned to the cockpit to wrap up his time in the car this week. The programme saw a continuation of yesterday’s work as the team continued to collect data and evaluated test items. As well as systems checks and further set-up evaluation, the team also carried out some aero work. Jules is back in action […]

Official testing action for the 2012 season burst into life in Jerez on Tuesday, with every team except Marussia - and nine all-new cars in action for the first time - kicking off their campaigns. Returning 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen was fastest all day. "The lap times don't matter today," Lotus' Finn insisted. "I do have a good feeling, and that was not always the case in my career after the first day of testing," he told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport. "But I […]

Circuito de Jerez, Jerez de la Frontera Tuesday the 7th of February 2012 Weather: Sunny – air 19°C, track 27°C Circuit length: 4.423 km Pedro de la Rosa  F111-002 #23 12th 1’23.676 First day of pre-season testing in Jerez The Winter break has been a short one and, after only two months, a renewed HRT F1 Team returned to action today for the first Formula 1 pre-season tests being held at the Circuito de Jerez, with Pedro de la Rosa as the only driver at […]

Circuit: Jerez de la Frontera, 4.423 kms. Driver: Daniel Ricciardo Car: STR7 – 01 57 laps: Best time: 1:20.694 57 laps for STR 7 on the 7 Daniel Ricciardo: “It was really nice to be back in the cockpit for the first time since the Brazilian Grand Prix in November and being the first person to drive the STR7 was a little bonus. It was great to experience taking a completely new car out of the garage. We had a very productive morning, doing over […]

Lotus F1 Team principal puts 2011’s travails behind him and looks forward to the potential of the 2012 season. How are you looking forward to 2012 and what do you hope can be achieved? Obviously 2012 is very welcome after a poor 2011 and very hectic year. It’s clear we’ve maintained our ambition on track and we want to carry on the full restructuring, progress and change that we started one year ago. We now have a clear target. We know that we have a […]

The next pieces are set to fall into place as a busy period in the world of Formula One continues. With four 2012 cars now launched, the next one - Lotus' new E20 car - will head the headlines on Sunday afternoon when it is unveiled online from the former Renault team's Enstone base. At the same time, F1 teams - including Lotus - are busily setting up at Jerez for the first group test of the pre-season. "No snow here," Lotus said from Spain […]