Formula One 2012

[ctjet]

faaark bruno is doing well!

he's even got his name printed on the front of the car already!

[MattR]

all williams need to do next year is put this man in the team;

http://www.prostfan.com/nicolas.htm

imagine the money they would get having a prost and senna back in the team. I know nick is too old now for F1 but imagine the publicity

[MattR]

maybe I'll bag me some cheap mail-order merch

http://f1store.formula1.com/stores/f1/products/product_details.aspx?pid=103505

[sh@un]

yeah, nah

[ctjet]

possible 2012 nose

[Roy]

So what does all this SKY stuff mean to us Aussie punters. There is nothing in ONE or on FOXTEL explaining what it means to Aussie viewers

[wolverine]

well that's more charitable to your new employer than saying "died driving for"

That's is what you say when you quit or get fired from the team.

[PIG747]

So what does all this SKY stuff mean to us Aussie punters. There is nothing in ONE or on FOXTEL explaining what it means to Aussie viewers

True I'd also like to know this!

[tweety bird]

agreed, i want to know as well.

Edited January 18, 2012 by tweety bird

[JAS-25T]

I remember them saying it wont change the broadcast here on One, but I think they will just get different commentators each time the broadcaster changes.

[N1GTR]

Rejuvenated Williams targeting brighter 2012 season 18 Jan 2012

There’s no doubting the 2011 season was a bitter pill for Williams to swallow. Ninth in the standings after scoring five points was their worst-ever campaign. But rather than going to ground, the British team are intent on making amends to their steadfast fans and fighting their way back up the order.

As a result, changes have been afoot at their Oxfordshire base for some time, with a new engine courtesy of Renault, a revised technical team and - most recently - a new driver in Bruno Senna just some of the alterations underway. And chief operations engineer Mark Gillan is hopeful they will make a difference and that the team could be back fighting for top-ten race results in 2012.

“Obviously it will be quite a significant improvement in performance but that is our goal and I am reasonably confident looking forward that we will achieve that goal,” he said. “We want to be consistently in points and in the top ten. We want to be through to Q3 and scoring points at the end of the race. I am confident that we can achieve that goal.

“The overall development of the car is going well and is on plan. We are scheduled for first testing at the beginning of February. The car build has just started and the process has dramatically changed from last season to make sure we capture any faults along the way as quickly as possible and not have as many issues as we had last season.

“We passed all the various crash tests before Christmas. General performance trends look very encouraging and again the processes in terms of development and on the design side have dramatically changed. So it’s looking very encouraging. Going forwards, I’d say we are on target.”

One reason for Gillan’s optimism is the FIA’s clampdown on engine mapping and exhaust positioning. Some teams in 2011 gained a huge aerodynamic advantage by using the car’s exhaust gases, but new regulations prevent such activity. The British engineer is hopeful the change could see a much smaller variation in performance across the field, although he doesn’t rule out the possibility of new, must-have innovations taking its place.

“One of the big differentiators last year was the exhaust blowing but the FIA have curtailed its use by both the geometric change to the exhausts, which now have to be rearward facing and you’re not allowed to re-ingest exhaust gas back into the bodywork, and also they have changed the engine mapping,” he explained.

“There were teams that could utilise that and teams that couldn’t, and that is effectively neutered for this season so that will take a few teams back and bring everything closer. With the KERS and DRS it obviously opens up the overtaking opportunities and the racing should be closer than it has been. But then there’s always the next f-duct, trick floor, blown exhaust for this year but it’s just a question of what that will be.”

One stumbling block for Williams could be the relative inexperience of their driver roster. With Senna replacing veteran Rubens Barrichello alongside Pastor Maldonado and reserve Valtteri Bottas, it means the team has a line-up which boasts just 45 Grand Prix starts and 19 test days of experience. Gillan, however, is relishing the challenge and is confident the move will pay off.

“It obviously puts added pressure on the operations side, but to me it is an opportunity,” he concluded. “We have three reasonably inexperienced drivers, but three with great potential and it is up to us as a team - and the drivers - to effectively unlock that potential through the season and maximise the performance. So I see it as an opportunity.”

Although Williams are yet to announce when they will launch the FW34, the team are expected in attendance at the opening pre-season test at the Spanish circuit of Jerez from February 7-10.

[ctjet]

well since its pretty quiet around here

lets have a look at nando's new missus

[NISMATT]

He needs to teach Webber the art of pulling chicks. Hats off to him though she's a definite 10.

[Owgasm]

Fark. Yes please.

She better be in Melbourne in the same attire as above.

[N1GTR]

and a skanky fb style pic thrown in for good measure. Great effort!

[N1GTR]

Hill; F1 will miss Barrichello

Damon Hill believes that Formula 1 will miss Rubens Barrichello if the Brazilian does not return to the grid after missing out on the Williams seat.

Barrichello turns 40 this year and although he has always maintained his desire to continue to race in F1, with only one seat left open at HRT it is unlikely that he will be on the grid in 2012.

Former rival Hill, who raced against Barrichello for seven seasons in F1, believes that he was a big part of the grand prix scene.

“There are a limited number of characters in F1 and Rubens has been thoroughly a positive character,” Hill, newly confirmed as a member of the Sky Sports F1 HD coverage, told AUTOSPORT. “People like and respect Rubens and his abilities.

“He has had an incredibly long career and that is worth a lot – he’s the most experienced F1 driver ever so people will miss him as a person and a driver.”

Hill reckons that if Barrichello’s F1 career is over, it will be difficult for him to adjust to no longer being a grand prix driver.

Barrichello has raced in F1 full-time since 1993 and Hill pointed out that there are few other categories that can offer the same feeling as racing at the top level.

“It’s a really difficult thing for drivers to give up, or to be forced to give up, something they really love and that is their way of life,” said Hill, who retired at the end of 1999.

“You know as a driver that some day it’s going to happen and that you will have to stop. The shame is that there is nowhere to go next for a driver.

“You could go to DTM, but nothing is the same as F1 and there’s no gradual climbdown from it.

“When you’ve been doing it as long as Rubens has, when March comes around, it’s going to be a shock to the system.”

Barrichello has yet to make clear his plans for 2012, although he did wish Bruno Senna, who landed the Williams seat, good luck and say that “the future is wide open” on Twitter.

Autosport

[Roy]

Nice work if you can get it!

[ctjet]

didnt this fcuking guy JUST get divorced?!

mad respect

nigga be ballin'

[wolverine]

I see your Nando and raise you a Flava Flav. I am not surprised Nando can pull a lingerie model.

Flav shows that what you lack in looks, manners, personal hygiene and good taste can be overcome with money.

[sh@un]

Redbull might give you wings, but Ferrari obviously gives you a time machine so you can go pick up in nightclubs 24 years into the future LIKE A BOSS