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2012 Ferrari F2012 news, pictures, and information | ||
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F2012: new single-seater presentation
The F2012 is the fifty eighth car built by Ferrari wîth the express purpose of taking part in the Formula 1 World Championship. It adopts a well established tradition of being named after its year of manufacture.The project, which goes by the internal code number of 663, constitutes the Scuderia's interpretation of the technical and sporting regulations that apply this year: the main changes when compared to 2011 concern the height of the front section of the chassis, the position of the exhaust pipes and the mapping for the electronic engine management. Practically every area of the car has been fundamentally revised, starting wîth the suspension layout: both the front and rear feature pull-rods, aimed at favouring aerodynamic performance and lowering the centre of gravity. The front wing is derived from the one introduced on the 150º Italia in the final part of its racing life and has been evolved from there. Further evolutions are planned in this area for the opening races of the season. The nose has a step in it that is not aesthetically pleasing: wîth the requirement from the regulations to lower the front part, this was a way of raising the bottom part of the chassis as much as possible for aerodynamic reasons. The sides have been redesigned, through modifications to the side impact structures, the repositioning of the radiators and revisions to all aerodynamic elements. The lower part of the rear of the car is much narrower and more tapered, a feature achieved partly through a new gearbox casing and a relocation of some mechanical components. In recent years, the area of exhausts has been crucial in terms of car performance and much effort was expended on this front, based on changes to the regulations introduced this year. The rear wing is conceptually similar to the one used in 2011, but every detail of it has been revised and it is now more efficient. Naturally, it is still fitted wîth DRS (a drag reduction system,) which is operated hydraulically. The front and rear air intakes for the brakes have been redesigned and work was carried out in collaboration wîth Brembo to optimise the braking system.
The engine in the F2012 is an evolution of the one that powered last year's car, which is inevitable given that the technical regulations forbid any modification to internal components aimed at increasing performance. Furthermore, much effort has gone into improving its installation in the new chassis, so as not to penalise the aerodynamics of the car. Another area on which the Maranello engine specialists have been working is performance drop off, wîth the aim of maintaining the highest possible performance level throughout each engine's cycle of use, which has now reached an average life of three races. The electronic management of the engine has been revised based on the modifications to the rules regarding the use of exhaust gases, a task that has required a great deal of attention and many hours on the test bed. The kinetic energy recovery system maintains its low central location in the car – a choice also aimed at maximising safety – and has undergone an update directed mainly at reducing its weight and at improving the efficiency of some of its components. Several decades of technical collaboration wîth Shell has seen further progress on the fuel and lubricants front, revolving around improving performance in absolute terms and on durability over the life cycle of the engines, as well as reducing consumption. As usual, great attention has been paid to the electronics on the car, especially in terms of reducing weight and, obviously, reliability.
As always at Ferrari, a great deal of time has been devoted to the performance and optimisation of the materials used, right from the design stage of each of around six thousand components that make up the car. In part, this is done to ensure that all operations carried out at the race track are as efficient and effective as possible. Obviously, quality control remains a crucial aspect, as does the goal of reaching maximum levels of performance and reliability, while maintaining the highest possible safety standards. ( posted on conceptcarz.com)With a reduction in the number of days available for track testing before the start of the Championship, which has dropped from fifteen to twelve, preparatory work on the test beds prior to the car's track debut, has taken on even more importance. The three test sessions – at Jerez de la Frontera and Barcelona – will serve to get a picture of the handling of the F2012 and to adapt it to the Pirelli tyres. Indeed, getting the most out of the tyres has been an area that has seen a lot of work both at the design stage and in how the activities at the track are to be managed. The car is due to undergo a very intensive development programme over the first part of the season, especially on the aerodynamic front.Source - Ferrari
Alonso: 'The times mean nothing, neither today's nor yesterday's…'
Seen from the outside, this Jerez test for Scuderia Ferrari might seem a bit schizophrenic: always a long way back on the time sheet for the first three days, about two or three seconds off the pace and then suddenly, Fernando Alonso is fastest on the fourth day, almost a second ahead of the rest.In fact nothing had changed: the team continued to work on its own programme, centred almost exclusively at gathering data to understand the handling of the F2012. The 1.18.877 set by Fernando this morning means little, as the Spanish driver stressed when he met the press at the end of the test.
'This time is worth nothing as is the one I set yesterday and those of the previous days,' said Fernando. 'Yesterday, we worked mainly wîth the hard tyres and the others ran the softs and we were seventh. Today, we fitted the Softs and maybe the others did not and we are first. That's all it is.
'We got on wîth our job, even if today and yesterday we had some reliability problems we could have done without which prevented us from doing everything we would have wanted,' continued the Ferrari man. 'For me, it was good to be back in the car after two and a half months and feel once again all the emotions that come wîth driving a Formula 1 car. I think that, from the start of the test up to today, we have improved a great deal, it's like night and day, but there is still much to do, especially on the aerodynamics and on reliability. Then, we will see if it is really a sign of great strength to have immediately done so many kilometres: last year, on the first day we did a lot of laps and then we know how things turned out, so maybe there was too big a margin…'
As did Felipe, Fernando also stressed that the car has a big margin for improvement. 'Everything about this car is new, wîth very few parts carried over from last year's and there are many innovations, which have come out of a different philosophy to the one adopted in the past. For example, the power §teering: it's new and we worked a lot these past days on sorting it out and today we began to see the benefits for the first time. As I said earlier, there is much to do, but that doesn't scare us.
'These past few days we have done a great deal of laps, just to gather data, without being able to do much work in any depth on the set-up, therefore I think that, when we will be able to do that, we will also improve the performance. Already, here at Jerez, the moment we did make some changes, we got the response we were expecting, even if it's true that the fact the car is more complex from a mechanical and aerodynamic point of view definitely makes the tasks more complex. Today we saw a good example of that: we have only done around forty laps partly because it took so much time to carry out the changes we needed to make on the car to complete our programme. I think that in Barcelona, when we will be back on track, the situation will be different and we will be much better prepared compared to this test, where above all we had to learn how to get to grips wîth this car. Even we the drivers have more to do, because wîth so many new things on the car it's even more vital we give the right feedback to the engineers.'
Fernando obviously did not want to launch into predictions about the championship. 'We will see, as there are still several weeks to go to Melbourne. Here, day after day, we have progressed, getting ever more confident in the car: we must continue in this direction and improve, but it is much too early to draw any conclusions.' The Lotus in the running for the title? I don't know as even for them it's a bit early and I would rather just say I am very happy to see Kimi back: he's a great driver and a great person.'
Finally, Fernando also wanted to reply to those who wanted to bring up the subject of stories and gossip doing the rounds in the media and on the internet these last few weeks. 'I was on holiday in Rome and in Asia wîth some friends and anyway it's easy to do cut and paste wîth photos,' said Fernando. 'What is certain is the day that I have a girlfriend, my true friends and my family will definitely not be posting photos on the internet. A word is enough to the wise…'Source - Ferrari
Chinese Grand Prix – Still a long way to go
Even before the winter tests in Spain in February had come to an end, the media and 'F1 experts' were already talking about Scuderia Ferrari being 'in crisis.' This phrase is hardly new, having been used countless times in the 62 year history of the most successful team in the sport. However, in interviews wîth the press, the drivers and senior management did not deny the fact that the F2012 was displaying some shortcomings in overall performance, particularly on the aerodynamic front and in terms of top speed. There were positives too, such as the Prancing Horse's inability to get tyres up to temperature quickly, apparently having been solved wîth this year's car. However, the opening round in Melbourne showed that the Ferrari did not have the measure of the fastest cars. However, just seven days after he finished fifth in the Australian Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso stood on the top step of the Sepang podium and got down from it leading the Drivers' championship. How could this happen? A miracle? An accelerated one week development programme? Nothing of the sort as the team's Technical Director Pat Fry explained. 'Our position is down to a combination of circumstances, especially the fact that Fernando had two very good races,' began the Englishman. 'In Melbourne, after an issue in qualifying, Fernando's good start and good first corner made up for a lot of things. The weather conditions at the last race worked in our favour, as our car worked well there and he made the most of the opportunities that came his way. We got the pit stop calls right and the pit crew did a fantastic job, so that every time Fernando came into pit lane, we either gained places or extended the lead still further. For Fernando, it's great to be leading the championship, something I would have not expected just a few weeks ago.'I certainly wasn't expecting to have one driver leading the championship. From quite early on in testing, we realised we had quite a few issues we needed to sort out. Everyone at the factory has been working hard at that, as we still have a long way to go. I think our dry qualifying performance is still around 8 tenths off the best while we want to be the best ourselves. Damp low grip conditions suit our car and flatter some of the issues we have wîth the F2012 at the moment. You could see that in Melbourne on Friday and again in the race in Malaysia.'
While the Scuderia's Spanish double world champion has his name at the top of the classification, team-mate Felipe Massa has yet to score a point, struggling more wîth the car balance. 'The car is quite difficult to drive and Fernando has managed to get the most out of it, while wîth Felipe, we have struggled to find the right balance to keep him happy,' admitted Fry. 'In addition, in Malaysia, we had Felipe on intermediates after the red flag but we had a lot of understeer and so we took the gamble of an additional pit stop which did not work out. The fact the tyres were only graining and not worn out was about the only call we got wrong from the pit wall at the last race. It was a set-back for Felipe, one of a few unfortunate circumstances for him.'
'If I was asked to rate the overall performance of the Scuderia so far, I'd mark it differently depending on different sections of the company,' continued Fry. 'The team, the mechanics at the track have worked very well: in Melbourne we had the quickest pit stops and in Malaysia the speed of the pit crew and the strategy saw us gain position or time on others every time we pitted. However, ranking the actual performance of the package, I'd rate it much lower. Another plus is the way the team is responding, dealing wîth the stresses of trying to play catch-up. The Manufacturing department, working on some of the more aggressive requests we've made, has responded very well. So, it's been a great team effort, but we haven't done a good job in getting the car out on track to be quickest from the start.' Technical development of a Formula 1 car usually moves along two paths: the first one follows a plan set out even as the car is first being designed and built, while the second feeds off lessons learned during testing and races. At the moment, because of the performance shortfall, the Scuderia is also having to move down a third path, which involves trying to speed up development and introduce updates earlier than planned. 'We are constantly working on improving the issues we have,' said Fry. 'New parts are coming through and we are trying to get them to the race track as quickly as possible – We will have five updates for China, some are quite visible others less so. Then there will be a bigger upgrade package for Spain. It would be nice to have them earlier, but we have already brought forward some parts we were developing for Spain and we should have them in China.'
 | Vital Stats |
| Engine : 2.4 L., 8-cylinder | |
7-speed Semi-Automatic | |
There have been eight Chinese Grands Prix to date and Scuderia Ferrari has won three of them, starting wîth Rubens Barrichello's victory in the event's inaugural year, 2004. Then, 2006 and 2007 saw victories for Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen respectively. Fernando Alonso won from pole in 2005, although not at the wheel of a red car and the Spaniard was also on the podium for the two following years in second place. Felipe Massa has also enjoyed the view from the spectacular podium at the Shanghai International Circuit, coming home third in 2007 and doing one better the following year. The Shanghai circuit is just under five and a half kilometres in length and the facility itself is built on an epic scale as a testament to China's desire to be the biggest economic powerhouse on the globe. It is one of designer Hermann Tilke's more challenging track layouts, wîth many long corners that generate high lateral g-forces, so good overall balance and stability under braking are important aspects of the car package. Pirelli is providing its Soft and Medium compound tyres, but the smooth surface means tyre wear is not usually a problem here, although wîth few races held during the season, the track can be rather dirty for the first day of practice. 'Shanghai is a good mixture,' confirms Fry. 'There are long low speed corners where you need a good front end and there's a requirement to brake and turn in at the same time, so carrying speed through the first corner into the second is particularly interesting. There are some reasonably high speed corners too and a 1.3 kilometre straight wîth the DRS zone at the end of it should make it interesting for the race.' The Chinese Grand Prix has often been affected by rain and no doubt that would suit the plans of the Scuderia, given Alonso's wet weather performance in Malaysia…Source - Ferrari
| Brazilian GP - We almost did it in Interlagos | |
 | Two drivers on the podium and 33 points – the biggest haul of the season – was not enough for Scuderia Ferrari to help Fernando Alonso win the Drivers' title. The Spaniard finished the Brazilian Grand Prix in second place, to record his thirteenth podium finish of his extraordinary season. Alongside him in third place for the second time this season and for a fourth time in his home race was Felipe Massa. At the end of the twenty races making up this the longest season in the history of Formula ...[Read more...] |
| Montezemolo: 'Proud to have been contenders to the very last' | |
 | Maranello, 26 November – The night following a great disappointment is always hard to deal with. One struggles to get to sleep, thinking about what might have been, what was within one's grasp. Only a few steps – or three points, depending on how you want to measure the distance, separated Fernando Alonso from a world title, which this year like never before, he so richly deserved. Despite everything, the word most often heard on the lips of the Ferrari men is pride. Fernando used it yesterday o...[Read more...] |
| United States GP - We're going down to the wire in Brazil | |
 | Austin, 18 November – Fernando Alonso's championship chances are still alive! The first race to be held at the Circuit of the Americas, outside the Texas capital proved to be every bit as exciting as had been predicted. Plenty of drama, lots of overtaking and for the Scuderia Ferrari duo, a third place for Fernando Alonso and a fourth for Felipe Massa, after great drives from both men. After a difficult qualifying on Saturday, this is a fantastic result. Lewis Hamilton has the honour of b...[Read more...] |
| UNITED STATES GP - A RESULT THAT KEEPS HOPES ALIVE | |
 | Scuderia Ferrari comes away from the USA Grand Prix with 27 points to its name, thanks to a third place for Fernando Alonso and a fourth for Felipe Massa. This was Fernando's twelfth podium finish of the season, the thirteenth for the team. The Spaniard sees the gap between him and the leader now grow to 13 points, while with a ninth consecutive points finish, out of a total thirteen so far this season, Felipe consolidates seventh place. Ferrari's lead over the third placed team in the Construct...[Read more...] |
| INDIAN GP - A FRIDAY LIKE SO MANY OTHERS | |
 | The second running of the Indian Grand Prix got underway in straightforward fashion for Scuderia Ferrari. In the three hours of free practice, Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa completed a total of105 laps; 58 for the Spaniard and 47 for the Brazilian. Fernando Alonso: 'This is an interesting circuit: after the longest straight, there's a combination of high speed corners which are very nice to drive. Today the track was still very dirty, which is usually the case at new tracks that aren't us...[Read more...] |
| ALONSO'S TEN PEARLS | |
| Famous Italian pop singer Lucio Battisti might have settled for ten girls in his 1969 song, but there's no way Fernando Alonso is going to settle for his ten wins to date as a Ferrari man. However, it is an important round number, good enough to put him in fifth place on the list of the drivers who have won the most for the Scuderia in Formula 1. It might be very difficult, if not impossible, for him to reach Michael Schumacher's total of 72 wins, but the other three ahead of him are within his ...[Read more...] | |
| CHINESE GP PREVIEW - FRY: 'MORE TO COME AS WE CONTINUE LEARNING ABOUT THE CAR' | |
 | This year, the Chinese Grand Prix celebrates its tenth birthday, with every race having taken place at the massive and monolithic Shanghai International Circuit. As Formula 1 has expanded its horizons in recent years, it has generally headed for nations that were expanding their economy. That was definitely the case when the sport landed in the country with the second highest Gross Domestic Product. Since then, China's growth on the automotive front has run at the speed of a Formula 1 machine, m...[Read more...] |
| Formula One: British Grand Prix | |
 | Lotus showed strong pace once again during the team's home race at Silverstone, but difficulties on Saturday ultimately kept them off the podium. While the sun came out on Sunday, Friday and Saturday's running was wet and slippery. During qualifying, Romain Grosjean set the fifth fastest Q2 time but then beached his Lotus E20 in the gravel, meaning he was unable to compete in Q3. He started the grand prix ninth, benefiting from Nico Hulkenberg's five place gearbox-change penalty. Kimi was abl...[Read more...] |
| Monaco GP – A challenge for seventy years | |
 | At the previous round of the championship in Barcelona, where Fernando Alonso produced yet another fantastic drive in his Ferrari F2012 to take second place, the majority of teams had introduced new packages to coincide with the first European race of the season. If some elements had failed to deliver a clear picture of their benefits, there was usually talk of waiting to see how they would perform in Canada. Had the designers and engineers forgotten that, before going to Montreal, the F1 circus...[Read more...] |
| Monaco, 21 May 1950: where it all began | |
 | It all began exactly on this day, the 21st May. Sixty two years ago, on this very same circuit that wends its way through the Principality of Monaco and which this coming Sunday, hosts the sixth round of the 2012 World Championship, Scuderia Ferrari made its debut in the Formula 1 World Championship. There were four Ferraris entered in the race: two 125 F1s, in the GP49 evolution, entrusted to the Italians Alberto Ascari and Luigi Villoresi and two 125 F1s for France's Raymond Sommer and the Bri...[Read more...] |
Drivers:
Fernando Alonso
Felipe MassaTeam
Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro2012 SeasonPoints: 400
Position: 2
Engine: Ferrari 056
2013 Entry: F138
2011 Entry: 150° Italia
2010 Entry: F10
2009 Entry: F60
2008 Entry: F2008
2007 Entry: F2007
2006 Entry: 248
2005 Entry: F2005
2004 Entry: F2004
2003 Entry: F2003-GA
2002 Entry: F2002
2001 Entry: F2001
2000 Entry: F1-2000
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