YallaF1 Magazine 14 March 2012

yallaf1FORMULA 1 MAGAZINE & NEWS DIGEST

14.03.2012

THE BIG PREVIEW

IN THIS ISSUECOUNT DOWN TO

MELBOURNETEAM PREVIEWS

ALL THE HELMETSSIX CHAMPIONS

ON THE GRID

IN THIS ISSUE FIRST FRAME

BUILD-UP TO AUSTRALIAN GP

NEW SEASON, NEW RULES

CHARLIE WHITING INTERVIEW

ALL THE TEAM PREVIEWS

VETTEL, WEBBER , BUTTON, HAMILTON, ALONSO, MASSA, RAIKKONEN, GROSJEAN, SCHUMACHER, ROSBERG, DI RESTA, HULKENBERG, PEREZ, KOBAYASHI, SENNA, MALSONADO, ROCCIARDO, VERGNE, KOVALAINEN, PETROV, KARTHIKEYAN, DE LA ROSA, GLOCK, PIC,

FERRARI CRISIS OR BIG BLUFF

ALL THE DRIVER HELMETS

AND MUCH MORE...

14 March 2012

How four months fly by! It seems like yesterday that the 2011 season came to an end in Brazil - and here we are counting the hours to the season-opener in Melbourne.And boy-o-boy do we have a humdinger of a year in store.All the ingredients are in place for a blockbuster 20 rounds of action in what could well be the closest contest ever in F1.Six world champions on the grid, three, maybe five, teams capable of winning and the reigning champ looking to accomplish the rarest of feats - a hat-trick of titles.The pecking order is blurred and will remain so until qualifying at Albert Park, and thereafter the development race will carry over to each grand prix with the pecking order likely to fluctuate during this longest of seasons.Our magazine aims to keep you abreast of each week’s news, illustrated with the finest photography available. Enjoy!

Content & Credits

• Editor: Peevee• Assistant Editor: Roy Franco• Sub-Editor: Adrian Nel• All content sourced from YallaF1.com• Content providers: PVM, GMM, Reuters, FIA, Red

Bull, Ferrari, McLaren, Lotus, Mercedes, Force india, Sauber, Toro Rosso, Williams, Marussia, Caterham, HRT, Pirelli, Cosworth, Renault and other F1 related organisations.

• Main photography by Sutton Images• Additional photography services provided by F1

teams including Getty Images, LAT, Hoch Zwei, Ercole Colombo

• eMagazine production by YallaF1.com• Contact: [email protected]

FIRST WORD

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World champion Sebastian Vettel is understandably favourite to open the Formula One season with a victory at the Australian Grand Prix this weekend but there are strong indications he will face a much tougher challenge than he did last year. The German’s pole-to-flag victory by a formidable 22.2 seconds at Albert Park last year started a second season of dominance for Vettel and his Red Bull rACING team that culminated in the retention of

drivers’ and constructors’ championships.

SIX WORLD CHAMPIONS, FIVE WINNING TEAMS 2012 MAY BE BEST FORMULA 1 SEASON EVER

COVER STORY 2012 SEASON PREVIEW

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World champion Sebastian Vettel is understandably favourite to open the Formula One season with a victory at the Australian Grand Prix this weekend but there are strong indications he will face a much tougher challenge than he did last year. The German’s pole-to-flag victory by a formidable 22.2 seconds at Albert Park last year started a second season of dominance for Vettel and his Red Bull rACING team that culminated in the retention of

drivers’ and constructors’ championships.

SIX WORLD CHAMPIONS, FIVE WINNING TEAMS 2012 MAY BE BEST FORMULA 1 SEASON EVER

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COVER STORY 2012 SEASON PREVIEW The return to the grid of Kimi Raikkonen after a two-year sabbatical, however, has resulted in the tantalising prospect of five former world champions, not to mention a string of young pretenders, fighting to deny Vettel a title hat-trick. “This season looks like a stellar year for Formula One with six world champions. It’s unprecedented,” Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said. “The quality of the field is phenomenal. I think it’s going to be a really exciting season. “We’re obviously determined to try and carry the momentum we’ve gathered over the last couple of years into this season, but we certainly don’t take anything for granted.” Despite the millions of dollars invested in building the cars and the thousands of kilometres run in testing, no one really knows how the contenders will match up until the covers come off the tyres for Saturday’s qualifying session. Indications are, however, that McLaren, who boast two of the former world champions in Britons Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, will be more competitive from the off than they were after a difficult winter last year. They have pedigree on the Melbourne street circuit too. Button, runner-up in the title race last year, won back-to-back in Melbourne in 2009 and 2010 with Hamilton winning in 2008. “I actually feel more relaxed and ready for the new season than I think I’ve ever done,” said Hamilton, who was fifth in the championship last year.

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COVER STORY 2012 SEASON PREVIEW COVER STORY 2012 SEASON PREVIEW

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“Everything has gone smoothly with the car - which is more than we can say for last year - and it just seems to be a responsive and reliable package.” Raikkonen won in Melbourne in 2007 on his way to winning the title for Ferrari and looks to have eased seamlessly back into Formula One with Lotus, who ran as Renault up until last season. The 32-year-old Finn left the sport after battling with his motivation and, from what he showed in testing, would seem to have a car which could offer him the chance to fight for podiums at least. “He looks like he is driving very well, like he has never really been away,” said Horner. “So much will depend on the car for him, and that will probably affect his motivation.” Ferrari’s former world champion Fernando Alonso, the 2006 winner in Australia, never needs any motivation but he and his team mate Felipe Massa look like facing an uphill battle to get on the podium in their radically overhauled 2012 car. Seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher won the last of his four Australian Grands Prix in 2004 and his Mercedes team are another who have great hopes after positive winter tests. One contender who has never won a world title, nor a grand prix at Albert Park, is Vettel’s Red Bull team mate Mark Webber and the Australian will be at least hoping to improve on his best finish of fifth in his home race. “This will be my eleventh Australian GP and I can’t wait to get started,” said the 35-year-old, who finished third in the championship last year. “It’s been an extremely intense few months for the whole team and it’s incredible when you count up how many sleep-deprived hours have gone in to preparing the car as best we can.”

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I t wouldn’t be a new F1 season without a few new regulations to get our heads around. For 2012, they are relatively few in number, but have had a dramatic impact on the look of

the current generation of Formula One cars – and also have the potential to alter the sporting outcome of races. Here are the most important new sections of the 2012 Sporting and Technical Regulations.

NEW SEASON, NEW REGULATIONS COVER STORY 2012 SEASON PREVIEW

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NEW SEASON, NEW REGULATIONS

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COVER STORY 2012 SEASON PREVIEW Sporting Regulations

Maximum race time: Art. 5.3, no race may now last longer than a maximum of four hours. Last year’s Canadian Grand Prix lasted a total of 4hrs 4min 39.537s, although only 57min 10s were actually spent at racing speed!

Driving etiquette: Arts. 20.2 & 20.3, drivers may no longer leave the track without “justifiable reason”, while the acceptable limits of defensive driving have now been formally written into the rules. Drivers may not make “more than one change of direction to defend a position” and, when moving back onto the racing line, must leave racing room – “at least one car width” – between their car and the edge of the track.

Crash testing: Art. 22.2, all mandatory crash tests must be completed prior to a team conducting any track testing. This was previously only mandatory for race events.

In-season testing: Art. 22.4 (i), provision has now been made for one three-day in-season test, to be held in Mugello from 1 to 3 May. Mercedes topped the tables for average daily

mileage in pre-season testing, completing an average of 472 km per official test day with the F1 W03. The car completed a total of 4,250 km over nine official test days, plus a further 200 km during filming days.

Team curfew exemptions: Art. 30.19, team catering, marketing and media personnel are now formally exempted from the curfew observed by other team members.

New Safety Car rules: Art. 40.12, if it is considered safe to do so, cars that have been lapped by the leader will be allowed to unlap themselves under the Safety Car. This will have the effect of putting the field in position order at every restart and leaving all cars free to race, rather than the leaders having to pass backmarkers, thus improving the racing – in 2011 in Singapore, after the Safety Car period, the presence of backmarkers allowed Sebastian Vettel to build a nine-second lead over second-placed Jenson Button in a single lap! The Safety Car was deployed a total of 12 times over seven races in 2011, compared to 21 times over 12 races in 2010.

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COVER STORY 2012 SEASON PREVIEW Technical Regulations

Lower nose height: Art. 3.7.9, “No bodywork situated more than 1950mm forward of the rear face of the cockpit entry template may be more than 550mm above the reference plane.” This apparently anodyne sentence is at the root of the distinctive stepped-nose appearance of the majority of 2012 F1 cars, as the maximum permitted chassis height remains at 625mm above the reference plane.

Reduced tolerances: Art 3.12.6, permitted manufacturing tolerances for aerodynamic components have been reduced by some 40% to 3mm (from 5mm previously).

Throttle and exhaust controls: Arts. 5.5, 5.6, 5.7, 5.8, the regulations covering these areas now amount to a total of 954 words (!) and regulate the use of engine throttles, engine torque demands and the positioning of exhaust outlets. This section of the rules is over ten times longer than it was 12 months ago: in 2011, the same regulations were totalled just 89 words, a reflection of the complexity of the ‘blown diffuser’ systems the new regulations aim to outlaw.

Additional load test: Art. 18.9.2, an additional vertical load test on the lateral impact structures on the chassis brings to 18 the total number of load and impact tests a chassis must pass in order to receive FIA homologation.

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CHARLIE WHITING ON THE 2012 REGULATIONS COVER STORY 2012 SEASON PREVIEW

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Charlie Whiting is arguably the most powerful man in the F1 pitlane on any given grand prix weekend, thanks

to his role as FIA F1 Race Director, Safety Delegate, Permanent Starter and head of the F1 Technical Department, in which capacities he generally manages the basics of each F1 Grand Prix, inspects cars in parc fermé before a race, enforces FIA rules, and controls the lights which start each race. The buck stops with him when it comes to the rules and regulations side of the sport, and ahead of the 2012 F1 season opener, in Melbourne the 60 year old Englishman answers some pertinent questions.

CHARLIE WHITING ON THE 2012 REGULATIONS

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COVER STORY 2012 SEASON PREVIEW Why has a four-hour total time limit been put on grands prix?Charlie Whiting: Last season the race in Montreal went on for four hours and four minutes. A race really should not go on longer than that. Should four hours elapse during a future race, drivers will receive a signal telling them they have one more lap before the chequered flag.

Race stewards will now be able to investigate an incident without first reporting it to the race director. Why is the system changing?CW: In the past stewards might see something suspect and alert the race director. He would look at the incident and request the stewards investigate. It was a process that consumed a lot of time. If they identify something worth investigating, there’s nothing wrong with them taking a look and then giving the race director an opinion. It should make the process less cumbersome.

Drivers are now instructed to not deliberately leave the track without good reason. Why?Whiting: We’ve seen drivers taking shortcuts on in and out laps, either to save time or fuel. We could put up barriers to stop them exploiting short cuts but it usually looks stupid! The rules say that the drivers should use the track. If they don’t, they will need to justify their actions.It also follows that safety will be improved as other drivers are more likely to know that a car has left the track for a good reason.

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COVER STORY 2012 SEASON PREVIEW The ‘one-move’ rule on defending a position has been reinstated. Has there been a problem with dangerous blocking in the last few seasons?CW: This isn’t really a new overtaking rule, rather we’ve put into the regulations what was an unwritten rule. A driver can make one move only to defend a position – but when that driver then moves back onto the racing line to take a corner it can be construed as a second move, which is not allowed. It’s a matter of deciding to what degree resuming the original line is acceptable. We don’t want to get into silly arguments about centimetres so we’ve decided the defending driver must leave at least one car width on the racing line otherwise he will be judged to have made a second move and penalised accordingly. We need to have drivers giving each other space on the track – otherwise we risk dangerous collisions.

Previously cars needed to pass crash tests before racing. Now they have to pass before testing. Why?CW: Safety cannot be compromised. It is indefensible to have drivers testing cars in the Winter that haven’t met the safety standards we demand for a race. The teams resisted this

for quite a while, telling me it would be impossible to get the crash tests done before the first test. It came as no great surprise that nearly everybody managed it. However, as we have seen, two teams failed to pass all their crash tests in good time and were subsequently unable to participate any of the pre-season testing in Jerez and Barcelona. (Both of these teams have now passed all the required tests.)

Why are drivers now allowed more than three sets of tyres for FP1 and FP2 on Fridays?CW: Each driver still gets eleven sets for the weekend and three still have to be given back on Friday evening and another two after FP3 on Saturday. This has not changed. We are, however, allowing teams to use more than three of their eleven sets on Fridays to give them the opportunity to do more running on the first day of practice, should they wish to do so. As an example they might expect Saturday to be wet and want to get more running in beforehand on a dry track. It is to the benefit of everyone that they are allowed to run as much as they want to during the Friday sessions.

With the safety car on track, lapped cars will be allowed to

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unlap themselves and rejoin at the back of the field. Why is F1 going back to this system?CW: We took this rule away because it was difficult to manage and potentially dangerous. We have reinstated it with new safeguards. Drivers will only be allowed to overtake once they have all passed the pit entry twice, this will allow all drivers to pit if they want to. We will also instruct the lead drivers to stay on the racing line once the order is given to allow cars to overtake. They will be allowed to weave again, to get heat into their tyres, when we inform them [that] it is safe to do so.

Why do the 2012 cars have the ‘platypus’ nose?CW: The height of the survival cell in front of the driver was 625mm – and we wanted to reduce that to 550mm. Our intention was to ensure the nose is lower than the cockpit sides, to protect the driver’s head in the event of a ‘T-bone’ accident. Some teams complained that lowering the whole car forward of the cockpit would force them into a radical redesign. We agreed a compromise that the 550mm height would only apply from a point 1950mm in front of the rear edge of the cockpit template. This achieves the objective equally

well, and without requiring the teams to fundamentally overhaul their suspension packaging. They do all look like ducks though…

Measurement tolerances have been tightened. Why?CW: We used to measure tolerances across the flat bottom, the step and reference planes with a margin of ±5mm. The tolerances were there to allow for manufacturing discrepancies but teams were designing to the limit of the tolerances, contrary to the spirit of the rules. We have therefore reduced the allowance to ±3mm. The obligatory weight distribution rule was only supposed to run for one season.

Why has the rule been continued for a second season?CW: We had this rule last year to allow teams to begin designing their cars before they knew the characteristics of the Pirelli tyres. The teams have indicated they would like to keep the rule in place for the second year rather than make expensive wholesale changes to their cars for 2012. We have no problem with this.

The size and position of exhaust exits is now specified. Why stipulate this area of the design?CW: Our objective is to prevent teams operating a blown


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diffuser, which under certain circumstances infringes Article 3.15 (moveable aerodynamic device). In combination with additional constraints on engine mapping, as described in technical directive number 36 and incorporated into the SECU code, it will limit designers’ ability to exploit exhaust gases for aerodynamic effect. However teams will not unlearn the knowledge they have gained and it is quite likely this area of regulation may need to be revisited again in 2013?

Why are there new dimensional constraints for suspension uprights?CW: This is to stop uprights protruding too far from the wheels and being used, in effect, as wings.

Why has helium been banned from use in wheel guns?CW: Powering wheel-guns with compressed helium instead of compressed air saved fractions of a second during a pitstop. Now everyone is aware of this, it would have been a very expensive method of gaining no advantage.

Why have active torque measuring systems been banned for wheel changes?

CW: We want the wheel gun operator to be responsible for the action. Once the torque is applied he should be making the decision to disengage. The latest torque guns show a light when the correct torque has been applied. That is as far as we want to go – we do not want any further automation.

Why have the intrusion panels increased in size?CW: The panels were installed 100mm-500mm above the reference plane, they are now 100mm-550mm about the plane. The forward one was 400mm high and is now 450mm high. This change should improve driver safety in the event of a T-bone accident.

How and why have the tests for front wing deflection changed?CW: The rules state that the wings (as well as all other parts of the bodywork) must be rigid. We have halved the permitted deflection. Previously the wing was tested with a 1kN load and allowed to deflect 20mm. As a result of this the teams were testing wings until they found a design that deflected 19.9mm under a 1kN load. Our allowances are only a guideline for us and we felt the teams were operating outside the spirit of the rules


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and clearly designing their wings with flexibility in mind. In our view Article 3.15 takes precedence over Article 3.17 where the deflection limits are quantified. Article 3.17.8 allows us to introduce new tests if we feel our guidelines are not being following in an appropriate manner. The new test therefore moves the pressure point rearwards by 10mm and inboard by 5mm with the permitted deflection reduced to 10mm. We have also told the teams that we may apply the load to just one side of the front wing, an asymmetrical test.

There has been a technical directive on the subject of ride height systems. Why have these been banned?CW: The systems in question used braking torque to affect ride height changes. If these changes are made primarily for aerodynamic benefit they would be illegal under Article 3.15.

Finally, there were some additions to the regulations ratified by the F1 Commission at the World Motor Sport Council on 9 March. Can you expand on those?CW: The changes weren’t substantial and the amendments were in three areas: firstly, we decided that one set of dry weather tyres can now be carried over to Saturday if both Friday practice sessions are declared wet. The reason for that is simply to give the teams the opportunity to run more laps on Saturday; we also decided that we would clarify things with regard to DRS use so that we can prohibit the use of the adjustable rear wing if we feel that visibility is too poor in wet conditions. We did that on safety grounds because of concerns about the speed differential between cars. Finally, we just clarified things with regard to the curfew works to make sure that rest periods remain constant throughout the season, irrespective of the timing of practice sessions at some events.


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By James Rossi

A leafy park, the evening sun, tranquility by the harbour. Sounds nice, doesn’t it? That is until 24 racing machines turn up with each one pumping out 130 decibels of pure

passion. Welcome everybody to Albert Park, Melbourne, and the dawn of Formula One’s longest season.

AUSTRALIAN GP 2012: MANY QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED

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PREVIEW 2012 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX, MELBOURNE

By James Rossi

AUSTRALIAN GP 2012: MANY QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED

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Other notable teams to expect strong performances from include Lotus, with a returning Kimi Raikkonen and a rejuvenated GP2 champion in the form of Romain Grosjean heading their 2012 effort. Despite a worrying chassis problem which curtailed their running during the second Barcelona test, both drivers posted quick and consistent times when they were running. Will they have made the step up to cause the leading teams strife? On the ladder of F1 performance, Ferrari and Mercedes seem to have collided. A marked improvement has been noted with the German marque, and inside sources suggest that 2012 could be the year in which we see a 92nd victory for seven time World Champion, Michael Schumacher. Alongside him, Nico Rosberg faces a defining chapter in his career, as he now holds the record for most career points without a victory in F1. Is the son of Keke able to lift his game to the top level? Ferrari on the other hand appear to be struggling. The F2012 not only has what is arguably the ugliest nose configuration, a result of new safety regulations in which the chassis must be lower at the front, but has consistently proven to be wildly inconsistent during Winter testing. Whilst the Italian giants’ one lap pace may not prove to be very far behind the top runners, the average speed over a race distance seems to be suffering heavily. As last season, a late reversion to a conventional exhaust system may harm Ferrari as it almost did McLaren, and it remains to be seen how quickly the Scuderia can claw back the distance to Red Bull and McLaren.

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With Ferrari appearing to be in deep trouble, and the midfield battle shaping up to be the most competitive in years, Melbourne could play host to the most unpredictable grand prix in years. Sahara Force India, Sauber, Toro Rosso and most importantly Caterham have all looked to close the gap for 2012. An exception to the air of optimism comes in the form of both HRT

and Marussia; the former missing all three tests and the latter failing a crash test which puts both teams severely out of kilter with the rest of the pack. Added to the ferocious mix of experience and anticipation come a number of younger talents looking to make their mark; Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne at Toro Rosso, Nico Hulkenberg making a return with Force India

and the ever-rising talents of Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez at Sauber give us a narrative to follow throughout the season. With Mark Webber’s contract up at the end of 2012, all eyes will be on Red Bull’s sister team, Toro Rosso, to see which potential superstar will fill the Australian’s boots. There will be two DRS zones this year as opposed to a single zone utilised in 2011.

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and the ever-rising talents of Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez at Sauber give us a narrative to follow throughout the season. With Mark Webber’s contract up at the end of 2012, all eyes will be on Red Bull’s sister team, Toro Rosso, to see which potential superstar will fill the Australian’s boots. There will be two DRS zones this year as opposed to a single zone utilised in 2011.

The activation points will be at the beginning of the start/finish straight and after the apex of turn 2, which gives drivers ample opportunity for a second bite of the cherry if the medium-length straight over the line isn’t sufficient to complete a pass. Looking to the weather, we can expect a potentially damp start to proceedings on Friday,

with a changeable but ever improving forecast set to see us through the weekend. Red Bull vs. McLaren, Lotus and Mercedes looking to spring a shock, Ferrari’s apparent decline and the monumental battle between young team mates; next weekend promises to be utterly enthralling, setting the benchmark for what should be a vintage season for F1.

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2012 PREVIEW RED BULL

RED BULL RACING

Vettel and his team will again be the ones to beat as they chase their third successive crowns, but they

are unlikely to be as dominant as last year. Even so, expect a few tricks to be lurking under the skin of Adrian Newey’s latest car even if testing in Spain has been far from trouble-free. Webber should be far more competitive than last year when he struggled to get to grips with the tyres and allowed Vettel to build a huge advantage early on. Only two drivers have ever won three titles in a row - Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher. Only Ferrari, McLaren and Williams have ever racked up three successive constructors’ championships.

• Base: Milton Keynes, United Kingdom• Team principal: Christian Horner• Chief Technical Officer: Adrian Newey• Debut: 2005 Australian Grand Prix• Races competed: 126• Constructors’ Championships: 2 (2010,

2011)• Drivers’ Championships: 2 (2010, 2011)• Race victories: 27

SEBASTIAN VETTEL

MARK WEBBER

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RED BULL RACING

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SEBASTIAN VETTEL: YOU NEVER KNOW WHERE YOU STAND UNTIL YOU GET TO MELBOURNE


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This year’s pre-season has been one of the least predictable in memory – more questions than answers prevail ahead of the season opening race – and Sebastian vettel is adamant that only after qualifying in Melbourne will the true pecking order emerge. Previewing next weekend’s Australian Grand Prix, the double world champion said, “Testing has been busy over the last few weeks and I think we have made a decent step with the car. You never really know where you are until we get to Melbourne and even then you don’t really see what everyone has got until qualifying – so I’m looking forward to getting started.” Last year Vettel started his season in explosive style when he claimed maximum points in the first two races, Australia and Malaysia – needless to say the goal for 2012 is to repeat the feat. “Australia and Malaysia are different circuits so they are hard to compare. Australia is not a permanent race track, it ’s quite bumpy and it ’s tough for the car. Malaysia is smoother, as it ’s a permanent race track with fast corners, but both are good tracks and Australia is one of the best places we go to,” said vettel who will be starting his 82nd grand prix in Australia next weekend and aiming for his 22nd F1 career victory. “It ’s good to know we’re going racing again, I can’t wait to get on the flight and get down under,” added 24 year old Vettel.

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Mark Webber made his grand prix debut at the 2002 Australian Grand Prix with Minardi, and a decade later he returns

home for his eleventh home race as a pre-race favourite.

MARK WEBBER: NO BETTER PLACE TO HAVE THE FIRST RACE THAN AUSTRALIA


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MARK WEBBER: NO BETTER PLACE TO HAVE THE FIRST RACE THAN AUSTRALIA

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Ahead of the season opener Webber said, “This will be my eleventh Australian Grand Prix and I can’t wait to get started. The grand Prix is one of the best sporting events that we have in Australia. It’s great to see the support and Australian flags in the crowd. He also revealed that his helmet will have a patriotic flavour when he lowers himself into the cockpit of the Red Bull RB8, “I’ve incorporated more of an Australian theme into my helmet, which I’ll be using for the whole year, not just in Australia.” With reference to F1 pre-season testing, Webber commented, “It’s been an extremely intense few months for the whole team and it’s incredible when you count up how many sleep-deprived hours have gone in to preparing the car as best we can – from pit stops to reliability to driver comfort in the cockpit – you name it, we’ve always been looking to improve.” “There’s always a huge amount of interest in the first race; this year is no different and there’s no better place to have it than Australia,” concluded Webber, who will be starting his 177th grand prix in Melbourne next weekend.


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2012 PREVIEW MCLAREN

VODAFONE MCLAREN MERCEDES

After turning around a difficult 2011 season, McLaren start the new campaign in far more bullish mood.

The new MP4-27 already stands out as the best looking car on the grid and testing has gone well. The gap between them and Red Bull could be wafer thin. Both drivers sound confident, with Hamilton eager to put behind him the hardest year of his career and focus on winning races and keeping out of trouble. Button, 2011 runner-up, senses a real chance of a second title to add to his 2009 championship. The easy partnership between the two Britons could be tested to the limit this time around.

• Base: Woking, United Kingdom• Team principal: Martin Whitmarsh• Technical directors: Paddy Lowe & Neil

Oatley• Debut: 1966 Monaco Grand Prix• Races competed: 703• Constructors’ Championships: 8 (1974,

1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998)

• Drivers’ Championships: 12 (1974, 1976, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2008)

• Race victories: 175

JENSON BUTTON

LEWIS HAMILTON

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VODAFONE MCLAREN MERCEDES

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JENSON BUTTON: I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE WHERE WE STAND IN THE PECKING ORDER

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JENSON BUTTON: I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE WHERE WE STAND IN THE PECKING ORDER

Jenson Button made his grand prix debut in Melbourne back in 2000, he won there in 2009, and will be aiming for at least a podium finish,

admitting that the Mclaren team tackle the season opener in far better shape than 12 months earlier. Below is a Q&A with the 2009 world champion ahead of the Australian GP.

Melbourne has been a great track for you – what are the highlights?Button: “There are lots. My first grand prix was here, way back in 2000 – it was just a buzz to be in F1; it was pretty intense, the whole weekend just flew past pretty quickly. I had pole here in 2006 – another good memory. But I think the two most significant memories for me were, in 2009, winning from pole for Brawn GP. It was a momentous race for the entire team and it felt so sweet to give them such a reward.

“And winning here in 2010… just an incredible day. Going early for the dry tyre, then almost losing the car at Turn Three, putting the others off following my example, and then finding a rhythm and having a fantastic car underneath me. That was my first win for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes – it was completely unexpected, but a really significant result for me personally.”

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What is it about Melbourne that makes it so special?Button: “It’s hard to put your finger on it. It is a special race – you step off the plane after a long, cold European winter and it’s usually very sunny and the people are incredibly welcoming. I think the circuit is a nice challenge too – it’s not a particularly technical track, but the surface is always rubbering in across the whole race weekend, and it’s a place that encourages nip-and-tuck racing. For a street track, it’s got a really good flow, you can really find a good rhythm – and it’s got some fast corners too, which is unusual for a road course.

“I think the new rules have definitely made it a more competitive place – it’s easier to pass here now than it ever was. And I think the potential of a second DRS zone will be a real benefit – last year, along the startline wasn’t quite enough for overtaking – I think we’ll get more benefit from a second zone. Finally, the walls around here are close enough to keep your mind focused. I can’t remember a race here that wasn’t eventful or surprising in some way – so it’s the perfect place to kick off the season.”

How confident do you feel after the winter that you’re set for a strong start to your campaign?Button: “I’m happy with our preparations. You always want more laps and more time in the car, but, unlike last year, we’ve had a very solid start to our pre-season. It’s been very difficult to read pace over the Winter because a lot of teams have been playing their cards close to their chests: I think it’s going to be extremely close, and I can’t wait to find out where we sit in the pecking order.”

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LEWIS HAMILTON: I FEEL MORE RELAXED AND READY FOR NEW SEASON THAN EVER BEFORE

Lewis Hamilton, the 2008 Formula 1 world champion, limbered up for the season, which starts in Melbourne next week, by driving reporters around a track in

southern England in McLaren’s fearsome MP4-12C GT3 race-spec sportscar. He looked sharp, hungry to be back behind the wheel and determined to focus on the future.

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LEWIS HAMILTON: I FEEL MORE RELAXED AND READY FOR NEW SEASON THAN EVER BEFORE

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The championship opens with four long-haul races but the Briton, who had a nightmare season last year while trying to keep alive a transatlantic relationship with American singer Nicole Scherzinger, intends to be more settled in 2012. He said he now planned to spend much more of his time at home when in Europe. Hamilton won three races last year but ended up beaten overall by team mate Jenson Button, the 2009 world champion, in a championship dominated by Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel. Testing times can be misleading but the title battle already looks like being much tighter with McLaren, who were playing catch-up this time last year, looking quick and tipped to take the battle to Red Bull right from the start. Hamilton was clearly pleased with how the winter tests in Spain had gone. “I kept a nice amount of fuel in the car for all of my tests. I wasn’t really bothered with positioning. What matters is when we get to the first race,” he smiled. “It looks like it could be a bit different to the past couple of years where we’ve had the Red Bull just much quicker than everyone else.” “The Lotus looks like it can be really quick, a couple of the teams have different exhaust solutions. Us, Ferrari and Red Bull generally have a similar exhaust solution. The others, like the Lotus have a different solution, so do Mercedes and they still seem to be quick,” he added. “So it will be a battle as to which of those designs has the longest road of development, and how far ours can go.” As for the race weekend ahead, Hamilton said, “Melbourne is a city that has sport running through its veins – and the crowd lives and breathes it. It’s a great place to start the season. For me, Melbourne means sunshine, smiling faces, a great paddock – a bit compact but very friendly, a great city with a really positive vibe – and a racetrack that’s really made for racing.”.

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2012 PREVIEW FERRARI

SCUDERIA FERRARI MARLBORO

Formula One needs a strong Ferrari while Italy, without any home-grown drivers for the first time in more than

40 years, expects the Scuderia to deliver. The signs are not good. One of the ugliest cars ever to emerge from Maranello has been recalcitrant in testing and technical director Pat Fry has warned that the podium could be a step too far in the early races. Massa, whose days at the team look numbered, needs to show that he still has what it takes. Alonso, who took Ferrari’s sole win of 2011, will be pushing hard as ever but may have a frustrating wait for victories.

• Base: Maranello, Italy• Team principal: Stefano Domenicali• Technical director: Pat Fry• Debut: 1950 Monaco Grand Prix• Races competed: 832 (830 starts)• Constructors’ Championships: 16 (1961,

1964, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008)

• Drivers’ Championships: 15 (1952, 1953, 1956, 1958, 1961, 1964, 1975, 1977, 1979, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007)


FERNANDO ALONSO

FELIPE MASSA

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SCUDERIA FERRARI MARLBORO

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2012 PREVIEW FERRARI

FERRARI RACE AGAINST TIME TO SORT OUT PROBLEMS WITH THEIR F2012

Ferrari has set to work to fix a problem at the rear of its troubled F2012 car, according to reports in respected Italian magazine Autosprint which claim

that initial winter testing highlighted problems with the car ’s exhaust solution, prompting Pat Fry to order the outlets be moved inwards.

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FERRARI RACE AGAINST TIME TO SORT OUT PROBLEMS WITH THEIR F2012

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This, however, left the homologated portion of the chassis that housed the original exhausts intact, with modification to require a new FIA crash test. “I want to understand what is happening, and how many seconds it will take to be fixed,” president Luca di Montezemolo is quoted as having said. Triple world champion Niki Lauda is alarmed, telling Blik, “I have never heard comments like this from within a team – this is dramatic.” However, the Swiss newspaper also said some of Ferrari’s rivals are making similar modifications to their cars that will require new FIA crash tests. Even so, “nobody at Maranello expected this”, wrote the famous Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport. Corriere dello Sport, meanwhile, said the fact Ferrari gagged its drivers for the first time ever recently is “more worrying than the testing results”. Test driver Marc Gene told Spanish television Antenna 3: “This will be a very long world championship, and we will fight to win. At the moment we are not at the level we wanted to be.” It is faintly possible Ferrari is playing an extreme hand of bluff, but Lauda insists that theory is now believed by “only a few”. “They’ve got a great team,” Red Bull team boss Christian Horner told Sky Sports, “they haven’t fully shown their hand yet. I think they’re more competitive than people believe they are. “I’m sure the car looks a handful but sometimes a difficult car can be a quick car so it would be foolish to write off Fernando [Alonso] going into Melbourne,” he added.

REPORT FERRARI

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REPORT FERRARI CRISIS OR BLUFF?

FERRARI FANS HOPE THEIR TEAM IS BLUFFING AHEAD OF MELBOURNE OPENER

Like cold pizza or overcooked pasta, Ferrari’s pre-season testing has proved hard for many Italian Formula 1 fans to digest and the team has done little to diffuse the

pessimism by admitting they are below par – is this a well orchestrated bluff or the hard truth? “Ferrari, Fry pessimistic? Let’s hope it ’s just pre-season tactics,” declared the Gazzetta dello Sport after technical director Pat Fry had doused the hopes of the tifosi with a metaphorical bucket of icy water after the final test in Barcelona.

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FERRARI FANS HOPE THEIR TEAM IS BLUFFING AHEAD OF MELBOURNE OPENER

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It has always been the case that F1 needs Ferrari as much as Ferrari needs F1. Above all, both need a strong Ferrari. There was not much champagne sprayed around last season, with the sport’s most successful and glamorous team winning just once and finishing third overall. Ferrari have not been dominant since Michael Schumacher’s seventh and last title in 2004. Kimi Raikkonen’s 2007 crown for the men from Maranello came against the odds and the Finn, quickest on the first and last day of this year’s winter tests, may not feel too unhappy about being in a Lotus for his comeback season. The fans and Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo could just about handle the team pulling the wraps off one of the ugliest cars ever to come from the most stylish of stables but it will have to be quick to be loved. There has been little evidence of that so far and Fry told reporters at the Circuit de Catalunya on the final Sunday of testing that there was a lot of work still to be done before the March 18 season-opener in Australia. “In the hunt for the podium in Melbourne? At the moment I’d say no,” Ferrari’s own website quoted him as saying. “It will only be in Melbourne that we will get a clear answer as to whether we have to be very disappointed or just a little.” The sport’s commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone, whose main desire at the start of every season is for the title battle to go down to the last corner of the


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last lap of the last race, will be hoping that Ferrari fix their problems fast. McLaren, Mercedes and Lotus may take the fight to champions Red Bull but there is nothing to get the pulse of a red-blooded Italian racing like the sight of a Ferrari leading the way to the flag. Ferrari supporters around the world will be only too painfully aware of the dangers in allowing any rival to get too much of a head start – as Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel did last year and Jenson Button did with Brawn in 2009. Button, who won three races last year and finished overall runner-up as McLaren clawed their way back from a pre-season nightmare, had little doubt that Ferrari and double champion Fernando Alonso would shift up a gear. “I think we all like a challenge from Ferrari, it’s a fantastic team and they’ve achieved so much,” the Briton said in the Barcelona paddock. “They’ve got two great drivers there, so … Winter testing is a strange one, because we had such a bad Winter last year but then again we got to the first race and Lewis [Hamilton] finished second so we had a good result. “I’m sure Ferrari can find their way out of the sticky situation, if they are in a sticky situation. I don’t really know where they are in terms of pace, it’s difficult to know,” he added. “I am sure they will catch up because they have the resources, they have the expertise and they really, really need and want a good season in 2012.” Ferrari are the only team to have


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Ercole Colombo

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competed in every championship since the first in 1950, racking up 16 constructors’ titles and 15 drivers’ crowns as well as 216 race victories. They won every constructors’ championship between 1999 and 2004, with their most recent in 2008. To put it in perspective, one only has to think of the drought they suffered between 1980 and 1999, when they failed to win any drivers’ titles, and the period between 1980 and 1997 when they won a total of 29 races. Team boss Stefano Domenicali and Alonso were certainly not panicking as they prepared for Melbourne. “This is just the starting point and we have a very long season ahead of us,” said Domenicali. “We know that there are some areas where we have to work a lot, regarding reliability and performance, but I’m expecting some great responses.” Alonso agreed, telling the team website: “The new single-seater has some characteristics which are difficult to understand, and maybe we’re not where we want to be yet. “I just want to remind you of an episode two years ago: at the last test in Barcelona we were fifth behind Red Bull, McLaren, Sauber and Force India and two weeks later we gained a one-two win in Bahrain,” said the Spaniard, who will again be partnered with Brazilian Felipe Massa. “What counts is not to be first in the first race, but in November, at the end of the Championship.” Orchestrated bluff or the hard truth? Watch this space…


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LUCA DI MONTEZEMOLO: WE’RE REACTING TO A WINTER PROGRAMME THAT DIDN’T LIVE UP TO OUR TARGETS

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo emerged from a briefing with Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali and senior engineers believing that his team were doing all they could to turn around a Winter development programme which produced a below par car for 2012. Returning from the Geneva Motor Show, Montezemolo dropped in at the Ferrari headquarters, in Maranello, for a crisis meeting. Afterwards he revealed, “I found a team that is very concentrated and determined. I saw in Domenicali and our engineers a great desire to show what they’re worth and to react to a Winter programme that didn’t live up to our targets.” Although the Ferrari F2012 has been ‘complex’ and below par throughout testing, Montezemolo believes that only the first qualifying session at the season opener, in Australia, will reveal the true pecking order in F1 currently. “We will only discover the truth about where we stand compared to the others after Saturday’s qualifying session in Melbourne – today we can only make assumptions. No matter how it goes in Melbourne, I would like to remind everyone that this will be the longest championship in the history of F1 and we certainly won’t be able to draw conclusions after just one race,” concluded the Ferrari boss.


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LUCA DI MONTEZEMOLO: WE’RE REACTING TO A WINTER PROGRAMME THAT DIDN’T LIVE UP TO OUR TARGETS

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2012 PREVIEW MERCEDES

MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS

Mercedes are looking for a big step up on last year and the signs so far are encouraging. Rosberg

completed the most miles in testing of any driver and Schumacher, starting the third year of his comeback and still chasing his first win since 2006, has sounded upbeat. The Brackley-based team have invested heavily in technical staff and principal Ross Brawn is confident the car is a significant improvement. If so, Rosberg could be closer than ever to his first win and Schumacher his 92nd.

• Base: Brackley, United Kingdom• Team principal: Ross Brawn• CEO: Nick Fry• Technical director: Bob Bell• Debut: 1954 French Grand Prix• Races competed: 50• Drivers’ Championships: 2 (1954, 1955)• Race victories: 9

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER

NICO ROSBERG

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MICHAEL SCHUMACHER: VICTORY FOR ME IN MELBOURNE IS UNLIKELY

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MICHAEL SCHUMACHER: VICTORY FOR ME IN MELBOURNE IS UNLIKELY

After 4250 kilometres of pre-season testing in the cockpit of the Mercedes AMG W03, Michael Schumacher is

cautiously optimistic about the 2012 Fomrula 1 world championship season which begins in Melbourne next weekend. The seven times world champion talks about the year ahead.

What is your feedback after the winter tests?Michael Schumacher: The car is reliable which is already good. The first impression was already quite positive. We were driving out of the box with the car and everything went well, so there is potential. We are heading into the season much better prepared than in the past two years, and we can fully concentrate onto the development of our car.

The car is reliable but is it fast as well?Schumacher: The speed is promising. I hope we can show that in Melbourne. We were able to drive a lot during the tests and therefore learn a lot too, and we certainly have made a step forward. Just that I would want to wait until after the first races to judge how big this step is and how much it is worth, compared to our competitors.

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Why are you so cautious?Schumacher: Because we have experienced last year that you can be very wrong relying on the data coming out of the winter tests. And because we can see that the field will be very narrow this year. I do not have a clear picture yet. What we can say though is that the gap between the several teams will not be as big as it has been last year.

Do you have a chance to win in Australia?Schumacher: Victory for me is unlikely, I see Red Bull in front. Behind them it will be tight, and you can be either hero or zero very quickly. It will come down a lot to the ability of how well you will be setting up your car to the respective track.

Your contract is running until the end of the year. When will we know if you will extend it?Schumacher: That’s just totally unimportant at the moment, I don’t even think about it now. Now, it is all about focusing and concentrating on understanding our car, so that we will have a positive season. I will certainly not have me nailed down here.

For the first time in history of F1 there are 6 world champions competing, what’s your view on that?Schumacher: That’s fabulous. This speaks for F1, and it might [be the] guarantee for cool races and a lot of action. In any case, it makes me even more looking forward to the season!


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NICO ROSBERG: WE ARE REALLY READY FOR MELBOURNE

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NICO ROSBERG: WE ARE REALLY READY FOR MELBOURNE

Nico Rosberg has yet to win a grand prix in 108 attempts, but many feel that this year could be the year that Mercedes

score that elusive win as their young German driver feels at his best. Speaking ahead of the season-opener in Melbourne, Rosberg said, “I’m really looking forward to the start of the new season in Australia next weekend. The 26 year old revealed, “I had a perfect Winter break with plenty of rest, a good training camp and a successful pre-season test programme where we were able to put a lot of mileage on our F1 W03 car. So we are really ready for the first race.” Melbourne is a popular venue on the grand prix calendar and Rosberg is looking forward to the weekend at Albert Park. “I always love the atmosphere in Melbourne; it’s a great city and the fans are fantastic. After all of the hard work, and all of the speculation, it will be really interesting to see where we are on Saturday afternoon after qualifying,” said Rosberg “Before heading to Australia, I will be in New Zealand for a bike training camp to help me adjust to the time difference and the climate Down Under,” he added.

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2012 PREVIEW LOTUS

LOTUS F1 TEAM

The former Renault team have an all-new lineup and a new name as well. Raikkonen was quickest on the first

and last days of testing, while Grosjean also topped the timesheets on two occasions. In between, they had to re-design suspension parts that cost them precious track time. The jury is out on how quick they really are, even if on paper their prospects look bright. Raikkonen, the 2007 champion back after a two-year absence, seems the same as ever while Grosjean looks a far better prospect now than the stand-in rookie who drew a blank in 2009.

• Base: Enstone, United Kingdom• Team principal: Eric Boullier• Technical director: James Allison• Debut: 1977 British Grand Prix• Races competed: 304• Constructors’ Championships: 2 (2005

and 2006)• Drivers’ Championships: 2 (2005 and

2006)• Race victories: 35

KIMI RAIKKONEN

ROMAIN GROSJEAN

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KIMI RAIKKONEN: I HAVE NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH MOTIVATION

Poles, podiums, wins, a world title; Kimi Räikkönen has been there, and done it all in Formula 1. Now he’s back for more with Lotus,

and reportedly hungrier than ever as he returns to the venue of his grand prix debut in 2000 – Melbourne, Australia. The Iceman looks ahead to the season opener and the year ahead.

What are your objectives on your return to Formula 1 with Lotus F1 Team?Kimi Raikkonen: I will try to do as well as I can and see where we end up. For the first race in Australia we want to have a good weekend without any major issues or mistakes. I don’t know where we’re going to be on the grid – nobody knows. If you look at the lap times from testing everybody is very close to each other. We don’t know what everyone was doing with fuel load and that makes a massive difference. We’ll have some idea after practice in Melbourne, then after qualifying everyone will know exactly where we are.

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KIMI RAIKKONEN: I HAVE NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH MOTIVATION

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How do you feel with the team now you have worked with them in testing?Raikkonen: I feel very happy with the team. We’re still learning things, but everything is going smoothly and there are no problems at all, so it ’s a good position to start the season.

Testing was interrupted, and you’re making a return after two seasons away. How prepared do you feel?Raikkonen: You always wish you had more days to prepare but it ’s the situation we have and you just have to deal with it. In the first week in Jerez we had pretty good running and no major reliability issues with the car – which is a good thing. We only had one problem at the second test in Barcelona – and we fixed that and it won’t be an issue again. Now we just have to get everything at a level where we are happy and make sure I press the right buttons at the right times. Maybe a few more days would have done no harm but I’m very confident that we’ll get it right when the time comes.

Is there a lot to learn with a new team, new regulations and a new car?Raikkonen: It ’s still racing and more is the same as before than has changed. With the DRS and the KERS they are just buttons to press. In testing, sometimes you press it too late or too early but it ’s not going to change an awful lot. Pit stops are a bit shorter than before but nothing really different; you stop the car and then you go.

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2012 PREVIEW LOTUS

Do you have any idea where you hope to be on the grid in Australia?Raikkonen: We might be last and we might be first – let’s see when we get there.

What do you think of your teammate Romain Grosjean?Raikkonen: He’s a nice guy. I didn’t

know him before, we’d raced against each other a few times but never really spoken. He’s a bit younger than me, but also for him it’s a long time since he raced in F1 so we’ll see. I think he’ll be good and I’m fine working with him.

How much are you looking forward to racing in F1 again?

Raikkonen: Everybody wants to race. If you ask the test drivers: they want to race. Racing is the thing that people like. I don’t think that anyone will tell you that testing is more fun than racing. Of course I think that racing has changed a bit since I was last in it with the overtaking, but it’s not a completely different sport. It will be exciting and

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Raikkonen: Everybody wants to race. If you ask the test drivers: they want to race. Racing is the thing that people like. I don’t think that anyone will tell you that testing is more fun than racing. Of course I think that racing has changed a bit since I was last in it with the overtaking, but it’s not a completely different sport. It will be exciting and

whoever gets the best out of the tyres will probably be in a strong position.

Do you have personal goals for the season?Raikkonen: No. We’ll see where we are in the first races and go from there. We’ll do the best we can and the best with the car.

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You’ve had some good races in Australia – is it good to be starting the year there?Raikkonen: Australia is a nice place even though it ’s a long way from Europe. The circuit itself is not the most difficult on the calendar. It was good to score a point on my first time at Albert Park, and the podiums and race win in 2007 obviously made me happy. The circuit hasn’t changed at all so I’m confident I know where it goes…

Do you think Albert Park could suit the E20?Raikkonen: You need a car with good traction and everything from testing says that the E20 has good traction so that will help us. Strong turn-in and stable braking help too, and those areas also feel good with the car so we are well placed. The track can be a bit slippery at the beginning of the weekend and the Melbourne weather is not always very warm; the Melbourne weather can definitely be a bit tricky. This will be the first race so I don’t know how we’ll compare to the other teams. My engineers have been running simulations and looking at the test data so we have an idea of how the car should work at Albert Park, but we won’t know for sure until we get out on track. It ’s very difficult to say before we’ve been out on track, but I think and hope we’ll be reasonably strong.

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ROMAIN GROSJEAN: I WANT TO MAKE THE LEAST AMOUNT OF MISTAKES POSSIBLE

With GP2 Asia and GP2 Series titles under his belt, Romain Grosjean returns to the place where his F1 career began with a

renewed determination and far better prepared for his second bite at the top tier of the sport. He speaks ahead of the season-opener in Melbourne.

How do you feel on the brink of your first full season of F1?Romain Grosjean: I’m looking forward to Australia and I feel very comfortable with the team. It ’s been fantastic throughout testing and we’re all working well together. Of course, we had a third less of pre-season testing than we expected – which was not quite the original plan! The small issue we had in the first Barcelona test can even be seen as a good experience. Everyone worked twice as hard to return to Barcelona the following week and show that we are strong for the season ahead, which I think we are.

Have you been to Albert Park before?Grosjean: I’ve only been to Australia once before when I was third driver for the team in 2009. The country is fantastic. I love Melbourne. I hope the track will suit me – it certainly looks great. The atmosphere is very special and it was one of my favourite Grands Prix to experience even when I wasn’t driving, so what it must be like to drive it I can’t imagine.

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ROMAIN GROSJEAN: I WANT TO MAKE THE LEAST AMOUNT OF MISTAKES POSSIBLE

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All your testing took place in the dry and Melbourne has notoriously fickle weather. When was the last time you drove an F1 car in the wet?Grosjean: Brazil 2009 in free practice three. It feels like a long time ago! I’m ready if the track is more slippery, and I’ll try to make the best of it. I like racing in the wet, so maybe it will be a bit of an advantage for me.

The simulator at Enstone has not quite opened for business, so how have you been preparing for Albert Park – a track you’ve never driven before?RG: I’ve been watching a lot of in-car videos from the on-board camera! I’ve spent a lot of time with my engineers looking at the data from the track from last season. I’ll be running as much as possible in the first free practice session to learn the circuit, get some mileage and build some knowledge of the track. For sure, I’m looking forward to having access to the simulator once it goes live very soon…

What do you think of Albert Park, especially with factors to consider such as its non-permanent nature and the likely track surface evolution?RG: The track is what it is – it will improve but that only helps you. You don’t particularly feel it too much in the car, you just see it in better lap times. The grip level improves and better lap times come to you – and you soon get used to better lap times! What I saw from the onboard camera from previous years is the track looks good and it looks fun. I hope it will suit the E20.

What are your targets for the year?RG: My target is to give my best every time I’m in the car; to get the best from the car and to get the best from myself. I want to make the least amount of mistakes possible. I want to get points at every opportunity. I don’t set myself a target of a particular position, I just want to do my best and do my job as well as I can so I can bring some good points to the team.

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Do you have a particular race start routine?RG: I used to have a particular routine, but it’s not something I go out of my way to follow now. It’s something I do more from familiarity. I usually get into the car from the right side, but that’s not to say I won’t ever get in from the other side. I’ll try to be relaxed, get myself in the right frame of mind then tell myself ‘come-on, we’re going to race now!’ It’s a fantastic experience to start a Grand Prix. I can’t wait to go for it.

What’s your emotion when you’re sat on the grid after the formation lap?RG: You have to be really calm. When you’re at your best, you’re really calm but very attentive. You need to be ready to go as soon as the lights change. It’s something which is tough to get exactly right; that balance of high concentration and high focus.

How have you found the reaction to your return to Formula 1?Grosjean: I’m surprised that so much was made of it in France, but it makes me happy. The car looks good for the season ahead so that creates more attention. We’re all very excited.

Has the amount of media attention surprised you?RG: In a way, yes, but I’d prefer to be in this position than having no attention and not being in Formula 1! It’s good that people are paying attention to what we’re doing – it’s a good sign. I hope it continues.

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2012 PREVIEW FORCE INDIA

SAHARA FORCE INDIA

The British-based Indian team are ready to move up a gear and become a nuisance for more established rivals

higher up the pit lane. Both drivers are highly promising youngsters hungry for success and the new car won plaudits when it was unveiled and has looked quick in testing. Ones to watch.

• Base: Silverstone, United Kingdom• Team principal: Vijay Mallya• COO: Otmar Szafnauer• Technical director: Andrew Green• Debut: 2008 Australian GP• Races competed: 73

PAUL DI RESTA

NICO HULKENBERG

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A year ago Paul Di Resta made his Formula 1 debut at the Australian Grand Prix, he returns to Melbourne after 19 races in Formula 1 with rookie status banished and

as an established star. The Scot, who impressed immensely in his rookie season, returns to Melbourne wiser and more determined. He speaks ahead of the season opener at Albert park this weekend.

PAUL DI RESTA: OUR GOAL IS TO SIMPLY PICK UP POINTS AT EVERY RACE


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After three winter tests you must be keen for the season to finally begin…Paul Di Resta: Yes, the build-up to Melbourne has been a while coming, but at the same time it doesn’t feel like there’s been that much testing. In fact, compared to last year, there has been one less test, but it’s been a good winter for us in general.

You made your debut at last year’s Australian Grand Prix – what memories do you have going back there a year on…PDR: It’s a great place to start the season and the fans always get behind the race, so it will be interesting to see how it feels second time around. After a good winter break I’m just looking forward to getting back to the racing.

What are your thoughts on the circuit?PDR: I enjoy the circuit. There’s a good balance between high and low speed, plus it’s a mixture between a street circuit and a permanent track, and that makes it quite unusual. I think the final sector stands out for me as the most interesting because it’s quite tricky and easy to get it wrong. We were strong on street circuits last year, especially Singapore, so hopefully that will continue.

Any idea of the pecking order yet?PDR: I don’t think anybody can say they know for sure. All the teams around us look strong and have been consistent in testing, so we just have to wait and see. Also, I think almost every team will have some new parts on their cars so it really is too early to make any judgements. To begin with our goal is simply to try and pick up points at every race.

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Last year Nico Hulkenberg spent a great deal of time on the Force India pit wall gantry, as he fulfilled the reserve role

for the team. This weekend he is set for his first race with the team and marks a most welcome return to the Formula 1 grid for the highly rated young German, who was axed from Williams at the end of 2012 – despite a stellar rookie season – when he did not have a budget at his disposal to take to the struggling former world champions.



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2012 PREVIEW LOTUS2012 PREVIEW FORCE INDIA

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You’re all set for your first race as a Sahara Force India race driver. How does it feel?Nico Hulkenberg: There’s a lot of excitement – that’s the word I keep using to describe how I’m feeling. And I think it will continue until the Sunday morning in Melbourne when I wake up knowing I will be racing again in a few hours. That’s when you feel the buzz and get the feeling of anticipation in your stomach.

Do you feel you are back up to speed after a year away from racing?NH: The testing has gone pretty well and it’s been crucial for helping me get prepared. But I know testing is very different to racing because you don’t have the same pressures of a race weekend. I think the true test will be qualifying when you have to deliver right away and you only get one chance.

Is the Australian Grand Prix one of your favourite events on the calendar?NH: My first race there in 2010 was cut short – only half a lap, but apart from that I have good memories from Melbourne and Australia in general. It’s one of those venues with a special atmosphere and the whole city seems so relaxed and friendly. It’s definitely up there with races like Monaco and Singapore in terms of the atmosphere and support from the fans.

Will you get some free time to relax in Melbourne?NH: It’s a race where we arrive very early to adapt to the time zone, so I will get a chance to look around the city, do some jogging, cycling and visit places like St Kilda beach. If there’s enough time I will try and explore the coast a bit.

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2012 PREVIEW SAUBER F1 TEAM

SAUBER F1 TEAM

The departure of technical director James Key was seen as a pre-season blow but the Swiss team are solidly

professional and have been going about their business in testing with typical precision. The car looks a tidy solution to the rule changes and has set some impressive times. Perez now has a year’s experience under his belt and will have grown in confidence while Kobayashi knows how to thrill. Sauber’s biggest challenge could be developing the car over the year due to tight budgets.

• Base: Hinwil, Switzerland• Team principal: Peter Sauber• Technical director: James Key• Debut: 1993 South African Grand Prix• Races competed: 326 (323 starts)• Race victories: 1

KAMUI KOBAYASHI

SERGIO PEREZ

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KOBAYASHI: WE MUST SCORE CONSISTENTLY

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KOBAYASHI: WE MUST SCORE CONSISTENTLY

Kamui Kobayashi is in peak physical form and fired up for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix next weekend and is hoping that in 2012 the Sauber team

can achieve good results consistently.

Speaking ahead of the weekend in Melbourne, Kobayashi said, “I am very much looking forward to what will be my third season in F1, and at the same time my third season with the Sauber F1 Team. We had promising pre-season testing with the C31 and the car feels pretty good. This, together with the experience I gained last year, makes me a lot more confident now.”

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The Japanese driver will be starting his 41st Formula 1 race in Australia and he is expecting to raise his game to the ‘next level’, “For me the main target is that we are more consistent this year. In 2010 we had a difficult first part of the season, and only recovered in the second half. In 2011 it was vice versa – we had a great start but struggled later in the season. If we can consistently display our best potential, we could score consistently. It must be like this.” Kobayashi is in peak form ahead of what will be the longest season in F1 history, he revealed, “Personally I did a lot of training during the Winter break and feel very fit now.” Like most of his F1 rivals, the 25 year old enjoys the fact that the opening race is at Albert Park, “Melbourne is a great place to start the season because the people there really like racing and F1. The city is very much alive and, as soon as you get there, the atmosphere tells you – Yes, here we go again, it ’s time to start! I hope the weather will still be nice and warm during the weekend, as there the Summer is almost over.” “Albert Park Circuit itself has a very nice lay-out. The fact that it isn’t a permanent race track, and therefore very slippery at the beginning of the weekend, doesn’t make the set up work for the first grand prix any easier, but to adapt to the improving grip level is a challenge for everyone,” concluded Kobayashi.


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PEREZ: I JUST CAN’T WAIT TO GO RACING AGAIN 2012 PREVIEW SAUBER F1 TEAM

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PEREZ: I JUST CAN’T WAIT TO GO RACING AGAIN

Sergio Perez was one of the more impressive rookies last year and it came as no surprise that he was retained by the Sauber team for 2012. Now on the verge of his

second season, the Mexican cannot wait for the action to start in Melbourne.

Speaking ahead of the Australian Grand Prix weekend, Perez said, “I just can’t wait to go racing again. My feelings ahead of this season are quite different to last year, when everything was entirely new to me. Now, with one season in F1 under my belt, I feel physically and mentally capable of doing the job.”

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The 22 year old from Guadalajara concedes, “The one year of experience isn’t that much, but even this will allow me to focus more on performance than I was able to last year. I got used to a variety of circumstances which come along when you are an F1 driver. This goes for procedures and communication inside the team, but it also includes thatI found a good personal life balance with all the travelling.” In his rookie season Perez scored 14 points and finished 16th in the world championship, he has loftier ambitions for this year, “My target for 2012 is to make the most of the car in every given situation and to fully establish myself in F1.” The Sauber C31 appears to be a solid piece of kit as they were consistently at the sharp end of the timing screens during pre-season testing. Perez admits, “We have made really good progress during testing and learnt a lot about the new car. Nevertheless, the track in Melbourne can still come up with surprises. Last year, for example, we would never have expected it was possible to get away with only one pit stop for the race distance, because testing suggested higher tyre wear.” Last year in his grand prix debut, Perez crossed the finish line seventh place in his first race, impressing the F1 world by stopping to change tyres only once — the only driver in the field do so. However, both Sauber cars were subsequently disqualified for infringing technical regulations. Perez added, “We will see how we manage the first grand prix and, although the track in Melbourne is a special one and not that representative, we will get a first indication of where we are with the C31 in terms of performance.”


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The 22 year old from Guadalajara concedes, “The one year of experience isn’t that much, but even this will allow me to focus more on performance than I was able to last year. I got used to a variety of circumstances which come along when you are an F1 driver. This goes for procedures and communication inside the team, but it also includes thatI found a good personal life balance with all the travelling.” In his rookie season Perez scored 14 points and finished 16th in the world championship, he has loftier ambitions for this year, “My target for 2012 is to make the most of the car in every given situation and to fully establish myself in F1.” The Sauber C31 appears to be a solid piece of kit as they were consistently at the sharp end of the timing screens during pre-season testing. Perez admits, “We have made really good progress during testing and learnt a lot about the new car. Nevertheless, the track in Melbourne can still come up with surprises. Last year, for example, we would never have expected it was possible to get away with only one pit stop for the race distance, because testing suggested higher tyre wear.” Last year in his grand prix debut, Perez crossed the finish line seventh place in his first race, impressing the F1 world by stopping to change tyres only once — the only driver in the field do so. However, both Sauber cars were subsequently disqualified for infringing technical regulations. Perez added, “We will see how we manage the first grand prix and, although the track in Melbourne is a special one and not that representative, we will get a first indication of where we are with the C31 in terms of performance.”

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2012 PREVIEW SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO

SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO

For the second year running, Ferrari-powered Toro Rosso start the season as a potential surprise package. The

all-new lineup lacks experience but not talent and based on testing times, the car is certainly quick. Both drivers also have plenty of motivation, with the possibility of a coveted Red Bull seat alongside Vettel if Webber moves on at the end of the year. In a tight midfield, the target is top seven at least.

• Base: Faenza, Italy• Team principal: Franz Tost• Technical director: Giorgio Ascanelli• Debut: 2006 Bahrain Grand Prix• Races competed: 108• Race victories: 1

DANIEL RICCIARDO

JEAN ERIC VERGNE

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SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO

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SPOTLIGHT DANIEL RICCIARDO

DANIEL RICCIARDO: TO HAVE THE FIRST RACE AT HOME CREATES EVEN MORE OF A BUZZ

The name may be Italian, but the boy is an Aussie through and through. Just ask Daniel’s father – Joe Ricciardo was born in

Sicily but came Down Under at the tender age of seven. His wife Grace (Daniel’s mother) was born in Australia but her family hails from Calabria and Since Jarno Trulli lost his race seat to Vitaly Petrov and his Russian roubles, leaving the grid without an Italian driver for the first time since 1970, Daniel Ricciardo might just be the next best thing in 2012. “Yes, they’re trying to claim him in Italy,” chuckles Joe, “but his roots are here and he’s got the Aussie flag on his helmet.” The young man who joins Mark Webber on the Melbourne grid for the first time will be in a Toro Rosso STR07 after a slightly anxious wait at the end of 2011 for the telephone to ring. “I was actually at home, it was after dinner and the phone call came,” Daniel recalls. “It was short, sharp and to the point, but it contained all the news I wanted to hear. It was an awesome Christmas present and a big relief. I was with Mum and Dad at the time and I came out of my room and told them the news and it felt pretty special.”

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Dan, who actually started his overseas career in Italy in 2008, has been marked by his father’s passion for motor sport. “My own Dad had no interest,” Joe recalls, “but I did, and from a very young age – as early as I can remember, in fact.” “The family tells me that my grandfather used to take me on his shoulders to watch motor racing back in Sicily, so I can only imagine that would have been the Targa Florio [a world-famous open-road endurance race based around Palermo] in those days. But I loved the racing in the Sixties, Jim Clark and those blokes, which is where my passion for historic racing came from.” Joe will admit to “a little bit of local racing” in his own past and still has a collection that includes a Hamilton/Costanzo Formula Pacific car, but Dan’s passion for the sport was fuelled by the racing he and his father watched together on the small screen. But interestingly enough, Joe insists that there’s another side to his son. “I think his best quality is his… easiness, I suppose you’d call it,” he says. “Nothing fazes him; he’s pretty calm, he doesn’t take things too seriously until that helmet goes on. It’s not all racing and cars – he loves his music, for example. I see other kids over there in Europe walking up and down the paddock, it’s all racing, there doesn’t seem to be anything else and you can feel the tension – but not in Dan.” That quality shines through as Ricciardo Jr. assesses his priorities for the year ahead in the light of his 11-race F1 experience with the HRT outfit in 2011.


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“Looking back at the whole year, I did more travelling than ever before in my life and I found out it can be really tiring and can take it out of you,” he says. “So I learned how important it is to be on time and to manage my time as efficiently as possible and to rest when I can. There was so much to take in last year and from the driving point of view, as a reserve driver you can see everything the job involves, but until you are actually racing, you do not realise the demands it puts on you, so that was another important lesson. I learned to get my priorities right and not waste my energy elsewhere.” That may have been helped by Dan’s involvement with the Red Bull Junior Driver programme. “It was pretty fortunate that Red Bull picked him up when we were at a crossroads and the budget was a bit stretched,” Joe recalls, but of course Dan’s quality shone through from the moment he won the West European Formula Renault Cup, then moved on to dominate the prestigious British F3 series in 2009 – the year in which he ended the season with a brilliant F1 test at Jerez for Red Bull. It’s easy to forget that Dan did those 11 races last season, and even he concedes that coming to Melbourne will be a bit like starting all over again. “It does feel a bit like my first race,” he says. “It’s quite special – to have the opening race of the year at home creates even more of a buzz.” Not that Dan hasn’t been here before: as a youngster he used to come “every couple of years or so” as a spectator, and last year he took part in his first official


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F1 practice session when he stood in for Toro Rosso’s Jaime Alguersuari – one of the men who have made way for the team’s all-new driver line-up – at Albert Park on Friday morning. Ricciardo finished a respectable 16th in that session, completing 23 laps with a best time of 1 minute 29.486 seconds. Meanwhile Mark Webber in the sister team’s Red Bull-Renault was topping the session with a best time of 1:26.831, and he will have told Daniel what to expect this time round. As Webber well knows, with the local buzz comes a burden of expectation, not only in terms of media hype but also from Aussie fans desperate for a home-grown hero to cheer on. “It’s going to be hectic,” Ricciardo acknowledges, “I’m aware of that. But I’m just going to try and soak it all in and enjoy it because it’s a huge opportunity, a huge experience.” True enough: but how far can Daniel Ricciardo go? In a sense, he’s halfway to being a Ferrari driver – every racer’s dream – already, as his Toro Rosso is powered by the Italian manufacturer’s engines. But joking apart, Joe sees other qualities in his son that could ear-mark him for stardom. “He’s got this pure discipline,” he says, “it’s unbelievable. He knows what he wants and you can’t tempt him with anything that gets in the way. We all want to win a Brownlow or captain a winning Test team or whatever, don’t we, and Daniel is no different: winning races and being World Champion is his aim. I think he’s got the skill, the temperament, in fact he ticks most of the boxes.”

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2012 PREVIEW WILLIAMS F1 TEAM

WILLIAMS F1 TEAM

After their worst ever F1 season gleaned just five points, Williams have reason to be more optimistic. They now have

a Renault engine, new technical bosses and a car that seems easier on the tyres and has covered plenty of mileage, despite some technical problems. On the downside, the lineup is very raw without the expertise of departed veteran Rubens Barrichello.

• Base: Grove, United Kingdom• Team principal: Sir Frank Williams• CEO: Adam Parr• Technical director: Mike Coughlan• Debut: 1978 Argentine Grand Prix• Races competed: 572• Constructors’ Championships: 9 (1980,

1981, 1986, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997)

• Drivers’ Championships: 7 (1980, 1982, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997)


PASTOR MALDONADO

BRUNO SENNA

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Pastor Maldonado: “Albert Park is a nice track. I really love that kind of street circuit, so I hope we will have a good weekend. I know the track this year and I’m more confident with the team and the car, so that will also help. The whole team have been pushing so hard all winter to improve, and I’ve also been pushing myself. It’s exciting to get back racing and to see what speed everyone has when the weekend gets underway.”


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Bruno Senna: “I am really looking forward to going to Australia. About a month after the last race of the season you are itching to get back racing, so four months later I really can’t wait to get started. Getting into the car on Friday will be very exciting, and I hope we can be competitive from the very beginning. I know the Albert Park circuit, having driven there for HRT in 2010. I’ve also had success, winning three of the four Formula Three races supporting the Australian Grand Prix in 2006, so I have good memories of the place. Pre-season testing was promising, but you never know exactly what everyone is doing. It is certainly very close, so it is going to be very tight this year.”

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2012 PREVIEW CATERHAM F1 TEAM

CATERHAM F1 TEAM

This should be the year when Caterham, formerly Team Lotus, move up into the midfield and score their first point.

Kovalainen, a race winner with McLaren, believes they can close the gap. The car will have KERS for the first time (a system similar to that used by champions Red Bull) and the title-winning Renault engine. Apart from useful sponsorship, Petrov also brings experience from an established team and stood on the podium only a year ago.

• Base: Hingham, United Kingdom• Team principal: Tony Fernandes• CEO: Riad Asmat• Technical director: Mike Gascoyne• Debut: 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix• Races competed: 38

HEIKKI KOVALAINEN

VITALY PETROV

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CATERHAM F1 TEAM

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VITALY PETROV: I THINK WE HAVE A A GOOD YEAR AHEAD OF US

Last year life was very different for Vitaly Petrov as he lined up on the Melbourne grid for his second year in F1, as a Lotus Renault driver, he scored his first F1 podium but since then he lost his job

with the Enstone based team and is now a Caterham driver.

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VITALY PETROV: I THINK WE HAVE A A GOOD YEAR AHEAD OF US

LAT Photographic

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Speaking ahead of the F1 season-opening grand prix in Australia, Petrov said, “Melbourne is obviously somewhere that will always be very special for me. Last year I scored my first F1 podium there and was given a really good welcome by all the Australian fans so I’m sure it will be the same again this year. I think it’s pretty clear we won’t be in a position to fight for a podium again but I think the goal will be to push the midfield teams as hard as we can and who knows what could happen…” Although targeting a podium might be a tad too ambitious, the Russian remains positive, “Usually there are quite a few retirements in Australia, and there are a couple of areas of the track that don’t leave any room for error, so I hope we’re there at the end of the race and able to take advantage of whatever happens ahead.” Petrov was one of the last drivers to be confirmed for 2012, and this came at the expense of veteran Jarno Trulli, but since joining the Tony Fernandes owned team the 27 year old has fast adapted to his new environment. “I’m really enjoying life with my new team. It’s still early days, but I’ve been given a great welcome by everyone and I’m starting to build a good relationship with my engineer, so I think we have a good year ahead of us, whatever happens,” said Petrov who will be starting his 39th race in Melbourne next Sunday. Reflecting on testing in Spain he said, “We spent quite a lot of time in Barcelona looking at how to fine tune the setups specifically for me, and while we do have more work to do in Australia we definitely made some real progress at the last test, which puts me in as good a position as we could hope for when we get to Melbourne.”

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HEIKKI KOVALAINEN: I HAVE MADE SOME CHANGES TO HELP MYSELF FOCUS

Heikki Kovalainen is remaining realistic about Caterham’s chances ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, despite the team showing some handy pace in recent pre-season testing.

Kovalainen reflected on the 12 days of testing in Spain, “After three pretty solid weeks of testing we’re heading to Melbourne in good shape. We’ve clearly moved on from where we started in 2011, and are a long way ahead of where we were in 2010 but we’re still all staying very realistic about what we can do this season.” He added, “Apart from a few issues in the second test, which were all sorted out for T3, our reliability has been good, and both Vitaly and I put in laps that showed we are close to the pace we want to be. But as everyone knows the tests don’t really tell you anything about where you are against everyone else, so we won’t really know anything until Saturday in Melbourne.” Kovalainen has tasted F1 victory, with McLaren, but in 2010 he was dropped by the Woking team and he found his way to the brand new Caterham team (known as Lotus at the time) and is now in his third year with the team. The 30 year old Finn will be starting his 90th F1 race in Melbourne, “Whatever happens when we get there, I just want it all to start right now. I’ve had a great Winter, worked hard and am heading into 2012 feeling fitter than ever.” Kovalainen admits that he has tweaked his training reg-imen for 2012, “I’ve made a couple of changes off track that will help me focus even more on my job with the team and with the step forward we’ve taken with this year’s car, I’m more keen than ever to get out on track and see how we’ve progressed again this year.”

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2012 PREVIEW HRT F1 TEAM

HRT F1 TEAM

An untested car, limited resources and the oldest driver lineup in Formula One

(average age 38) all signal a tough season ahead for the Spanish-based team, possibly tougher than last year. On the plus side, De la Rosa has bags of experience and HRT’s new owners know what they have got involved in. A first point would be little short of miraculous, though.

• Base: Madrid, Spain• Team principal: Luis Pérez-Sala• Technical director: Jean-Claude

Martens• Debut: 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix• Races competed: 37

PEDRO DE LA ROSA

NARAIN KARTHIKEYAN

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2012 PREVIEW MARUSSIA F1 TEAM

MARUSSIA F1 TEAM

Also arriving in Melbourne with an untested car and one that had still to pass a

final crash test less than two weeks before the start of the season. Glock is a steady pair of hands, Pic the least experienced man on the grid. Technical consultant Pat Symonds won titles with Renault but Marussia have to be creative with what may be the smallest budget of any team. Points possible only under freak conditions.

• Marussia• Base: Banbury, United Kingdom• Team principal: John Booth• Technical director: Nikolai

Fomenko• Debut: 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix• Races competed: 38

TIMO GLOCK

CHARLES PIC

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TYRE STRATEGY KEY TO 2012 FORMULA 1 SEASON

Having helped to set the fastest-ever lap of Albert Park during qualifying last year, Pirelli has a tough act to

follow in 2012. But in its second season of Formula One, the Italian firm has placed the emphasis even more firmly on race strategy by reducing the performance gap between the compounds and extending the window of peak performance on every tyre.

2012 PREVIEW PIRELLI

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TYRE STRATEGY KEY TO 2012 FORMULA 1 SEASON

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In Australia this weekend, the P Zero White medium tyre has been nominated together with the P Zero Yellow soft – and the difference between them is expected to be in the region of six-tenths of a second per lap. As always, the weather in Australia can be extremely variable, with the P Zero Green intermediates and P Zero Blue wet tyres available as well. There are some new tyre regulations in force this year, which means the teams will have all 11 sets of their total allocation available to them from the start of the first free practice session on Friday. This is designed to encourage the cars to run as much as possible from the very beginning of the race weekend, providing plenty of on-track action. As well as that, new technical rules ban blown diffusers, and Pirelli has responded to this by producing tyres that provide more grip at the rear than before. New markings will also make the distinct compound-specific colours more visible to audiences. Reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel will start this year aiming to become only the third driver in the history of Formula One to lift three straight drivers’ titles. The original person to manage this feat was the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio, who won his first title with Pirelli tyres in 1951.

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Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull Racing:“This year we start the season in Melbourne with the benefit of a year of working with Pirelli tyres. For 2012 Pirelli have developed new tyres, with softer compounds and improved warm up. After a lot of winter testing on cold tracks in Spain we will have new challenges in the much warmer conditions in Albert Park. The weekend always starts with the track being quite dirty and conditions change and improve all the way through the weekend. It’s bumpy and so easy to make a mistake and as the circuit grip improves, the behaviour of the tyres changes a lot. There are lots of points to get the right set-up for, in particular the Prost curve – you need a good set-up to look after the front tyres and avoid understeer to get the best speed on the start-finish. We have had a good winter testing, but now we start the real business. Last year was very good for us here, so I hope I stay on track and have another good race.

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Paul Hembery, Pirelli Motorsport Director:“Last year, we set the standard high by helping to ensure a season with the most overtaking in the history of Formula One, but this year we aim to make the spectacle even better. In general, our tyres are going to be less conservative, as can be seen from the choices we have nominated for the first three grands prix of the year. But the teams have a better idea of what to expect from us in 2012, and after nearly 50,000 kilometres of pre-season testing, we are sure they will already have a pretty good handle on the characteristics of the tyres and possible strategies. What we have aimed to do this year with the tyres is to give them more options, which of course makes the tyres more of a talking point. The drivers and cars will always be the stars of the show, but we’d like, once more, to bring the tyres more to the forefront. The teams asked us to challenge them this year, and naturally our aim is not to disappoint them. So we’re looking forward to another great race in Australia, which is always a fantastic place to get the season underway, thanks to its wonderful atmosphere and warm welcome.”

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2012 PREVIEW PIRELLITechnical Notes:

• Australia is a semi-permanent facility that is not used extensively during the year and with smooth, non-abrasive asphalt. This means that the track is quite ‘green’ towards the beginning of the weekend, but evolves considerably as more rubber is laid down.

• Around two pit stops per car are expected: this turned out to be the winning strategy last year, with 11 of the 14 classified finishers adopting it.

• Acceleration and braking are the main characteristics of the 5.303 km Albert Park circuit, rather than any especially demanding corners. So the longitudinal forces at work on the tyres are greater than the lateral forces.

• The rear-left tyre is the most stressed at Albert Park as there are 10 right-hand corners and six left-hand corners.

• A wide variety of weather conditions are possible, from torrential rain to bright sunshine. The soft and medium tyres represent the most versatile combination of tyre to deal with an extensive range of temperatures. Early forecasts indicate that rain could be expected on Friday for free practice.

• Last year, Pirelli nominated the hard compound together with the soft compound: the nomination for this year is less conservative – with the medium much closer in character to the 2011 soft.

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BIG PICTURE 2012 HELMETS

Sebastian Vettel (subject to change)

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Sebastian Vettel (subject to change)

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Mark Webber

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Mark Webber

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Jenson Button

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Jenson Button

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Lewis Hamilton

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Lewis Hamilton

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Fernando Alonso

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Fernando Alonso

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Felipe Massa

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Felipe Massa

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Michael Schumacher

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Michael Schumacher

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Nico Rosberg

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Nico Rosberg

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Kimi Raikkonen

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Kimi Raikkonen

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Romain Grosjean

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Romain Grosjean

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Nico Hulkenberg

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Nico Hulkenberg

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Paul Di Resta

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Paul Di Resta

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Kamui Kobayashi

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Kamui Kobayashi

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Sergio Perez

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Sergio Perez

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Daniel Ricciardo

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Daniel Ricciardo

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Jean Eric Vergne

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Jean Eric Vergne

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Pastor Maldonado

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Pastor Maldonado

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Bruno Senna

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Bruno Senna

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Heikki Kovalainen

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Heikki Kovalainen

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Vitaly Petrov

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Vitaly Petrov

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Pedro de la Rosa

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Pedro de la Rosa

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Narain Karthikeyan


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Narain Karthikeyan


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Timo Glock

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Timo Glock

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Charles Pic

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Charles Pic


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YallaF1 Magazine 14 March 2012

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Transcript of YallaF1 Magazine 14 March 2012