FORUMula1.com - F1 Forum

[scotty]

Haha erm Renault... the engine manufacturer? So in theory Red Bull, Lotus, Caterham, Williams all gain a little...

Peter Windsor's impressions of the Ferrari on track:

Felipe Massa looked very good late in the day, when he was finally able to string some laps together (prior to that, Ferrari were in telemetry mode: out-lap, in-lap, out-lap, in-lap). The new Ferrari gave the impression of being fast on both slow and fast corners – and I say “gave the impression” because Felipe appeared to be driving well within the car’s limits at every given moment. And he was doing so with a nice, taut entry phase, just as he used to have in the good old days. No reason to be anything but positive about Ferrari at this early stage of the day.

Apparently Massa is much happier with the new car cause there is 'much less oversteer'... No excuses for him now then

[darwin dali]

Haha erm Renault... the engine manufacturer? So in theory Red Bull, Lotus, Caterham, Williams all gain a little...

Peter Windsor's impressions of the Ferrari on track:

Felipe Massa looked very good late in the day, when he was finally able to string some laps together (prior to that, Ferrari were in telemetry mode: out-lap, in-lap, out-lap, in-lap). The new Ferrari gave the impression of being fast on both slow and fast corners – and I say “gave the impression” because Felipe appeared to be driving well within the car’s limits at every given moment. And he was doing so with a nice, taut entry phase, just as he used to have in the good old days. No reason to be anything but positive about Ferrari at this early stage of the day.

Apparently Massa is much happier with the new car cause there is 'much less oversteer'... No excuses for him now then

oooh - pressure, high expectations, threats from Monte - tough year for FM...

[darwin dali]

Those pics confirm one thing: The MP4-27 is pure umpalumpa.

That's a sad statement on so many levels

[kerc]

Those pics confirm one thing: The MP4-27 is pure umpalumpa.

That's a sad statement on so many levels

I has a sad.

[kerc]

Haha erm Renault... the engine manufacturer? So in theory Red Bull, Lotus, Caterham, Williams all gain a little...

Peter Windsor's impressions of the Ferrari on track:

Felipe Massa looked very good late in the day, when he was finally able to string some laps together (prior to that, Ferrari were in telemetry mode: out-lap, in-lap, out-lap, in-lap). The new Ferrari gave the impression of being fast on both slow and fast corners – and I say “gave the impression” because Felipe appeared to be driving well within the car’s limits at every given moment. And he was doing so with a nice, taut entry phase, just as he used to have in the good old days. No reason to be anything but positive about Ferrari at this early stage of the day.

Apparently Massa is much happier with the new car cause there is 'much less oversteer'... No excuses for him now then

And then...

Felipe Massa has admitted that Ferrari has a lot of work to do with its new F2012 amid questions about whether or not the new car has delivered the step forward the team was hoping for.

While its main rivals Red Bull Racing and McLaren have been bullish about the early impressions of their new cars, Ferrari has been less forthcoming about the performance of its new challenger.

Speaking after his second day of running at Jerez in Spain on Wednesday, where he completed 95 laps to set the seventh best overall time, Massa admitted that there was a long road ahead for his Maranello-based outfit.

"Actually there is a lot of work," said the Brazilian. "It is a brand new car and it is not a car that we had in the last year - even at the start. It is a car that needs a lot more work, and a lot more things to try as well.

"Today I did so many laps, just trying such different things on the car. It was a day where we had to concentrate so much on the little stuff, the little things that we need to understand, where we need to collect a lot of data. And I am sure it will be like that even tomorrow - even to concentrate on the next test."

When asked if he had experienced any unwelcome surprises during testing, Massa said: "You always get them with a new car. Sometimes you don't see the result that you expect. Plus some other parts as well, you have a different direction. So I think it is just the beginning of a big job to have a consistent and competitive car."

Massa said that the fact Ferrari has embarked on such a different philosophy with its car meant that there was likely to be a pretty intense testing plan for the team over the next few weeks.

"It is a lot of work, for sure. As I said, we tried so many things different in the car and so many runs – we go out with not everything in the car. We go out to collect data.

"It is different than in the past. The programme is much more different and more complicated, also for us because we try so many things just looking for the performance of the things in the car that we are trying."

[andrew]

Those pics confirm one thing: The MP4-27 is pure umpalumpa.

That's a sad statement on so many levels

Not so much sad as just plain wrong!

[kerc]

Those pics confirm one thing: The MP4-27 is pure umpalumpa.

That's a sad statement on so many levels

Not so much sad as just plain wrong!

Well, all the other cars look like they were designed by two different teams of engineers: one working from the nose, and one working from the back, and they had to meet at some point and make it all fit.

[stonemonkey]

Those pics confirm one thing: The MP4-27 is pure umpalumpa.

That's a sad statement on so many levels

Not so much sad as just plain wrong!

Well, all the other cars look like they were designed by two different teams of engineers: one working from the nose, and one working from the back, and they had to meet at some point and make it all fit.

The guys starting on the front must've been smoking something if that's as far as they got.

Cool to see Kimi up there, any chance the team could be giving him a bit more freedom to find out about the car and tyres than other drivers get during first testing?

[andrew]

Those pics confirm one thing: The MP4-27 is pure umpalumpa.

That's a sad statement on so many levels

Not so much sad as just plain wrong!

Well, all the other cars look like they were designed by two different teams of engineers: one working from the nose, and one working from the back, and they had to meet at some point and make it all fit.

To me the McLaren looks bland - personnal opinion, I'm (apparently) entitled to that so no flaming required thank you - compared to the others released thus far. The bump on the noses, although ugly as sin, add something in that there is a bit of variation between cars and the Red Bull vent adds a bit of mystery seeing as no one knows its' purpose yet.

[LewEngBridewell]

I'm (apparently) entitled to that so no flaming required thank you

Sorry mate. I have no choice.

[andrew]

I'm (apparently) entitled to that so no flaming required thank you

Sorry mate. I have no choice.

Dammit Lew, you've paved the way for those who opperate outwith the control of the moderators!

[bud]

I think these new cars remind you of your forklifts at work which is why you like them

So here's a question for you what's better looking the RB7 or RB8? Answer that truthfully and youll see the McLarens not so bland looking.

[vlad]

McLaren is really nice, nicer than in the previous seasons... Last year's Red Bull was perfection, this one is not that pretty, to be honest, but it is still prettier than most of the grid.

[andrew]

I think these new cars remind you of your forklifts at work which is why you like them

So here's a question for you what's better looking the RB7 or RB8? Answer that truthfully and youll see the McLarens not so bland looking.

They look nothing like a forklift but a forklift with an F1 engine would be something.

The RB8 has the mysterious vent which adds a bit of intrigue but I generally don't like the bumps. I'd have to say the the RB7 is better to look at but the RB8 could potentially be more interesting given the lack of an EBD and the mystery vent.

Compared with the rest of the 2012 cars the McLaren is bland but I think that is due to the bumps being a bit of a talking point and the McLarens talking points (if any) not being so obvious.

[racechick]

Apparantly quite a few team principals have spoken to Charlie Whiting at Jerez to see if the rules can be changed for 2013, so that they dont have to have such ugly nose cars.......I dont imagine Whitmarsh was one of the principals involved