Charles Pic to race for Marussia in 2012.Schumacher extends Mercedes contract for 2013. Good news but I'm not sure about the reliability of the referenced report.
So far the grid for 2012 is looking like:
Red Bull Renault - Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, reserve driver(s) TBA
McLaren Mercedes - Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton, reserve drivers Pedro de la Rosa and Gary Paffett
Ferrari - Fernando Alonso and either Fileppe Massa or Nico Rosberg, reserve driver(s) TBA
Mercedes - Michael Schumacher and probably Nico Rosberg, reserve driver(s) TBA
Lotus Renault GP - Vitaly Petrov and Robert Kubica or Roman Grosjean, reserve driver(s) TBA
Force India Mercedes - Paul di Resta and possibly (but unlikely) Adrian Sutil, reserve drivers TBA
Sauber Ferrari - Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Pérez, reserve driver Esteban Gutiérrez
Scuderia Torro Rosso Ferrari - nae idea!
Williams Renault - combination of Kimi Raikkonen (
), Rubens Barrichello, Pastor Maldonado, Adrian Sutil
Caterham F1 Team Renault - Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli, reserve driver(s) TBA
HRT Cosworth - nae idea!
Marussia F1 Team Cosworth - Timo Glock and Charles Pic, reserve driver(s) TBA
Team name changes for 2012:
Team Lotus will become Caterham F1 Team, reflecting team principal Tony Fernandes' purchase of Caterham Cars.
Lotus Renault GP will change their chassis name to Lotus, having been sponsored by Lotus Cars in 2010.
Virgin Racing will become Marussia F1 Team, reflecting increased ownership of the team by Russian car manufacturer Marussia Motors.
Williams will be using Renault engines for the 2012 and 2013 seasons, with an option to use Renault engines again in 2014 under the next generation of engine regulations.
Virgin Racing split with Wirth Research mid-season (2011) after a technical review by Pat Symonds found that Virgin's CFD-only approach had failed. The team also announced a technical partnership with McLaren that granted them access to McLaren's testing facilities as well as the purchase of Wirth Research facilities.
2012 Calander:
1 Australian Grand Prix Australian GP, Albert Park, Melbourne 18 March
2 Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix Malaysian GP, Sepang International Circuit, Kuala Lumpur 25 March
3 UBS Chinese Grand Prix Chinese GP, Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai 15 April
4 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix Bahrain GP, Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir 22 April
5 Gran Premio de España Santander Spanish GP, Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona 13 May
6 Grand Prix de Monaco Monaco GP, Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo 27 May
7 Grand Prix du Canada Canadian GP, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal 10 June
8 Grand Prix of Europe European GP, Valencia Street Circuit, Valencia 24 June
9 Santander British Grand Prix British GP, Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone 8 July
10 Großer Preis Santander von Deutschland German GP, Hockenheimring, Hockenheim 22 July
11 Eni Magyar Nagydíj Hungarian GP, Hungaroring, Budapest 29 July
12 Shell Belgian Grand Prix Belgian GP, Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Spa 2 September
13 Gran Premio Santander d'Italia Italian GP, Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza 9 September
14 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix Singapore GP, Marina Bay Street Circuit, Marina Bay 23 September
15 Japanese Grand Prix Japanese GP, Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka 7 October
16 Korean Grand Prix Korean GP, Korean International Circuit, Yeongam 14 October
17 Airtel Grand Prix of India Indian GP, Buddh International Circuit, Greater Noida 28 October
18 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Abu Dhabi GP, Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi 4 November
19 United States Grand Prix United States GP, Circuit of the Americas, Austin 18 November
20 Grande Prêmio do Brasil Brazilian GP, Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo 25 November
Rule Changes:
The 2011 season saw teams running "off-throttle blown diffusers", which created downforce by forcing fuel through the engine to produce exhaust gasses and directing it over the diffuser when the driver was not applying the throttle. This concept was initially thought to be banned from the 2011 British Grand Prix onwards, but after much controversy were not. The regulations in 2012 will be governing the design of the exhaust. The teams have already agreed to strict constraints on exhaust tailpipe position which will result in them exiting the bodywork much higher up and no longer in the vicinity of the diffuser. In October 2011, a clarification to the amended rules was issued, effectively banning "exotic" engine maps.
After being banned in 2009, in-season testing will return in 2012, with plans for a test to be held at Mugello on May 1 ahead of the European leg of the 2012 championship.
At the September 2011 meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council, representatives of the member organisations voted to amend the rules for double-waved yellow flags in all FIA-sanctioned championships. The amendment means that double-waved flags will be shown when a track marshall is working on or beside the circuit.
Technical regulations for 2012 include the reprofiling of the car's nose. The pre-2012 regulations allow the nose to be as high as 62.5cm above ground, but the revisions to the sporting code lower the maximum allowable height to 55cm.
Faced with several constructors applying for name changes, teams have requested a clearer definition of what constitutes a "constructor". Under the rules set out in the Sixth Concorde Agreement, several teams have been forced to compete under names that do not necessarily reflect their ownership - such as Sauber competing as "BMW Sauber" in 2010, despite BMW withdrawing from the sport at the end of the 2009 season - in order to preserve their status as a current constructor and their claim to a share of the television rights paid to teams that placed in the top ten in the final World Constructors' Championship standings.
At the meeting for the Formula One Commission in Geneva in November 2011, the use of helium in air guns used to change tyres during pit stops was banned. Despite increasing the rotation speed of the air guns by up to 30%, the use of helium was deemed to be too expensive with little competitive gain.
Twit!
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