The Official 2012 F1 Thread. Spoilers possible!

Surprised he didn't bleed to death.

Seriously though, Sutil wrote his letter of resignation with that move there. Not surprised at all Hulky got his seat.

ah ha!

yeah, not much of a cut...

but depending on where you are when that sort of thing happens it can be considered assault with a weapon (and that's a big deal). pretty cowardly as well in my opinion.

I agree. His ride was already shaky. Then he goes and does that. As I posted earlier, that was roughly the same time that he finally woke up and realized the trouble he was in. His performances, at least in qualifying, improved. But too little, too late.

You may well be right. We've never heard the details of the incident. I've long been curious to know how drunk either man was, and what preceded the scratches on Lux's face and neck.

Should you care to have F1 dates on your calendar (like google calendar), go here:

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2012-f1-season/2012-f1-calendar/

And you can add all the dates to your calendar in one go.

You can also try www.flogs.com, they have good schedules as well, although you have to sign up to download 'em

JC

waiting patiently....

http://www.lotusf1team.com/

Sidepod looks interesting in that photo.

Every time they turn the steering wheel it's going to disturb the airflow. They really need to think that through.

Nah, that little deflector will push the air up.

Not sure if that will matter too much. Every time the steering wheel is turned the car (obviously) is also going to turn, disrupting the airflow much more than the steering wheel...methinks. If there is already airflow peeling off the broad side and upper edge of the cockpit/nose structure, the resulting flow over the exposed steering wheel (and drivers hand) is probably already very messy. The effect of putting a non aerodynamic shape in that messy flow is probably minimal, and is surely outweighed (in theory at least) by whatever the design is trying to maximize. looks to me like the top of the chassis is raised or sort of bulged a bit it in front of the steering wheel.. Perhaps trying to pre the airflow out marionette cockpit a little more? Dunno.

F1 cars are all about controlling airflow to maximize downforce, AKA handling, and reducing drag at high speed. Somewhat contradictory. The actual coefficient of drag is very high, so a wheel turning isn't going to effect drag that much.

funny noses this year




good discussion of what we can expect to see in the new cars for this year

http://scarbsf1.wordpress.com/2012/01/20/f1-2012-rules-designs-and-trends/

I was kidding about the steering wheel.

Since so many of the races are boring, I think they should be decided this way:

Cut those ridiculously complicated front wings into small pieces. The first team that can reassemble its wing properly, wins.

If you wish to be at the Start Finish line of the Austin GP, Click here to reserve.

FYI, you will most likely know who the winner is from a more interesting position on the circuit. Your chance of a photo finish is not high.

Are tix on sale yet?

Reservations, go on sale 3/1, I think. This is for the select seating and luxury box seating. Fixed link, I hope.

Kimi!