Ferrari F2012 launch, 2012

Ferrari F2012 launch – first pictures and video of Ferrari’s 2012 F1 car

2012 F1 cars

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Ferrari have revealed their 2012 F1 car in Maranello. The team’s latest challenger has been named the F2012.

After Fernando Alonso narrowly missed out on the championship in 2010, Ferrari endured a poor season by their standards last year. Alonso won just once and Felipe Massa never finished higher than fifth.

The team vowed to take a less conservative approach with their new car.

“The main changes when compared to 2011 concern the height of the front section of the chassis, the position of the exhaust pipes and the mapping for the electronic engine management,” said a statement released by the team.

“Practically every area of the car has been fundamentally revised, starting with the suspension layout: both the front and rear feature pull-rods, aimed at favouring aerodynamic performance and lowering the centre of gravity.

“The front wing is derived from the one introduced on the 150 Italia in the final part of its racing life and has been evolved from there. Further evolutions are planned in this area for the opening races of the season.

“The nose has a step in it that is not aesthetically pleasing: with the requirement from the regulations to lower the front part, this was a way of raising the bottom part of the chassis as much as possible for aerodynamic reasons. The sides have been redesigned, through modifications to the side impact structures, the repositioning of the radiators and revisions to all aerodynamic elements.

“The lower part of the rear of the car is much narrower and more tapered, a feature achieved partly through a new gearbox casing and a relocation of some mechanical components. In recent years, the area of exhausts has been crucial in terms of car performance and much effort was expended on this front, based on changes to the regulations introduced this year. The rear wing is conceptually similar to the one used in 2011, but every detail of it has been revised and it is now more efficient.

“Naturally, it is still fitted with DRS (a drag reduction system,) which is operated hydraulically. The front and rear air intakes for the brakes have been redesigned and work was carried out in collaboration with Brembo to optimise the braking system.”

Heavy snow in Maranello forced the team to cancel their launch ceremony and scrap plans for a shakedown run on their Fiorano circuit.

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First pictures of Ferrari’s new F1 car:

Ferrari F2012 launch video

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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257 comments on “Ferrari F2012 launch – first pictures and video of Ferrari’s 2012 F1 car”

  1. Oh my…

    1. Exactly my response as well @Sherlock what a munter!

      But if its quick then Alonso and the Tifosi won’t mind one bit. Interesting that Ferrari seem to be angling their exhausts at the brake ducts. I got this impression from the weird exhausts on the MP4-27 as well. If the RB8 looks like this it might well be the first ‘must have’ of 2012.

      1. http://www.marca.com/2012/02/03/multimedia/graficos/1328275973.html
        This comparative between this and last year is very interesting if some fans want to take a look.

        1. hang on a tick. i thought the new nose regulations were supposed to lower it? from the fron comparison, the 2012 ferrari actually has a higher nose than last year!

          1. @sato113 the F2012; from the bump to the cockpit, is exactly the same height. From the bump forwards it’s lower.

          2. @raymondu999 yes but the end of the nose is higher slightly. the rest doesnt matter. dont forget the new nose rules were introduced in order to stop cars flying up in the air if the nose hits a rear tyre of the car infront.

          3. @sato113 no it’s not. The F150 nose wouldn’t even be legal this year because it’s so high.

            Use the wheelnut as a reference point, and compare: http://autoweek.com/galleryimage/CW/20110128/F1/128009995/PH/1/1/Ferrari-F150_1.jpg

          4. @raymondu999 ok it’s not ‘slightly higher’ but both noses are roughly the same height. here’s the proof- something i knocked up on ms paint.

            http://i41.tinypic.com/2ebhhs2.jpg

          5. seems the 2011 ferrari nose wasn’t that high in the first place i guess.

          6. @sato113 You need to get your terms right. The “nose” is the bit that gets changed when someone breaks a front wing. The part between the driver and front wheels is known as the bulkhead. That is NOT changed (in terms of regs for 2012). Only the nose regs are changed.

          7. @raymondu999 I’ve been talking about the nose all along. I’ve been talking about the end of it (ie. the pointy bit which is the first body part to hit the rear tyre of a car infront). these new rules were made to lower that contact point (end of the nose) so that cars wouldn’t fly up in the air if they hit a rear tyre.

            what my arguement is is that the end of the nose on the new ferrari is barely lower than on the 2011 car.

          8. @raymondu999, to me it seems that @satu113 is indeed right about the tip of the nosecone being slightly higher and the bottom of the nosecone being flatter and a tad higher than last year, probably because the nose section was shortened quite a bit and is now far wider and flatter in total (in front of the jump down from the bulkhead)

            That MARCA gallery with comparisons is really nice, its available in English as well! by the way.

          9. @sato113 I’ve re read a set of the 2011 tech regs again – and I see now. Ferrari’s start of the nose on the F150 was at max height; but they tapered the front off so that the nose tip had a more gentle transition to the nose. The tip and underside aren’t at absolute max height. I do apologize.

            Here’s a better way to compare the heights by the way.

            @keithcollantine you might also be interested in that link – it’s the slider comparing thing; fantastic for making direct comparisons.

        2. @peru-kowalsky great find!

          That slider thing is really useful. It’s interesting to see that both Ferrari and Mclaren have angled their sidepods so that there is a small channel towards the rear wing – obviously a similar concept, if a lot smaller, as the U-pods last year.

        3. Very good link, thanks; awesome comparation with the cursor!

        4. Very cool that they put together that comparison, but I’m a bit confused: the wheelbase looks longer from the side, but shorter from the top.

          Anyone know if the wheelbase has changed at all, and if so, in what direction?

          1. I doubt they would have changed the wheelbase much, maybe a bit of finetuning due to going for a different suspension but that’s it (weight distribution stays unchanged, but Ferrari did have a bit of a problem with the tyres, so they might have done a small shift)

      2. I think there’ll be two trends this year, as I read on ScarbsF1. One is to angle the exhausts as low as possible creating an area of downforce around the brake ducts, which is far from compensating blown diffusers, but is still something. Another, more classical, is to angle them high aiming for the lower piece of the rear wing, creating some downforce there but risking the structure there, something which used to happen years before (See Ralph Firman crash at Hungaroring 2003). I’d go for the brakes solution, seems to have a double advantage (aerodynamics and refrigeration)

      3. You are right, if it’s quick then I couldn’t care less. Funny thing is, the nose has already grown on me, in the same way that high rear wings don’t even look weird anymore.

        I think you are definitely right about the exhaust exit, they are going into the fins where the brake duct is. Surprised more teams aren’t doing it. Supposedly it is difficult because it is near to the cooling duct but I don’t see why, I imagine the hot exhaust gases move so quickly that they don’t deviate much.

    2. Didn’t know Ferrari hired stone masons to design the car…

      1. I guess Ferrari wants to be a notch above the rest!

  2. Hahah someone hit it with the ugly stick.

    1. they said it was going to be ugly… and they were just damn right! this is seriously ugly!

      The ugliest car I’ve ever seen since I watch F1, certainly.

      Now the Caterham doesn’t look too bad and the McLaren looks epic…

      1. I never thought aesthetics were important for F1, allthough naturally I do enjoy pretty cars. However, what strikes me most isn’t the fact that this is ugly (it is), but that every fibre in my body wants to tell me that this can’t be the best solution when talking about aerodynamics.

        I do believe that at least the smoother Force India version must be better, and that McLaren probably figured out how to do it properly. I can’t possibly imagine how a formula car, smashing its forehead into the wind like this can be aerodynamically efficient.

          1. Those were exactly my thoughts! Boy it’s ugly!
            The nose is so square it looks like a scaled Lego Ferrari, those wheels are ok but they also have a fake plasticky look. And I thought that a lower nose would make it look longer but that Ferrari just looks like it had its nose chopped off, it looks so short!!

    2. I think it just looks mean. Better than Caterham and Force India IMO.

  3. Are Ferrari aware that someone nicked their car and replaced it with a combine harvester?

    1. Maybe they built the wintunnel models from LEGO and forgot to tell the guys to refine the front a bit?

      1. I couldn’t stop laughing at that comment.

      2. Hahaha, brilliant.

      3. So far, McLaren is the only one without that ugly Lego Nose? Can’t wait to see the rest!

        1. OMG that’s funny.

        2. LOL the jokes are just flowing today!!

  4. Duck Bill 2-1 Decent Car Design

  5. argh… the nose is horrible, but this was expected

    1. as just everyone laughed at the ‘anteater’ nose of F2001, i hope that the F2012 will shut up the critics.
      He laughs best who laughs last…

      1. In the end of the day, it’s all down to performance. F1 is not a beauty constes :).

  6. Whoa. I mean, just… Wow.

  7. DAT NOSE

    Oh my goodness. I never thought I’d be one to care about how F1 cars look, but that is one crooked conk! I wonder what Enzo would’ve made of it…

    1. When they showed pictures of the nose a couple of weeks ago, I thought that was just schematically showing the boundaries of the new rules. Turns out its not :-(

      But its not the ugliest Ferrari F1 car built (just look at this one)., although it would certainly make it into the top 10.

      Interesting, they point the exhaust outlet towards the rear wheel ducts/vanes. Lets see what happens with it in testing then.
      Also interesting to note that with the exhaust outlet, the backside of the sidepods is not much different from last years McLaren with the U-shaped channels.

      1. Honestly, @BasCB, I prefer the 312 B3 “Spazzaneve”!

        1. LOL, at least its a complete box!

    2. After more than 60 years the red goddess decided to have cosmetic surgery .. and it turned out like most old divas.

      I’m already kind of getting used to it though.

    3. It has Alonso’s Nose. The ugly duckling.

      1. Alain Prost, the new Ferrari Chief Designer, exacts his revenge on his former employer.

  8. Good lord. F1F crashing in 3….2….1…..

  9. It has a witchypoo nose.. why lord why…

  10. I have to admit, I did flinch slightly as that nose was revealed. The flat red Livery does not flatter it.

    1. OH MY GOD!!! This just gets worse.

      1. Not really, at least Force India and Catheram have a sculpted step. Ferrari just have a big ignorant slope.

        1. I personally prefer the ignorant slope, but not that much.

    2. It is going to be hard picking the 2012 ugliest F1 car. Lots of really good competition this year.

  11. i think its awesome!

  12. Quicker than on there own site.

    ^ Championship winning car ^, RBR and Mclaren will have to fight for 2nd

    1. It’s all relative.. Mclaren have gone for a better looking car, it’s aerodynamic superiority is yet to be assessed. Ferrari have said they’ve gone for an aggressive design, and it certainly looks a lot more agressive than Caterham’s nose.
      All that’s left is to see what Mercedes can produce, and what RBR’s pet Newey can come up with!

      1. I was serious, I think they might leap frog Mclaren and RBR

        1. Based on…?

      2. I was serious, I think they might leap frog Mclaren and RBR, look like the made the nose out of lego bricks though (other building bricks are available) ;-)

  13. i like it different but it was expected same with the force india

  14. Oh my god, my eyes!

    I kind of like the sidepods but that nose…. that’s horrendous!

    1. Imagine it in HD… *shudder*

    2. I know. Worst looking Ferrari ever? I knew I shouldn’t have been so quick to slate the Mclaren. It might actually look good if it wasn’t for that awful dip in the nose even Eau Rouge doesn’t have that much of a gradient change.

      1. I actually like McLaren nose. Better than last year. More like at Renault’s 2010 car which looked great.

  15. The nose is the only bit I don’t really like. Other than that, it’s not a bad looking car! Still, I preferred the F150 Italia thing or whatever it was called.

  16. It looks like Kim Kardashian, great rear but horrendous nose.

    1. @Macca A very good summary.

  17. I think that even worse than the Caterham…very aggressive step and a really flat nose forward of the step. #eeewwwwwwwww

  18. Domenicali wasn’t lying :D

  19. OMG, THEY HAVE IT! THE NOSE!!! LOVE IT!!!

    1. In the sense that is so clearly the worse, most blocky, and extreme way the 2012 rules allow the nose, it is as if they wanted to make a point? It could almost be magnificent in its brutality, I guess.

      Having now seen a shot from the front, they do clearly get a lot of air under it though, quite impressive.

  20. Did MC Escher design this car? It just looks wrong to my eyes. You’ve got all these angles at one end and curves at the other, and it just seems to come across as entirely contradictory. Even if the Caterham CT-01 had a beautiful rear despite its nose, the F2012 is just as ugly at the back as it is at the front. Maybe the FIA should put a rush order on those low noses for 2013 …

    1. @prisoner-monkeys

      I kind of thought the same when I first looked at it. But the fact it’s so different any of the others we’ve seen (in my eyes) is really intriguing. Something tells me it’s going to be either hugely fast, or massively slow.

      1. @electrolite – I can’t help but think that Ferrari and Caterham are only using the stepped nose because they’re obligated to under the rules. Given the choice, they would no doubt run a full nose at the full height. McLaren and Force India, on the other hand, have found inventive solutions to the height discrepancy in the rules; McLaren found a way to avoid the step, whilst Force India took it to an extreme and came up with something very interesting.

        With its blocky angles, oversized front wing and stick-out exhaust outlet, I can’t help but think that Ferrari have looked to a combine harvester for inspiration.

        1. Roll on Melbourne that’s what I say.

        2. I don’t see how Mclaren going for a slope is more inventive in itself than Ferrari pushing the limit of the rules.

    2. @Prisoner-Monkeys Looking at it I would have pretty serious concerns about the incline of that nose as well. The angle is almost as severe as a wing! Surely it’s going to upset flow to the rear wing/over the sidepods being that steep.

      All I can think is that Ferrari have decided the air flow under the nose to the floor and sidepods is way more important.

      1. Same here, I’m still trying to figure out why they would leave the nose like that. Not a clue.

        1. I’m guessing that despite the extreme angle at the step, the flow of air over the car isn’t interrupted. Certainly not to the extent that the images imply they might be. I can only imagine that the the angle “kicks” the air up, where it gets caught by the airbox.

          1. @prisoner-monkeys Really the bump of the nose has a very little aero effect, just a local high pressure followed by low pressure and two weak vortices on the sides

      2. @bleeps_and_tweaks @electrolite as I said above, there is very little aero effect. Just a local high pressure zone followed by a local low, and a couple of weak vortices.

      3. And i think this steeped nose will provide two benefit:

        1. More air to feed into the sidepod and the rear and
        2. Air over the nose will directly goes for the additional cooing inlets nd thus provide more air nd they can be blown into the rear simultaneously as well….

        :D

  21. Kill it before it lays eggs!…although i do like the back part and sidepods.

    1. thats brilliant!

  22. Oh dear….I reckon I can delete the standard reply of “f1 is just so sexy” from my vocabulary.

  23. I just spewed in my mouth. The McLaren is gorgeous compared to this :(

  24. I had to look away from my screen when they unveiled that nose, I truly did, looks terrible, but it’s a Ferrari Formula One car, so I’m ok with that ;)

  25. it’s not just the nose, it’s got weird growths coming out of the sidepods, and a bit of a hunchback too

  26. That is probably the ugliest Ferrari I have seen. I don’t really know what to say, this is quite shocking. But as I said about the McLaren, it will most lokely improve a lot when its on a track.

    Anyone remember the tradition that every year when the car was revealed, Schumacher said it was the prettiest car he had ever seen (which was usually true)?! I can’t see Alonso (or anyone) say that. Domenicali was absolutely right when he said it wasn’t pleasing on the eye and its not just the nose. The exhaust construction looks even more extreme than McLarens, I’m a bit surprised FIA didn’t deem them against the spirit of the rules.

    Well, I’ll take that car, it will be ok, but it has to be as fast as its ugly.

    1. @bananarama Juan Manuel Fangio said that, already in the late 1940s, he had understood that the winning cars were always the most beautiful ones. That was after he had won a race driving some utter crocodile :)

    2. The Ferraris Michael Schumacher drove got better every year, until 2004 I’d say. The F2005 was a small step backwards in aestehetics, then the 248 F1 and the F2007 were better and the F2008 was the best.

  27. LEGO NOSE

    1. Thought I was the only one looking at one of those lego ferrari kits

  28. Oh dear, it looks like it’s already crashed and had it’s nose broken!
    (I thought the exhausts were supposed to exit at an upward angle under the new rules?)

    1. Well maybe the actual exhausts are at an upward angle but the bodywork was “coincidently” formed that way .. who knows.

  29. Phew… that is pretty bad indeed. I kind of expected bigger winglets in front of the sidepods though, the drawings showed a lot bigger ones… but I already thought they’d be illegal by today’s rules.

    Yeah, well… let’s hope these noses disappear after 2012… that’s all there is left to say really.

  30. Their merchandise deal with LEGO does really show this time around.

    1. Finally a nose that can be accurately represented in LEGO?

  31. Mikkel Sørensen (@)
    3rd February 2012, 9:23

    Mclaren mentioned they where prepared for a legal battle over their new car.. Have anybody heard some more about this? I guess they are referring to the nose.. I just can’t imagine the Mclaren nose being legal when none of the other teams who have presented their car yet have a similar nose?

    1. Check out scarbsf1’s blog. He explained why the nose is indeed legal. It’s simply lower than the others.

    2. Mclaren used a lower chasis and it was the only team to use it, that was part of 2012 reg there for the nose is legal. Green talked about it on the launching of force india sahara.

  32. UNeedAFinn2Win
    3rd February 2012, 9:25

    This year is NOT one to try get your friends onboard F!…just wow, w-o-w…

    …wait, we’re not trying to break into a major market this season, are we ?

  33. The sad thing is that this is completely unnecessary. Mclaren showed you can still make a beautiful-not hideous car, with the current regulations.

    So so unnecessary…

    1. Time will tell how unnecessary it is. The McLaren, while looking gorgeous, could be a brick with wheels. The Ferrari, while looking like lego bricks on wheels, could perform gorgeously.

      Obviously, I hope not – hopefully, McLaren have produced a championship winning car.

    2. Most important things is Mac is continuing their design philosophy from 2011 to present car, but if other cars want to do the same low nose then they have to completely redesign their car nd have to adopt a new design philosophy. so why to change to a new uncertain design, it is logical to go for the known track and re tuned it. Hope i m right……..

  34. Won’t that bump in the nose will help for more front grip ? Since it is a higher surface against the wind, like a pressure ?

  35. jsw11984 (@jarred-walmsley)
    3rd February 2012, 9:27

    I think we all owe Caterham a big apology, the CT-01 is no where near the ugliness of this. Obviously the McLaren is the best looking so far, hopefully Red Bull will go for the streamlined nose like McLaren instead of the step nose. At least then we’ll have some competition for prettiest car cause at this stage they’re all just lining up for the ugliest award

  36. Mini U side pods *wink*, tiny Rad intakes, what this baby over heat while following cars….. they must have done something clever with the cooling, second intake behind the air box, alla Mclaren last year.

  37. What have they done with the exhaust? Isn’t it supposed to point upwards at a minimum angle of 10 degrees?
    Oh another thing, that thing makes the Caterham look like Scarlett Johansson…

  38. It looks like Owen Wilson.

      1. hahahahah

  39. I know they said it was ugly, but even on that scale this is over the top. It better perform, I must go chat with my old work colleagues in Italy to see what their reaction is.

  40. Ferrari F1 1950-2011 Scuderia Platypus 2012-?

    Mclaren proved it doesn’t have to be this way guys!!!!!!!

    1. No they haven’t, yet, Mclaren might be dog slow

  41. I want to see pictures from the rear. It looks like the shaped the sidepods to let the exhaust blow downwards…

  42. The FIA deems this to be legal? Don’t they have an ugly-o-meter?

  43. Is it just me or do the noses on the 2012 cars make look a bit Indy Car-ish from certain angles?

    1. More like last year’s IndyCar than the new one, but I see what you mean.

    2. I agree, was thinking the same thing!

  44. Is it just me or do the noses on the 2012 cars make them look a bit Indy Car-ish from certain angles?

  45. FUGLY!!!

  46. petebaldwin (@)
    3rd February 2012, 9:53

    I can’t believe Ferrari have created something so ugly.. That’s maybe unfair as covering the front end up, it looks a beautiful car but they’ve actually managed to make an uglier stepped nose than Caterham or Force India!

    I hope McLaren blow these teams out of the water as they deserve it for not conforming to what it appears everyone else will do – build a hideous F1 car.

    1. @petebaldwin May I suggest Beauty Pageants if aesthetics are what you deem to be the most important factor in competition?

      1. petebaldwin (@)
        3rd February 2012, 12:53

        I don’t deem asthetics the most important factor in competition however, I would respond to your question with one of my own.

        What to you view as the most important thing in competition? A competitive series? Out and out speed? Exciting races?

        There are far better alternatives for all 3 of those in other series but yet we all follow F1….

        The point is that F1 is a combination of the best drivers in the world, the most technically brilliant and beautiful cars, stunning tracks and exciting racing. Start taking those aspects away, and you lose a major part of what F1 is.

      2. Out and out speed?

        Something beats F1 in that?

  47. I actually quite like it, for some odd reason.
    The only thing that bothers me, as someone who used to be a fan in the late 80’s til the end of 1995, is the ugly livery.

  48. It is like they had two design teams working independently of each other. One team made the front and one made the back. Then they just stuck the two ends together.

    The front and back just dont match up.

  49. its actually very interesting. we all expected the nose. but the sidepods and the engine cover are very nicely sculpted. much more refined than the McLaren. i think the most interesting design so far.

    1. The sidepods remind me of the Renault from, I guess, 2009, with narrow quarter cirle openings at the front, long and tapering in at the bottom end, but flat on top. Just a very different concept that either Red Bull has, or the McLaren had or has now.

      At least that part of the cars is still quite distinct this year, like the last, with FI going for a STR 2010 like pod, while Caterham are more like RB7 there.

      Apart from creating a lot of space underneath, the nose seems to have one thing else worth mentioning: that looks like Pull Rods, though indeed very horizontally placed.

  50. I think I could live with the VMJ duck nose (not much unlike mine really) or the Caterham boxer nose, but this is from another ugly dimension all together. The car seems like it’s been designed by two different persons… And one only had a ruler on hand

  51. 4 car launches in and we have 3 clear stepped noses and 1 sweeping nose.

    Is this the McLaren Achilles heal of 2012 forcing another costly re-design at the start of a season, or another F-Duct / 2nd brake pedal moment?
    Oh to be a fly on the wall at the MTC, to see if they are flapping their wings wondering how they got the rulebook wrong, or sitting smug like a Ross Brawn in 2009.

    1. Good point, they are either grinning or going oh ****

      1. Well they were virtually within the new nose regulations last year and they had the 2nd fastest car on the grid. I don’t think they are worried most about the nose.

        Now the lack of EBD on the other hand….

  52. Looks like it was designed by two different guys :o)
    The rear is a beauty, the front is sheer ugliness. All those lines on the body at the rear looks really nice I would say, but the two-leveled nose looks really bad. I hope, we won’t have to see it on all the cars but McLaren…

    But I’m quite curious about the flap just below the DRS flap : I wonder what does it do…

  53. i like how the sidepod exits lead into the diffuser. thats a really cool idea of channeling air to the back of the car.

  54. FUGLY !!!

  55. Surely the angled step will have an aerodynamic use, it is such a large angled “wing” in my eyes it must have some impact and add a not insignificant bit of downforce…. my aeronautical engineering knowledge is limited but anyone with technical know-how have anything to say?

  56. a really ugly nose but also a new front suspension. it is not a push rod but pull rod (or something like this)!!
    http://i.imgur.com/GzHaj.jpg

    1. I think it might be pull rod, but with a very compromised almost horizontal rod. They must have been rig-testing that solution a lot.

  57. Looks like Ferrari want to be in the lead of every race and win, so none of the competition can see that nose from behind.

    I hope they ban high noses now, back the low noses of the 80s.

    Or can I see a re-design by mid season. Remember the 1996 Ferrari?

  58. the exhausts seem to be pointing downwards, shouldnt they be upwards at an angle?

  59. For me its like they have been designing the car from the back to the front hoping they would get a eureka moment at the last minute regarding the nose problem but it never came so they got some sheet metal and press braked it into a shape big enough to cover the suspension mounts painted it red and just got it into the display area in the nick of time. i bet the paints still wet. The reason Luca didn’t turn up in person is her wouldnt have been able to hide the shame. Its much easy to hide talking to a camera.

  60. Design inspiration taken from Ferrari 312 t4. One of the worst looking F1 cars ever, although Jody Scheckter did become world champ……

  61. P.S. Sorry about the double post above my browser kept crashing its been on the blink ever since it had two deal with two dodgy F1 Noses in one day. Oh and it is very FUGLY!!!

  62. I just got sick in my mouth…

    I just hope this car performs as badly as it looks.

  63. Oh boy.

  64. Nose aside, she’s gorgeous!

    I think a new paint job wouldn’t have gone amiss though – that dull scarlet colour looks, well, dull.

    The best view of the car is from the top, the shape is very intriguing.

    1. I’m taking this comment back slowly…The more I look at the FI especially…

  65. Keith are the front suspension Pull Rod ?
    i think the last time we saw this was with Minardi in 2001?

    1. Suspension is a pull rod mark hughes on the F2012.

  66. Another lost year in ugly car design. We need some modern thinking instead of a bunch of senile oldies trying to scare audiences away with these ugly snowplough tractors.

  67. the Caterham nose does not look that bad now seeing this

  68. That nose is awful but the profile view is wonderful. It looks very aggressive though, I quite like it.

  69. God grief… even for a Ferrari fan it is still difficult on the eye

  70. cool, a lego ferrari ! maybe call it the Fugly

  71. My first post here, so I could be (and probably am) talking complete nonsense – but it looks to me like the exhausts are directed towards the the brake ducts. My superficial understanding was that this was the most efficient and aggressive of the methods to cope with the loss of rear downforce this year, but it had some big problems that would be difficult to engineer around. Does this mean Ferrari have solved that problem? Could they be serious contenders to jump McLaren and possibly RBR this year, who look like they’ve directed the exhausts towards the rear wing as best they can? Or will Ferrari end up redesigning it all prior to Australia, like McLaren last year, if it proves too difficult to work with?

    1. @AlexFrost
      I have heard about those problems as well.
      A fundamental flaw in that method is that the brakeducts are there to cool the brakes, so to blow 700 degree hot gas on it could potentially cause overheating issues.
      It should be a quite tricky system to drive as well, because it will make you loose a lot of grip when you let go off the throttle. A bit like the blown diffuser, but now that they have clamped down on the engine map it could be hard to make it work.
      Whether it works in the real world or not is yet to be seen, but surely they must have seen that it worked on the simulator before they started building the car.

      But don’t forget that the exhaust is easy for the teams to rework, it is not like McLaren are forced to blow the rear wing, they can just change the exhaust outlet to blow another part of the car. Especially not as their system looks more like a bolt on system with little aerodynamic influence on the rear bodywork, where as the Ferrari system looks a lot more integrated in the design.

  72. Dear Ferrari,

    Please cover this “thing” over again. Sell it on eBay.

  73. rUN_FOR_IT_SCOOBY
    3rd February 2012, 10:37

    maybe if Alonso does wear that wig, maybe it will take attention away from that nose

  74. Come on guys, this isn’t a caption competition! Just consider that there’ll be a reason they chose an ‘ignorant slope’ over a sculpted one.

    From the front view, there is a LOT of space for airflow under the car. The top view shows that rather than creating the typical ‘coke-bottle’ shape, they square out and you’ve got a sort of lizard tail which pokes out near the rear wing.

    I’m loving the fact that all 4 cars revealed so far appear to be different, and I’m hoping that the RB carries on the trend. To have 3 cars fighting at the front is one thing, for them all to work differently is another.

    And then there’s Mercedes…

  75. Looks like something out of Star Wars… I just want to cry.

  76. Hey, where is that totally cool comparison with new and old ferrari?? I really love it!! ;)

  77. I’m actually curious as to why Force India, Caterham and now Ferrari have those ugly bulge-like front noses. Is this because of the new regulations? If so, why didn’t McLaren implement it?

    1. yes its because of regulations. for safety of drivers the nose should be lower than an specified standard.
      Mclaren’s nose was already within that standard last year so they didn’t change it.

      1. It appears Mclaren has lowered their chassis, or so Martin Brundle says on twitter…

        “McLaren have tray/tongue system under front of their chassis and such a concept means they lower the chassis and not just the ‘broken’ nose”

  78. it looks like a dog and normally thats not good news. i think if the RBR looks ugly then maybe Mclarens rather beautiful 2012 offering will be the dog but Ferrari have always dreamt up new ways of being icompetent with ever greater resources, Schumacher years apart.

  79. Tom (@tomforpresident)
    3rd February 2012, 10:45

    by not having the raised shoulders cars sport of late, that nose seems even more predominant, eek. interesting exhaust work though, makes the top view look cool, and the body work covering the exhausts must be great for funneling air to the diffuser.

  80. The teams who ran high bulkheads last year and ’10 where always going to have this stepped nose. They know what works with their particular car. Mclaren have ran lower bulkhead/nose than everyone last year so it stands to reason they would still keep that philosophy also. Neither design is going to put someone at the front or back of the grid, theres thousands of factors that go into a car being quick.

    I suspect the running order at the front this year will still be the same as last year, maybe just tightend up a bit, which hopefully will see the Redbulls not on pole so much.

    1. I think your post makes the most sense… McLaren are used to having a low chassis… By increasing the car’s rake they have managed to stay within the rules without making much changes to the nose.
      Also last year ferrari had one of the highest noses, so this does make sense.

      All that said, as long as the car is fast there are no issues.

  81. As I said when Caterham launched, I’ll get used to it.
    To me it’s starting to look beautiful already, especially because of the flat red.

  82. I like it :) Maybe the cars doesn’t look nice at the front but each of them is different. It’s like coming back to the old days. Maybe we will see the same excitement!

  83. Without a shadow of a doubt, the ugliest Ferrari ever.

  84. where is the exhaust
    i cant find it

  85. Personally, I like it.

    The front and rear wings are nowhere near what they are going to race. You only have to look at the simplicity of the front wing to know that.

    I think we will see most cars with a step there TBH. Plus that little step will create some extra downforce right over the front axle, in an area where they weren’t usually able to put aero devices!

    Lets see what its like when it hits the track. I hope McLaren kick their bottoms :)

  86. Is it me or am I the only one who like something different and the ever changing look of F1 cars, if they were all the same all the time it would be boring and if they never changed it would be boring.

    It’s a breath of fresh air, I like the big front wings, I like the weird noses, I just wish they would have big rear wings as well.

    Or bigger wheels/tyres like in the 70’s so that they can have the same sized wings.

    1. From my point of view, the point is not that this is different… If somebody just came up with the idea and it worked, everyone would folllow and we would learn to live with it.

      My problem is that this change is a very visual acknowledgement that the rules tried to squash the cars downwards at the front, and this is EXACTLY what happened. It serves no purpose except to meet a rules target. That imaginary box outlining the maximum dimensions for the bulkhead that we have seen in diagrams? You can almost see it, bending these techonlogical marvels into wonky crash-victims. It is sad to see.

      1. I’m sure I read somewhere when the regs came out that the lower noses where for safety.

      2. i think the FIA should just draw an F1 car and have the teams fill the mold. Looks like thats where we’re heading. The walls are getting closer and closer each year, and eventually all the cars will look the same because the rules will be so tightly defined.

      3. Yes it’s ugly. But I applaud the FIA for making a rule for safety before an incident happens. Looking at history, it almost always took someone to get seriously hurt or killed before anything changed.

        I’m happy they took this step before a drivers head got hit by a nose cone. Personally I think they should make them even lower.

  87. the stepped noses are ugly but i am happy the sharkfins are gone. those were even worse IMO.

  88. Oh my. That’s a train wreck isn’t it?

    I’m pretty stunned that they went for that interpretation, I don’t get qhy they are going for that jump in the nose as they all have to be at the same height at the tip, the McLaren just kinks down more.

    What an abortion.

  89. Keith, I appreciate that the Caterham, Ferrari and Force India look the way they do at the front because of the regs, but I think it would be useful if we could all understand the differences in height beneath the chassis at the front. The stepped noses are due to the aero departments looking for the biggest unobstructed area on the underside, as I understand it. Does this mean that Mclaren are already on the back foot? Is there any photo comparison work that you can do to try and establish the differences between each car as with the exhaust regs as they now are I’m sure that most teams see this area as 100% critical, which begs the question, why have the woking boys (and girls) not gone this way. Another dose of your legendary analysis please!

    1. Well, the McLaren MP4/14 was very good looking, same with the Maserati 250F. What are you on about?

      The Ensign on the other hand is awful, but don’t compare that to those 2 others you posted!

  90. I love the new Ferrari !!!!!!!!
    Its beautiful from all angles, notice on the Ferrari website they are not showing the diffuser as it is blocked by a board of what looks like carbon-fibre.

    http://singleseater2012.ferrari.com/english/web/#/pictures/0/still-gallery

      1. no i’m not ray, and i hope your not implying i’m blind. I think the nose, which I’m guessing what your getting at, is quirky and anything with a Ferrari logo always looks beautiful. give it time it might grow on you.

  91. Suddenly only being able to see half the season doesn`t seem so bad. That is one ugly Car,

  92. Ferrari seems to have placed there very large centre tail funnel really low. This could be really clever as they could use the hot air from the radiators and top scoop to maybe blow on to the rear diffuser as wel as on to the black wings at the rear. Maybe someone who knows alot about aerodynamics could explain if this possible. Also could the secondary air duct behind the roll hoop form part of a passive f duct kind of thing that is connected and works with the centre tail funnel?

    1. @yr
      I think scarbs mentioned it a long time ago, but as far as i remember he came to the conclusion that the air wouldn’t be hot or go fast enough to improve the downforce on the diffuser, but maybe Ferrari have made it work.

      1. @mads thanjs for that..yeah i also thought of the air speed. wanted to ask the question if maybe they found a way to speed up the air flow or maybe use the air scoop behind the roll hoop to aid the speed or intensity of air flow. some passive sort of mechanism.

        1. yr, the cooling duct up there is for the KERS and Engine cooling system as was seen on the MP4-26.

          Ferrari keep copying others……. even Pat Fry could not bring much needed innovations :(

    2. As a rule, good solutions are always very simple as well…

  93. Anyone know when the rest of the car launchs are? i cant find the list that was on this site

    1. So you know where to look next time. Drop down the 2012 tab and select 2012F1 calendar.
      On that page just above the map is a link to the F1 Fanatic google calendar

  94. My god that is hideous! looks like it was made from Lego! ewww

  95. Well the changes in rules were because the fia were worried the high noses would spear the car and driver. seems a reasonable rule change, just a pity most designers these days dont have the flare of a Gordon Murray. Its all about empirical changes with these guys, any major changes seem to leave them clueless.

  96. Tom M in Australia
    3rd February 2012, 12:16

    I actually said “lol” out loud…

  97. It’s a revolutionary design in reverse…

  98. I think Im gonna cry.

  99. While i second everyones pov, i think the profile view of the ferrari is beautiful. I live in the us and even my friend who has zero interest in the sport was quick to point out how much cooler cars were in 2000-2001 by watching an older race. Lol, i found that rather funny. I certainly hope this car is the answer to ferraris problem. If rbr are on top of their game again, these crappy designs will just further motivate us NOT to watch.

  100. Caterham, Force India, Ferrari…. Time to add a new page to the Chinese calendar: the year of the Alligator!

  101. As much as these stepped front sections are appearing, I just find it difficult that they’ll actually work on the track. This particular one just looks like the designer sneezed and thought, ‘Oh, that will work.’

  102. Well Domenicali wasn’t lying when he said it was ugly, however if it wasn’t for the nose it wouldn’t be that bad.

    So far only of the four 2012 cars we have seen only McLaren haven’t gone with the stepped nose, all eyes will be on Red Bull to see which way Newey has gone.

    Hopefully all the top teams will be evenly matched so we have a good battle for the championships but I hope that it doesn’t turn out that this style nose turns out clearly to be the quickest solution as I defiantly don’t want all the cars to look like this until the next lot of regulation changes.

  103. Mclaren has the cleanest looking car so far, I certainly second the hope that the whole grid wont be a bunched of hunchback f1 cars. Although, in its defense i think the bump in the nose suits the ferrari as it is seems more pointy in the front, caterham look like they took saubers design last year, and added an ugly bump in its nose. I reckon this is going to be pure genious—–or insanity.

  104. This feels like an early April fools day joke, but I don’t know if I should be laughing or crying.

  105. I simply do not understand how a rapid step on the nose like that can be good for the aero. If that generates downforce why don’t planes have one to generate lift.

    Seriously, can someone with knowledge of fluid mechanics tell me why that step hasn’t been smoothed out even just a little?

    1. I would like to hear an answer on this as well. It seems counter-intuitive to everything I have so far learned about aerodynamics, though the sport of F1 and on this site.

      1. Simple answer to both of you: it is because of the regulation change (the 55mm something). Has nothing to do with a free-designe, but a compliance to the new rules.

    2. Well, the same questions came up with Benetton’s nose cone in 1992. And that design went on to win championships.

    3. John H. asks “why that step hasn’t been smoothed out even just a little?” First, I’m sure it has. Steps aerodynamically are not as bad as they look, protuberances can be designed (and tested in wind tunnels) for minimum drag. What is important is that the laminar flow ahead of the protuberance re-attaches downstream with minimum turbulence.

      Certainly Ferrari (and other design teams working under the new set of “rules”) will have looked at the trade off between a small increase in drag and a gain either in the aerodynamic flow beneath the nose or the mechanical advantages of the mounting points for the front suspension.

      Give a bit here, take a bit there — it’s the speed, road holding and handling of the final package that counts.

      I would add that, contrary to the majority opinion expressed in these comments, I do not find the car excessively ugly. In fact a certain aggressiveness actually adds to the impression of it being a “lean, mean racing machine.”

  106. It certainly does not look very nice.
    But who cares? F1 is about performance! It is not a fashion competition.
    And it looks properly aggressive!

    1. If that car wins it won’t matter. If it doesn’t, its going make Ferrari look x2 as bad! Let’s hope for the former.

  107. Good lord, what an ugly car! Sure feels like a truck.

  108. ah, another butterface-racer. God, its ugly, it must rely on personality (WCC/WDC)

  109. All the talk about “it’s ugly” doesn’t compute with me. F1 is about performance. Remember all the hideous wings in the 60’s-70’s? They made the cars faster. This is simply another evolution of that. Raising the nose aids downforce. I actually think the car looks cool. The hump in the nose may be worth a little time over lowering the rest of the car to make it pretty. Pretty to me is standing on the tall step after the race. Nothing else matters. Bring on OZ and lets find out who got it right. :)

    1. Its not an evolution though is it? Its an enforced rule change which, rather than being addressed properly by the teams to give them the maximum aerodynamic benefit, has literally been squashed down on the front of the car.

      If it is an aerodynamic advantage, then this would have surely come in before. But since the pattern over the last few years is smooth and clean lines over the bodywork, then a sudden doorstep on the bonnet seems to be… well not an evolution!

      1. the teams are exploiting the extremes of the new regulation. why? because its the most efficient design in this case.

        the benefits of a high nose outweigh the drawbacks of a sudden doorstep on the bonnet.

  110. Are those exhausts legal? I thought that they had to exit pretty much vertically?

  111. How long since the last F1 car with front pullrods was raced?

  112. The nose is BAD looking but….the rest is very nice, elaborated and especially from the top it creates a nice looking package. Only the “step” on the nose is very ugly, I kind of like the oversize front…..but I’m a ferrari tifoso and you know “LOVE IS BLIND” FORZA FERRARI

  113. Seriously, this is the worst F1 car ever.
    Not only the nose has the step, but it’s even wider at the end (look at it from the bird’s-eye-view). The Italian flag on the nose makes it further look as though it’s abnormal.
    The end of the sidepods is stange but not so ugly.
    The airbox itself is horrendous.
    Everyone who criticized the MP4-27, take this!

  114. Maybe we need to club together and buy the front end designer a set of French Curves (£22.00)
    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fashion-Garment-Drawing-Template-Stencils/dp/B0057FUJWM/ref=pd_sim_sbs_kh_2

  115. Tut tut Ferrari. Didn’t you learn your lesson from last year? Stealing ideas form Ford again.

  116. They should have just held WROOOM at Maranello :D

  117. Hey everybody, first post here.

    I couldn’t help but wonder why the new Ferrari’s nose is stepped so dramatically, when it appears it doesn’t have to be. With the CT01 it looked like the front suspension attachment points combined with the low nose regulation height forced them to make the step dramatic, but with the ferrari it looks like they could easily smooth the transition. There may be some facet of the regulations that I don’t know, but I was just wondering. Thanks guys

    Regardless, not the best looking Ferrari ever.

  118. ShaneB457 (@shaneb12345678910)
    3rd February 2012, 16:54

    Am I the only one who thinks it doesnt look THAT bad?

  119. In my opinion it looks just how expected.
    Agressive and extreme, and that’s what f1 is all about.

    1. Providing that ‘agressive and extreme’ actually result in points!

  120. Ha ha it looks like a fat chick fell on it. I mean there’s a nose only a mother could love, move over maggie you’ve got some stiff compo this year.

    And then there’s the force india and the caterham, This years grid is guna have more bad noses than a plastic surgeon’s waiting room. LOL

  121. I thought the Boxer was a Ferrari road car.

  122. That music is completely horrific!! Who the hell made that?

  123. Yes F2012, we can confirm your rhinoplasty appointment for March 1st.

  124. I’m disappointed to be honest, having seen the McLaren, I thought Ferrari would at least use some Italian stye and follow suit. The new cars with the step design do look ugly. I seem to remember the reason side mounted wings were banned partly because Bernie thought they were ugly (at least that’s what he said). I can’t see Bernie being overly complimentary about them. Also, surely McLaren have an aero advantage as they don’t have a brick like step messing with their aero lines? I think the step cars are ugly but who knows, maybe Steps are the future?

  125. This year’s F1 grid is shaping up to be very zoo like. You have the VJM05 duck beak; you have the crocodile Caterham; and if you look at this Ferrari from the top; it looks smack like a flying squirrel.

  126. I might get alot of stick for this. But…

    I quite like the car (I’m not saying its beautiful).
    The only part of the car i dont like is the ‘step-up’ between the nose and the cockpit, which is a small area of the car overall (granted, it is quite distracting).

    I’m slowly getting more hyped for this season (was feeling slightly down about this season a week or two ago).
    But, we’ve got 2 teams wanting to take Red Rull’s crown, yet going with different solutions.

    I can’t wait to see what Red Bull and Mercedes (such a long wait for them) come up with for their cars.

  127. With the nose regs headed even lower in 2014, I wonder if Chinese style foot binding will become all the rage for F1 drivers.

  128. the first thing montezemolo will say when they lose is that ferrari are pulling out of formula 1 unless dependency on aerodynamics is changed

  129. I thought it looked bad in the pictures but the close up of the nose in the video made me wince

  130. Did someone at the FIA woke up one morning and thought: He lets trow something else off the cliff than the tyres.

  131. Whale shark?

  132. That is just plain ugly

  133. when i look at the exhausts i cant help but see this. http://www.foodsubs.com/Photos/lambribfrenched.jpg. that said, i do like them.

  134. The ‘noes’ have it.

  135. Looks absolutely stunning!

    Can’t wait for the new season now.

  136. how’s that nose aerodynamic? ***

  137. Crikey…that nose really isn’t pleasant. It seems far less refined and looks less aerodynamic than the Force India and Caterham alternatives.

  138. Elliot Horwood
    4th February 2012, 23:02

    Image shows how McLaren actually have a LOWER nose than Ferrari, even with the ‘step ladder’ design ferrari have http://i.imgur.com/Aby4i.jpg

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