New F1 car in Feb 2012 launch by Ferrari to launch

Participation of the first pre-season testing at Jerez circuit has been confirmed by Ferrari which is starting from Feb 7. The team plans to unveil the new car at the start of the same month, but no confirmed date has been announced yet. As per the new FIA regulations, the teams will be allowed to begin testing only after the cars have cleared mandatory crash tests - which implies that teams will have to choose between more time for the development and design at the factory with limited track time or vice versa. Mercedes GP is the first team to opt out of the first testing session to spend more time on R&D, and will make a track debut later in the month.

In other F1 news, Scuderia Torro Rosso has confirmed a completely new driver lineup for the 2012 F1 season. The new drivers, Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergen, have risen through the ranks of Red Bull’s Junior Driver programme, and the decision is made after approval from Red Bull. This is the first time since its 2006 debut that the team will have an all new line-up, and there are no announcements from Jaime Alguersuari or Sebastien Buemi about next year’s seats.

Rumors have it that Force India is also close to announcing its 2012 line-up, and the German reserve driver Nico Hulkenberg may take Adrian Sutil’s seat next season. The Scottish driver Paul di Resta will most probably retain his seat, while Sutil may move to Williams.