My Sports News Digest

He may have been away from the sport for the last two seasons but that didn’t stop 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen from topping the timesheets, as this year’s opening test got underway in Jerez on Tuesday. Raikkonen clocked a best time of 1m 19.670s at the Spanish circuit in the new Lotus E20. Paul di Resta was second in Force India’s 2012 car, the VJM05, ahead of Nico Rosberg, who was third in the 2011-spec Mercedes. Rosberg’s team mate Michael Schumacher was also in action in the MGP W02 during the day and took the sixth slot. The team [...]

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Toro Rosso followed in the footsteps of Sauber and unveiled the car with which they will contest the 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship at Jerez on Monday afternoon. The Ferrari-engined STR7 will make its on-track debut on Tuesday morning, when this week’s opening pre-season test gets underway at the Spanish track. The Italian team’s 2012-spec line-up, Australian Daniel Ricciardo and Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne, were in attendance at the pit-lane launch. Toro Rosso hope the new car – and new signings – will help them establish a firmer foothold in the midfield, after they finished eighth in the 2011 standings. [...]

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Lotus have officially unveiled the new car with which returning 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen and team mate Romain Grosjean will contest the 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship. The UK-based team hope the E20 – the 20th F1 chassis built at their Enstone factory – will allow them to improve on the fifth place they achieved as Renault last season. “We are very proud to kick off our 2012 campaign under the name of Lotus F1 Team, continuing with the evocative black and gold livery which made such a well-received return to Grands Prix in 2011,” commented Chairman Gerard [...]

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Sharing the media spotlight with Ferrari, Force India unveiled their 2012 car in the pit lane at Silverstone on Friday morning. The team, who are based just down the road from the UK track, hope the VJM05 will prove quick enough to push them firmly into the midfield following their excellent progress in 2011, which saw them take sixth in the constructors’ standings. “We have set our sights on challenging for fifth place,” explained team principal Dr Vijay Mallya. “To do so we will need to begin the new campaign by delivering the kind of form we showed in the [...]

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After spending the last few seasons playing catch-up to Red Bull and McLaren, Ferrari were under pressure to pull something special out of the bag for 2012. And after revolutionising the way they approach the design of their cars, the Italian team are certain the newly-launched F2012 is capable of returning them to their championship-winning heydays. The Scuderia endured a miserable 2011, winning just one race and finishing the year 275 points behind eventual champions Red Bull and 122 behind long-time rivals McLaren. After much reflection, Ferrari decided their recent disappointments had been largely caused by their too-conventional design approach [...]

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Just three days before the launch of their 2012 car, Sauber have announced that technical director James Key is to leave the company. His role will instead be covered by the Swiss team’s department heads for aerodynamics, design, performance and operations. Englishman Key joined Sauber from Force India midway through 2010, taking over from Sauber stalwart Willy Rampf during the team’s first season following the exit of former partners BMW. He is now returning home from Hinwil to take on a new role in the UK. “Over a period of almost two years, James has accomplished a lot for our [...]

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Ferrari have opted to cancel the official unveiling of their 2012 car because of heavy snowfall in Maranello. The launch ceremony was due to take place in Italy on Friday morning. “There was no let up from the snow last night, which continued to fall on Maranello and the surrounding area and the situation does not appear to be changing this morning,” the team explained on Thursday. “The forecast is still bad both in terms of predictions of more snowfall and of a further drop in temperature. Therefore, the decision has been taken to cancel the presentation ceremony for the [...]

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Force India have signed 2011 Ferrari tester Jules Bianchi as their 2012 reserve driver. The 22-year-old Frenchman, a former F3 Euro champion, will participate in at least nine Friday practice sessions for the team this year. Bianchi, who remains a member of Ferrari’s Driver Academy, will be integrated in Force India’s programme for the coming season and will get his first run in the team’s new VJM05 car during testing next month. “I’m obviously excited to join Sahara Force India and the chance to get track time during race weekends is an important step for me,” said Bianchi, a winner [...]

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