– Ugly nose woes no problem for Ferrari, Mercedes
by Neil Bravo
I was in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore recently and had a brush with real F1 cars. You can just imagine a wide-eyed awe-struck racing fanatic in front of the real deal F1 machines. As a racing fan, I am content watching the live coverage of F1 races or getting the feel of the wheel in front of a virtual gaming machine.
So when I got the chance to breath closely to a real F1 car, I made sure I practically had moisture marks on the mean machines.
My first stop is Kuala Lumpur. The Malaysian capital will host the second leg of the 2012 F1 season with the Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix on March 23-25. The Malaysia Grand Prix was formally launched on Valentine’s Day in downtown Kuala Lumpur. The exclusive launch was held in an air-conditioned dome-shaped tent outside the famous Pavilion Mall in Jalan Ismail.
The Petronas-Mercedes Benz F1 car was displayed on a ramp outside the domed tent. The same car will be driven by former seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg.
Next stop Singapore. This island nation prides itself with owning the night version of the F1 racing. The Singapore Grand Prix will be held on September 21-23.
At the Ferrari shop inside the sprawling Marina Bay Link Mall, Ferrari’s famous red car was on display. I gasped in awe as I trained my eyes slowly on the car driven by Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa.
The new Ferrari car was the same car many F1 fans refer to as “the ugliest Ferrari F1 car ever.”
The reason? It’s nose.
The 2012 version has a dropped nose and boxy construction. Fans condemned the new look for being clunky. But the new Ferrari car is designed to conform to the new rules to lower the nose for better aerodynamics.
According to the Ferrari camp: “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.”
Ferrari aficionados are hoping that despite the ugly look, the new car will be fast. Ferrari placed third in the Constructor’s race last year and hopes to return to its number one position this year. Their Malaysian counterparts, meantime, hope that Petronas-Mercedes will improve on its fourth-place finish in 2011.
The ugly nose woes are also shared by Petronas.
Mercedes GP Principal Ross Brawn described the ugly nose as being “an acquired taste”, but called the whole car “a clean step forward in terms of detail design and sophistication”.
Will the new F1 season be a nasal issue?
I can smell burning tires now.
