2012 FIA Formula 1 World Championship

Apart from the extra aero under the nose, I see no big difference really

The sidepods are not L shaped anymore either (I forgot to mention).

I could see a few differences straight away. It's not a complete revolution in design. I guess it's the old mantra of ''if it ain't broke, don't fix it''.

McLaren have been using that square nose for a few years now, after the disaster of the 2009 car.

No massive changes after the team said on Tueday they were expecting complaints from others about their car. Hard to see where exactly.
The whole chassis box is lower which is how they've avoided the stepped section to the nose.
The wierd part is that's clearly meant a much flatter suspension geometry because if you look at the car from side on the body sin't significantly lower than the top of the front wheel from last years car.
The 'snow plow' under the nose has been run for the best pat of a year and a half and the loss of the L shaped sidepods has been replaced with a more contoured version that steps up as you reach the outer edge (only realy visible from the front).
The exhause treatment is interesting though I would have though a more streamlined exit system would have been more tidy but I'm sure there's a reason for it. It may be acting as a channel to the rear wheels or lower plane of the rear wing. I doubt that will be the final config we see in Jerez, McLaren experiemnted with something like 4-5 different exhaust set ups last year so if it's not completely optimised from the off I'm sure they will have other options in their pocket.
Overall is't a nice design and a good interpretation of the rules in terms of the new nose height. It'll have a number of teams thnking 'why didn't we think of that!?!?' lol
I hear on the grapevine the Sauber and Ferrari are likely not to be very pretty though...

O god.... the new Ferrari is so ugly.
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2012/02/03/ferrari-f2012-launch-pictures-ferraris-2012-f1-car/

"Insert facepalm here!" lol

Why did they have to go the same route as Caterham with the front nose? Very ugly.

Proof that people do design cars with Etch-a-Sketch!!

The new Force India isn't too bad though

Force India
http://www.racecar-engineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/upvjm.jpg

It's the front nose section again! D'OH! McLaren have been the sensible ones by not creating such an eyesaw. I'm sure over time, my opinions will change about it. Mind you, I still hate DRS!

A blind person must have made the decision to put the camera mounts on the end of the nose like that. These cars looks worse than the AMR-One. I will dance with glee every time one of the stepped nose cars has reliability problems just because it will mean I won't have to watch it go around the track anymore. McLaren must be laughing their butts off looking at these cars.

Takes aim at FIA regulation panel, don't blame the cars blame the regulations

hope ferrari piss all over mac this year

More like the other way around Duncan. I hope McLaren knock three shades out of Ferrari this year.

hahaha or watch lewis blow up would be more interesting

I'm not a fan of the nose, but I guess if it works then it's something they have to use. I wonder if we will see any other teams using the same style as McLaren though...

For the sake of millions of viewers world wide, I hope the rest of the grid copies McLaren.

.......April FIA amendment - Noses can not be stupid

I actually quite like the noses. I'm not saying this just to be different, but see the nose for what it is, its the bit that connects the front wing to the rest of the car.

It just seems that whenever a single seater looks ''un-conventional'', people dismiss it as ugly.

Everything on a Formula 1 car is for function, not form. And actually, the new nose has made the proportions of the cars a little better, they don't look like big long limos.

Meh... It does look terrible doesn't it...

Apart from McLaren going for the lower chassis, every other car looks like it's taken three different cars and bolted them together... doesn't flow at all!

Saying that, I know I will get used to the bloody things.

i like the force india best so far

the Force India looks incredibly like a duck!

The Force India has probably integrated the new nose style best out of the cars seen so far (excluding McLaren) The whole top surface is quite rounded but at least theyve sculpted the leading edge of the chassis step to make it flow a little better.

I'm really unsure as to what Ferrari have thought about their integration. It really doesn't look that amazing and while the underside is incredibly clean that step just looks plain wrong. And where are these bi-plane wings either side of the cockpit we were supposed to get from them. I know they have a habit of retaining ALOT of parts for the tests but still
nicky is right though, the nose is there to serve a purpose, though it's all about the initial airflow on the car and directing it across the rest of it. Ferrari have honed their design underneath the nose section to be so clean that there is a direct view right back to the sidepod splitters and start of the plank. The air channelling is aided here by the extended wing mounts which they used late on in 2011 and run back almost as far as the suspensions leading edge.

The Force India's is similar in that regard in that the airflowis unobstructed beneath the car but the sculpting of the upper nse surface should assist the air to be channelled over the sidepods ans more directly to the airbox in theory. I need to read the regs on the chassis section because I can't believe that more teams haven't heavily sculpted and graduated the step from nose to chassis box. I would have thought the measurements are taken from edge to edge regardless of the central content so as long as they were legal. But if there is a frontal area measurement, or a measurement taken with the nose section off the car which stipulated the diametre then I can see why we are seein such dramatic steps in that area. It ain't pretty that's for certain!

If McLaren have a Lower chassis than the other teams, does that not go againest them in wet weather?

I see Ferrari's nose as more of a connecting strut than a nose. It's made me look at single seaters in a completely different way!

It really does remind me of the Ferrari's from the late 90's with it's shorter square nose.

you mean the nose layout they used from 97-01?