F1: Caterham Shows First Picture Of 2012 Car

Formula 1

F1: Caterham Shows First Picture Of 2012 Car

Caterham is the first Formula One team to reveal its car for the upcoming season...

Adam Cooper | http://www.speedtv.com | Posted January 25, 2012 Balen (BEL)

Caterham kicked off the 2012 launch season by publishing this single image of its CT01 car on Jan. 25. (Photo: Caterham)

Caterham has released a picture of its new CT01, becoming the first team to show the world what a 2012 car will look like.

The car was due to be unveiled via the UK’s F1 Racing magazine, which is supposed to be available only Thursday. However, some readers received their copies Wednesday and have been busy copying and posting the images on the web, forcing the team to release a single official picture a day ahead of the scheduled release to the rest of the media.

All designers have had to respond to the new rule which calls for a lower nose, and the Caterham is the first to demonstrate the unusual ‘stepped’ look, with bulges where the suspension meets the chassis followed by a drop to the rest of the nose – although the effect is not entirely clear from this side angle.

Adam Cooper notched up his 27th season as a racing journalist in 2011. He has written about F1 for SPEED.com since 2005. Follow him on Twitter.