2012 - Ugly Duck Billed Year?

With the release of the Caterham 2012 F1 car a couple of days ago it looks as though the front end of this years machines will be somewhat ugly.

Formula One has a sexy image, the cars usually look stunning, but this year, if the Caterham challenger is anything to go by, looks will take a huge nose dive (excuse the pun).

Revealed in this months F1 Racing magazine, the Caterham 2012 car has caused quite a stir. Being the first car released in a season with major regulation changes is a brave move. A spokesman for Caterham has said to expect this to be the norm as it seems the most logical step considering the new regulations. FIA regulations have now changed for the height of the nose, this means a choice of a lower nose or a unique design to allow the airflow to work at a premium. Caterham have gone for the later and despite the ugly styling it seems to look like it'll work. You can see the logic in this design. A friend of mine used a phone to explain why this probably won't work, he showed me how the air flow will be blocked by something that isn't flat. I reminded him that a F1 car isn't flat at the back so this was probably the best way to get around the new regulations.

Ferrari have already described their new car as ugly, so I'd guess that this styling is indeed the way most will go this season.

Ugly? Maybe. Innovative? Definitely