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Why all of this year's F1 noses are so ugly [w/video]

If you're a serious fan of Formula One, you already know all about The Great Nosecone Conundrum of 2014. Those given to parsing each year's F1 regulations predicted the strong possibility of the so-called "anteater" noses as far back as early December 2013. Highly suggestive visual evidence first came after Caterham's crash test in early January, with further proof coming as soon as Williams showed a rendering of the FW36 challenger for this year's championship. That car earned a name that wasn't nearly so kind as "anteater."
Casual followers of the sport - or anyone who gets the feed from this site - probably don't know what's happening, except to wonder why the current year's F1 cars are led by appendages that would make Cyrano de Bergerac feel a whole lot better about himself.
The short answer to the question of ugsome F1 noses is "FIA regulations and safety." The reason there are various kinds of ugsome noses is simpler: engineers. The same boffins who have given us advances including carbon fiber monocoques, six-wheeled cars, double diffusers and Drag Reduction Systems are bred to do everything in their power to exploit every possible freedom in the regulations to make the cars they're building go faster - the caveat being that those advances have to work within the overall philosophy of the whole car.

Watch 40 Ferrari F12s hit the Nurburgring at once

Of all the cars we'd love to drive around the Nurburgring, the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta ranks pretty high. It's got mountains of power sent from a smooth V12 at the front to a set of fat tires at the back, near-perfect handling balance, anchor-like brakes... we could go on and on, but the point is that it'd be a hoot to drive on any track, let alone the vaunted Nordschleife. As you can see from this video, the boys from Maranello evidently agree. This latest owners' meeting attracted 40 F12s (and at least one California T) to the Green Hell to see how their machinery could handle one of (if not the) most challenging racing circuits in the world. Ferrari's chief test driver Raffaele de Simone was on hand to drive some hot laps, and the owners had the chance to push their F12s to near their limits. The official video footage is a little overproduced, in typical style, and could do with a little less dramatic music and a little more of the unbridled engine and exhaust sounds for which Ferraris are known. But as far as the fantasy of gaining admission to such an elite cadre of supercar owners, this is about as close as most of us are likely to get. Related Video:

Ferrari SUV and Aston Martin in Formula E? | Autoblog Podcast #529

This week, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Green Editor John Beltz Snyder. They discuss Ferrari's SUV plans as well as Aston Martin's Formula E consideration. They also talk about cars we've driven including the Chevy Colorado ZR2, a Nissan Rogue ProPilot prototype and a Ford Shelby GT350. This week's podcast also features a car you don't need a license to drive. Autoblog Podcast #529 Your browser does not support the audio element. Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Ferrari SUV FCA keeping Jeep Aston Martin mulls Formula E Cars in the office: Ford Shelby GT350, Chevrolet Colorado ZR2, Nissan Rogue with ProPilot Assist The List: Drive a car that requires no license 3 Big Questions: Ferrari SUV or Lamborghini SUV? Chevy Colorado ZR2 or Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro? Ford Shelby GT350 with or without Performance Package? Spend my money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Green Podcasts Aston Martin Chevrolet Ferrari Ford Jeep Lamborghini Nissan SUV Electric Performance Videos Formula E shelby nissan propilot