» The 2012 F1 season is officially underway…

It’s felt like an eternity since the curtain was brought down on last year’s Formula 1 World Championship, but today marks the kick-off for the 2012 season, with the first of three official pre-season tests getting underway today at Spain’s Jerez circuit.

Bar Marussia Racing, eleven teams will be in action over the next four days at the former Grand Prix venue, with running kicking off at 9am local time and winding up at 5pm. Teams will have plenty of opportunity to also get to know Pirelli’s updated tyre compounds they will run this year.

This represents the first major opportunity for the teams to suss one another out, and for them to figure out how well (or badly) they have interpreted the 2012 rules.

While the line-up and schedules are subject to change, here’s who is confirmed as driving (and when) over the next four days:

Team	Day(s) Running	Driver
Red Bull Racing Renault RB8	Tue, Wed	Mark Webber
	Thu, Fri	Sebastian Vettel

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-27	Tue, Wed	Jenson Button
	Thu, Fri	Lewis Hamilton

Scuderia Ferrari F2012	Tue, Wed	Felipe Massa
	Thu, Fri	Fernando Alonso

Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team W02*	Tue AM, Thu	Nico Rosberg
	Tue PM, Wed	Michael Schumacher
	Fri	TBA

Lotus F1 Team Renault E20	Tue, Wed	Kimi Räikkönen
	Thu, Fri	Romain Grosjean

Sahara Force India F1 Team Mercedes VJM05	Tue, Wed	Paul di Resta
	Thu, Fri	Nico Hülkenberg

Sauber F1 Team Ferrari C31	Tue, Fri	Kamui Kobayashi
	Wed, Thu	Sergio Pérez

Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari STR7	Tue, Wed	Daniel Ricciardo
	Thu, Fri	Jean-Éric Vergne

Williams F1 Team Renault FW34	Tue, Wed	Pastor Maldonado
	Thu, Fri	Bruno Senna

Caterham F1 Team Renault CT01	Tue, Wed	Heikki Kovalainen
	Thu	Giedo van der Garde
	Fri	Jarno Trulli

HRT F1 Team Cosworth F111*	Tue, Wed	Pedro de la Rosa
	Thu, Fri	Not Running

Marussia Racing Cosworth MR01	All	Not Running

* Denotes 2011 car

So who will have unearthed a championship challenger in their car? Who is going to run underweight and fool their rivals? And who is in for a long and tough season?

In any case, make sure that RichardsF1.com is your one-stop shop for the latest news, analysis and gossip from Spain!