.:: F1PU 2010 Car Launches & Winter Testing Thread ::.

Welcome to the F1PU's Car Launches thread of 2010.

Now entering it's 5th full season of coverage of the top motorsport category in the World, the F1PU has done its best to provide all its members with the latest throughout the season, including detailed coverage of when teams launch their challengers for the World Championships each year, and 2010 will be no exception.

With no refuelling, expect to see cars about 7cm longer than their current guises in order to hold a tank of fuel to last them the whole race.

In the past few years, the F1PU has dedicated two threads to this time of year: one for when teams announce the date of launching their car, and another for the actual launch. This year, both threads are combined in to one, with dates of releases being found in this top post.

Once again, our Technical Expert KimisApprentice will be on hand to guide us through each car as they're launched to guide us through the changes and similarities of each contender, and where they've gone right and wrong. Last year, he was spot-on in predicting that Red Bull had taken the extra step other teams hadn't as the Austrian team cruised (with a few crashes and failures - which again, KA got right) to 2nd place in the Constructors Championship.

This is the schedule for 2010 Launches to date:

Scuderia Ferrari: Thursday 28th January
McLaren-Mercedes: Friday 29th January
Sauber F1: Sunday 31st January
Renault F1 Team: Sunday 31st January
Scuderia Toro Rosso: Monday 1st February
Mercedes Grand Prix: Monday 1st February
Williams F1 Team: Monday 1st February
Virgin Racing: Wednesday 3rd February
Force India: Tuesday 9th February
Red Bull Racing: Wednesday 10th February
Lotus F1 Racing: Friday 12th February
Campos Meta 1: TBA
US F1 Team: TBA

This thread will also cover the test sessions leading up to the 2010 season opener in Bahrain. Here's where and when the guys will be out on track:

February 1st-3rd: Valencia
February 10th-13th: Jerez
February 17th-20th: Jerez
February 25th-28th: Barcelona

Ferrari have started the past two years off.

Sauber to launch car on 31 January

Sauber has become the first Formula 1 team to set its 2010 launch date, having announced that it will reveal its new car at the Valencia circuit on Sunday 31 January.

The squad will hold its launch on the eve of the first pre-season test, which takes place at the Spanish track from 1-3 February. The Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA) had originally hoped that all 13 teams could reveal their 2010 cars in a single launch event, but this plan had to be shelved on logistical grounds.

Founder Peter Sauber has reclaimed ownership of his team for 2010 following BMW's withdrawal and the abortive Qadbak takeover, although it is still using BMW Sauber F1 Team as its official title at present.

BMW's departure has led to staff reductions at Sauber, and a switch to Ferrari engines. The team has signed ex-Toyota man Kamui Kobayashi as its first driver but is yet to announce who will occupy its second cockpit.

SOURCE: Autosport.com

The US F1 team will run its car for the first time at the Barber Motorsport Park in Alabama next month.

The Charlotte-based squad has confirmed its car will have an American debut before it travels to Europe to begin testing ahead of its maiden Formula 1 season.

SOURCE: Autosport

Redders Ed: Link goes to full story for those who wish to read it.

The Hingham-based team, which is continuing its preparations for a return to grand prix racing in 2010, will join the final two F1 tests of the winter that take place before the first race of the season in Bahrain.

SOURCE: Autosport

Redders Ed: Link to full story, for those who wish to read it.

Red Bull to skip opening pre-season test

Red Bull Racing is to skip the first of the official pre-season Formula 1 tests next month, AUTOSPORT can reveal.

The Milton Keynes-based outfit is set to become the only established outfit that will not have its new car ready for the first test that takes place in Valencia from February 1-3.

It has decided to wait until the second test at Jerez the following week to run its new Renault-engined RB6 for the first time - which will leave it with just 12 test days before the opening race of the season in Bahrain on March 14.

Red Bull Racing's move, which it says is designed to give it more time in the wind tunnel, marks a repeat of what the team did in 2009 - when it also missed the first test.

Team principal Christian Horner told AUTOSPORT: "As in 2009, we have elected not to run at the first test with the new car, so we will join at the second test."

Horner claimed that the move would give chief technical officer Adrian Newey an extra nine days of design and production time for the car that it hopes will help it win the world title in 2010.

"It's to optimise the time in the wind tunnel as much as possible," said Horner. "Obviously the car is much more of an evolution of the 2009 car rather than the clean sheet of regulations that we had for last season.

"But even so, with the refuelling change, we've opted to give our designers as much time as possible."

Horner said it was 'unlikely' that the team would take its 2009 car, the RB5, to the first Valencia test.

SOURCE: Autosport.com

FERRARI TO UNVEIL NEW CAR ON 28 JANUARY

Ferrari has announced that it will launch its 2010 Formula 1 car on Thursday 28 January.

The team recently revealed that its new challenger will be designated the 281, and will make its track debut at the first post-testing ban running at Valencia on 1 February.

Ferrari is determined to mount a resurgence in 2010, having halted development on its frustrating 2009 car early in the season in order to pour maximum effort into this year's machine.

It has signed Fernando Alonso from Renault to replace Kimi Raikkonen alongside Felipe Massa this season.

AUTOSPORT

We will be launching our 2010 car, the MP4-25, to the media on the morning of Friday 29th January in the UK. If you wish to apply for accreditation for your media outlet, please contact the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes media department.Vodafone Mclaren Mercedes

Lotus to launch car on 12 February

STR plans to roll out new car at first test

Toro Rosso is set to roll out its new STR5 car - the first to be fully designed and built by the Faenza-based squad - in time for the start of pre-season testing in Valencia on February 1.

Having used chassis designs supplied by Red Bull Technology since being bought by the energy drinks firm at the end of 2005, STR has had to become a bona fide constructor team for this year, meaning it has spent recent months building up its infrastructural strength to cope with the increased workload.

Whereas the senior Red Bull outfit and the grid's four new teams won't start testing until later in the month, STR has confirmed it will attend the opening test in Spain where it is planning to give its Ferrari-powered 2010 car its track debut.

"Toro Rosso will start the winter testing in Valencia on 1st February and we are planning to do it with the STR5," a spokeswoman told itv.com/f1.

The spokeswoman added that there remained no news regarding the identity of the team's second driver for 2010, with Swiss youngster Sebastien Buemi so far its only confirmed driver for the new season.

Spanish teenager Jaime Alguersuari, who competed in the final eight grands prix of last year after STR dropped Sebastien Bourdais, had been expected to be retained for a second campaign, but speculation in recent weeks has suggested the team may be assessing alternative options.

SOURCE: ITV/F1

RENAULT SETS LAUNCH DATE FOR R30

The Renault team will launch its new R30 car on 31st January at the Valencia circuit, the French squad said on Thursday.

Renault will join BMW Sauber in launching at the Spanish circuit that day.

The launch will take place prior to the beginning of the first winter session of 2010, which takes places from 1-3 February.

SOURCE: Autosport

ALONSO: TEST DAYS ARE NOT ENOUGH

Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso says there is not enough testing ahead of the start of the Formula 1 season, although the Spaniard concedes he accepts the rules if it helps the sport reduce costs.

Teams are not allowed to test until next month, with the season beginning in early March, meaning, at best, a driver will get some seven or eight days of testing before the first race.

Only relatively inexperienced young drivers were allowed to take part in the final test of 2009 in December.

Alonso reckons seven days of testing is simply not enough to get ready for the start of the season.

"I think the test ban is not an easy thing to solve," Alonso told reporters during Ferrari's media event in the Dolomites.

"For sure the seven or eight days before the championship are not enough for any driver. It doesn't matter if you are new to a team or if you are at the same team as last year.

"I think there is no other sport in the world where you test for seven days before the championship. I cannot imagine a tennis player testing seven times before Roland Garros, or a football player training seven days before a world cup, so this is something strange in our sport.

"If it's the best for the future and for saving costs we are happy, because it's what they think it's best."

The Spaniard also downplayed the significance of Michael Schumacher's test in a GP2 car this week, as he reckons it will not give the German an advantage.

"Michael's test, the GP2 car is so different that it's not a very good reference," he said. "For him, after some years out of the car, to do this test is good, to check that everything is okay and that he is comfortable driving.

"I think there's nothing wrong or against the regulations. It's just a test in a GP2 car and if he's allowed I think it's okay."

SOURCE: Autosport

Teams book their launch dates

With testing just a few short weeks away, the F1 teams are booking their dates for the unveiling of their 2010 challengers.

Already five teams have put their names down with Ferrari, McLaren, Sauber and Renault set to launch ahead of testing while Lotus will be mid-February.

PlanetF1 will bring you all the news, interviews and pictures from the unveilings.

Launch Dates
25 Jan - Mercedes GP
28 Jan - Ferrari
29 Jan - McLaren
31 Jan - Renault
31 Jan - Sauber
12 Feb - Lotus

SOURCE: Planet F1

Ed: Interesting to see they have mercedes down for the 25th, i don't remember that being confirmed anywhere else

@Racky_Rules, Autosport have just confirmed it.

The Mercedes GP team will unveil its new Formula 1 car on 25th January, the German squad revealed on Friday.

The launch will take place at the car maker's museum in Stuttgart.

The car will then run for the first time at the Valencia circuit on 1st February, when this year's pre-season testing will kick off officially.

Mercedes will race under its own name during the 2010 season after taking over the Brawn GP team last year. Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg will drive the 'Silver Arrows' this year.

AUTOSPORT

FORCE INDIA TO SKIP FIRST TEST

Force India will join Red Bull Racing in missing the first of the pre-season Formula 1 tests that takes place at Valencia next month.

The Silverstone-based outfit will not run its new car, the VJM3, until the Jerez test that begins on February 10.

Driver Adrian Sutil told the official Formula 1 website that the team had decided to delay the introduction of its car so it could have more time to develop it - a tactic similar to the one adopted by Red Bull Racing.

"The whole team is hard at work developing the best car possible and it looks very, very promising right now," explained Sutil.

"For sure the new rules are a big challenge for everybody, so to make a clear statement about how good we have been in interpreting those new regulations we will have to wait until the first test in Jerez, where I will drive the VJM3 for the first time."

AUTOSPORT

Here is a couples of links relating to the Ferrari Liveries for the forth coming season.

The First are official photos of the drivers racing suits

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2010/01/20/is-this-ferraris-2010-livery/

Secondly are unofficial images that supposedly show what this years car will look like, but given that they haven't been allowed to be running any car from 2009 and after so this may just be the result of someone with too much time and a copy of photo-shop.

http://www.marca.com/2010/01/20/motor/formula1/1264003356.html

Alonso tests '09 Ferrari with new livery

Fernando Alonso drove a Ferrari Formula 1 car for the first time when he took part in the shooting of a commercial that revealed the Italian's squad new colours for the 2010 season.

Alonso took to the Paul Ricard circuit in last year's F60 car, but the car sported a new livery with the Santander branding very visible on both the front and the rear wings, as well as on the car's mirrors.

The Spanish banking giant signed a five-year deal with the Maranello-based squad last year, coinciding with Alonso's arrival at the team to replace Kimi Raikkonen.

The short run at the French circuit was Alonso's first with his new team before the two-time champion begins proper work with the 2010 car at Valencia next month.

Ferrari's new challenger will be officially unveiled on 28 January.

http://www.marca.com/2010/01/20/motor/formula1/1264003356.html

 

Racky_rules

And at first I thought that image of the Ferrari wearing Santander drag was a photoshop.

McLAREN TO STREAM CAR LAUNCH ONLINE

The McLaren team will stream the launch of its new challenger online, the British squad has revealed.

McLaren said on Friday that the event will take place at Vodafone UK's headquarters in Newbury, but the unveiling of the car, as well as the on-stage press conferences with Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton will be streamed on the team's official website.

The launch, which takes place on 29th January, will kick off at 11:00 local time.

SOURCE: Autosport

Virgin car will be black, says di Grassi

Lucas di Grassi has revealed that his first Formula 1 car will be primarily black as Virgin Racing prepares to join the grid next season. The Brazilian makes the step up from GP2 after finishing third overall with Racing Engineering in 2009.

Third in the last two GP2 championships, di Grassi's toughest season in the feeder series came in 2007, battling Timo Glock for the title.

With the German having moved to F1 with Toyota the following year, the duo are now reunited as team-mates as Sir Richard Branson's worldwide brand name is applied to an independent F1 team.

Speaking with Brazil's Globo this week, di Grassi has revealed that the main colour of the Virgin car will be black, with him electing to keep the same helmet design which has been sported since the age of 14.

SOURCE: f1.gpupdates.net

Mercedes Gp Launch - Non Official pictures

Pictures from Jake Humphrey, BBC SPORT  

MERCEDES REVEAL 2010 LIVERY

The Mercedes GP Petronas team unveiled its official colour scheme for the 2010 season, in an event held at the German car maker's museum in Stuttgart.

Mercedes, who took over world champion team Brawn GP to race under its own name this year, showed off its new colours using a 2009 car, before its new challenger is unveiled at the start of next month.

The new car, which sports Mercedes' cIassic silver colours, will make its first public outing at the Valencia circuit on 1st February, when the first testing session of the pre-season will kick off.

The 2010 car will be called MGP W01.

"With today's presentation of our new Mercedes GP Petronas Formula 1 team, a new and certainly the most important chapter of over 100 years of Mercedes-Benz motorsport history begins," said Mercedes motorsport Norberg Haug. "The new Formula 1 season will offer challenges which will be bigger than ever before in over sixty years of the sport's history.

"We look forward to the cooperation with our drivers Nico Rosberg who has enormous capabilities and perspectives, and with seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher who is no less motivated than at the time when he began his professional motor racing career with Mercedes-Benz and then made his first step into such a successful Formula One career with our support.

"Today I also cordially welcome our new title partner Petronas as well as our co-investor Aabar/IPIC together with all of our team partners. I warmly welcome all our colleagues from last year's World Championship team Brawn GP headed by Ross Brawn and Nick Fry to the Mercedes family. There are challenging tasks ahead of us and we will tackle them with power, consistency and full motivation."

The team will be led again by Ross Brawn, who will be forming a partnership with seven-time champion Michael Schumacher, making a sensational return to the sport after retiring in 2006.

Schumacher will be partnered by Nico Rosberg.

Brawn could not hide his enthusiasm during the birth of the new team.

"I think for me it is several things, one is a wonderful future for our team which a year ago never had a future, such an exciting partnership and such an exciting involvement for us," said Brawn, who achieved great success with Schumacher during their stint at Ferrari.

"It is s a great thing, working with Michael again is a very special treat and something I didn't think would happen again.

"It's so exciting and so motivational for me and the team to be involved. Nico is a very exciting prospect who will make a wonderful partner for Michael. Nico has been in a racing for a number of years but he will enjoy working with Michael and seeing how a seven-time champion operates.

"But also the final thing is being the part of a rebirth of a racing brand so iconic as Mercedes. It's been 55 years since Mercedes had its own racing team. I have been very privileged in my career to be involved in special things but this is very exciting to be involved in."

Rosberg said driving for Mercedes was a dream come true for him.

"For sure for me it is very, very special, a dream come true to be able to drive the first silver arrow for more than 50 years," he said.

"I'm looking forward to it, working with people like Norbert [Haug], Ross and Nick [Fry] and having Michael as team-mate is great. It is going to be a great season."

Schumacher admitted he has been overwhelmed by the reaction of his fans since he announced his comeback.

"We obviously saw some of it in the summer time and I was surprised to see the reaction, now with the announcement being part of the silver arrows team," Schumacher said.

"It is a great emotion and it is a great feeling that I am getting from the outside, so a big compliment to all fans that see it like this. It gives me a greater feel and a greater push."

SOURCE: Autosport

MORE PICTURES, COURTESY OF F1'S OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Looks like you still have a few more days before analysing the challengers Daddy - As the report says, this is merely just the unveiling of the livery. Their actual 2010 car won't come out until February 1st.Redders1989

And the rest of the entries according to Formula1.com

Current launch line-up at a glance:
January 28 - Ferrari, Maranello, Italy
January 29 - McLaren, Newbury, UK
January 31 - BMW Sauber/Renault, Valencia, Spain
February 1 - Mercedes GP/Williams, Valencia, Spain
February 10 - Red Bull/Force India, Jerez, Spain
Early February - US, Barber Motorsport Park, Alabama, USA
February 12 - Lotus

Official Formula 1 Website

RED BULL ANNOUNCE RB6 LAUNCH DATE

Red Bull Racing's new car for the 2010 season will be officially unveiled on 10th February, the team said on Tuesday.

The RB6 will be launched at the Jerez circuit, where the team will begin its pre-season testing.

Red Bull has decided to skip the first test at Valencia in order to have more time to develop the new Renault-powered car ahead of the start of the season.

AUTOSPORT 

CAMPOS COULD MISS ALL TESTING

The Campos Meta F1 team has admitted that it may not take part in any pre-season testing, but insists it will make the opening race in Bahrain.

The Spanish team has signed Bruno Senna and its Dallara-built chassis passed the FIA's final crash test last week, but concerns remain about its financial strength and it is still searching for investors.

Campos's head of strategy Daniel Eisen says the season's first race will be the team's testing time.

"Bahrain is a test, it's not a first race for us," Eisen told the Associated Press. "The cars are very advanced, we have a driver under contract and our intention is to be in Bahrain for the first race,

"Everybody's worried and that's logical because the season is long and we're the new ones. But first things first, we want to be there with the best of everything - especially the cars.

"It's no secret that we are negotiating with investors and sponsors, especially on an international scale. But everything is going according to plan."

Eisen denied that the team's deal to run Bruno Senna brought in money and says Campos is determined to succeed without pay drivers.

"Bruno didn't come with cash, and that's important," he added. "We've always wanted it like that from the start. Yes, it would bring a lot economically, but our focus is to be ready. We can't compromise the cars in any way."

The team also admitted that it may not announce a second driver until the eve of the Bahrain race.

FERRARI LAUNCH BROADCAST ONLINE

Ferrari has announced that the launch of its 2010 Formula 1 car will be broadcast live online via its website www.ferrari.com.

The car will be unveiled in the New GT Assembly Line Pavilion at the Ferrari factory at 10.30am local time tomorrow.

As well as the launch ceremony, the subsequent press conference with the team and drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa will also be shown on the website.

The new car is scheduled to complete a few laps of the Fiorano test track for promotional filming following the launch tomorrow afternoon, subject to weather conditions. Ferrari's internet broadcast will feature this run too.

McLaren has already announced that its launch will also be streamed online, with the British squad unveiling its new car at Vodafone's UK headquarters on Friday morning.

AUTOSPORT 

.:: FERRARI F10 ::.

The Stats
NAME: Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro F10 (ITA)
NUMBERS: 7, 8
DRIVERS: Fernando Alonso (ESP), Felipe Massa (BRA)
TEST DRIVERS: Giancarlo Fisichella (ITA), Luca Badoer (ITA), Marc Gene (ESP)
2009 SEASON: 4th Place - 1 Win, 70 pts.

Ferrari became the first Formula 1 outfit to unveil its new challenger for the 2010 season on Thursday, as the wraps came off the Italian squad's F10 machine.

The car, with which the team hopes to return to the top after a difficult 2009 season, is the result of several months of design work, after Ferrari decided to switch its focus to 2010 early during last year's campaign.

Ferrari won just one race in 2009, finishing a distant fourth in the constructors' championship.

The Maranello-based outfit, however, has high hopes for the new car, with two-time champion Fernando Alonso having joined Felipe Massa for this year's championship assault.

"This championship will be very important for us," said team boss Stefano Domenicali. "The last championship, for different reasons, was not very positive, that is why we are dealing with this one looking to be competitive - and this is what Ferrari deserves to have."

He added: "We have two new drivers, why two new drivers? Fernando Alonso, is a twice world champion and we will say after the second one he will have a third one. He already appears among the big champions in F1, it is the right moment for him, for us, he wants to be successful and we want to repeat what the team concept is in our group.

"Felipe, we are talking of a new version of Felipe, but after such a dramatic championship like last year with the accident in Hungary and such a fantastic season, Felipe has all the assets to prove that he is a very successful one, he can prove that he wants to restart his pathway that destiny interrupted it in Hungary. Good luck to both of them."

Massa will be the man in charge of completing the first run in the car this afternoon at the Fiorano circuit.

AUTOSPORT

MORE PICS

Pictures - From F1Fanatic

Press conference with Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa and Stefano Domenicali at 12.40 CET, 11.40 GMT live at Ferrari.com

Ferrari F10 technical specs

Ferrari have lifted the lid on their 2010 challenger, the F10, and also revealed the technical specs of the car they hope will land them the World Championships.

Chassis
* Carbon-fibre and honeycomb composite structure
* Ferrari longitudinal gearbox
*Limited-slip differential
*Semiautomatic sequential electronically controlled gearbox - quick shift
*Number of gears: 7 + Reverse
*Brembo ventilated carbon-fibre disc brakes
*Independent suspension, push-rod activated torsion springs front and rear
*Weight with water, lubricant and drive: 620kg
*BBS Wheels (front and rear): 13"

Engine
*Type: 056
*Number of cylinders: 8
*Cylinder block in sand cast aluminium: V90
*Number of valves: 32
*Pneumatic distribution
*Total disreplacement: 2398cm3
*Piston bore: 98mm
*Weight > 95kg
*Electronic injection and ignition
*Fuel: Shell V-Power
*Lubricant: Shell Helix Ultra

SOURCE: Planet-f1.com

Exclusive: First image of new Williams

Williams has broken cover with its new FW32 at Silverstone today, completing its first shakedown run ahead of a maiden test at Valencia next week.

AUTOSPORT's exclusive spy shot of the new car show it to be a radical departure from the team's 2009 challenger - featuring the Red Bull Racing-type high raised nose that could well become common throughout the grid

Williams' new driver Nico Hulkenberg gave the car its first try out in the blue and white car that has not yet been fully liveried. The car was only fired up for the first time in the early hours of the morning.

Sam Michael, the Williams technical director, told AUTOSPORT recently that the car would be a big departure from the FW31.

"The FW32 is a clean-sheet design from front to back," he said. "It's pretty much brand new from an aerodynamic point of view."

"The fact that we had a consistent car across all of the tracks in 2009, and wiped out a lot of the vices that we had in the previous car, gives us confidence."

Williams is scheduled to join the majority of current teams at Valencia next week for the first official pre-season test, which begins on Monday.

SOURCE: Autosport.com

Wow, very good shot from whoever took that, is there any chance KA you can maybe give add to the rundown Racky has given on the Ferrari and could you try the Williams?

Looks set to be an amazing season.

 FERRARI F10

The Ferrari F10 is, at first glance, a slightly modified F60. But you would be wrong. Of the pictures I've seen Ferrari have been shrouding their new diffuser (SURPRISE!) and that will be, again, the big talking point of the year.

Starting from the front the F10 features an all new nose featuring the RB5's nose bulges which help to control the airflow to the back of the car and the front wing mounts are back to a more traditional straight kind rather than the F60's forward raked front wing mounts. Moving further back and the sidepods are completely reprofiled to accomodate the new larger fuel tanks but also taking advantage of the new found space when KERS was dropped. The rear is very tightly wrapped and will feed huge amounts of air to the diffuser. Lastly, the rear wing has remained unchanged for now but will, as always, change from race to race depending on the needs of the circuit however I believe the twin pillar mounts are a new edition for the F10.

Mechanically the front suspension is a brand new design designed to take advantage of the stiffer, narrower tyres at the front. The weight distrubution of the car will also have been optimised now that KERS is gone the ballast can be placed more favourably (further forward.).

WILLIAMS FW32  

From the one photo I can see of this car ;) I'm quite impressed. The FW31 was not a bad car by any stretch of the imagination, it was poor strategy and bad luck that scuppered it's opportunities so the FW32 has quite a legacy.

 At the moment the car appears not to have the RB5 nose bulges but a similar nose to that of the RB5 from Silverstone onwards (barring low drag circuits) high, wide, flat. Outside the nose there are small "blades" running back toward the new front suspension, helping to keep air attatched to the body and not be disturbed by the wishbones.  

The car still features the twin scoops on the top of the airbox which wont help to stop the rumors of KERS that surround the team. FOTA have moved to disallow it, however it is still legal and it is only a gentlemans agreement that stops other teams from using it and don't forget FOTA kicked Williams out during last years breakaway debacle. 

The sidepod openings are quite small which bodes well for the Cosworth powered teams. Perhaps the engine doesn't run as hot as first thought by the media. It will be good to see the new cars on track to get some idea of how the grid will look come Bahrain. I can't wait!

Thanks for that KA, especially since i guess you weren't expecting to have to analyse to cars today.

Now it is just a case of waiting until tomorrow when Mclaren will become the 2nd team to official launch their 2010 challenger and i will be looking forward to see if they have made decide to go with the Red Bull nose like both Williams and Ferrari have done or something completely different.

Pictures

AUTOSPORT

More Pictures 

.:: McLAREN-MERCEDES MP4-25 ::.

The Stats
NAME: Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes MP4-25 (GBR)
NUMBERS: 1, 2
DRIVERS: Jenson Button (GBR), Lewis Hamilton (GBR)
TEST DRIVERS: Gary Paffet (GBR)
2009 SEASON: 3rd Place - 2 Wins, 71 pts.

The McLaren Mercedes team launched its new car for the 2010 season on Friday morning, with the target of clinching both titles after a mixed campaign in 2009.

The Mercedes-powered MP4-25 was unveiled at Vodafone UK's headquarters in Newbury.

McLaren's new car retains the silver colour of recent years, despite engine partner Mercedes-Benz's switch of focus to its own 'Silver Arrows' outfit.

The car features a high shark-fin engine cover running up to the rear wing, not used by the team in 2009.

The MP4-25 will be driven by Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button this year, the reigning world champion having joined the British squad from Brawn GP, with which he won the title last year.

"It was Alexander Graham Bell who said preparation is key to success and we have prepared for this season more comprehensively than ever before," said team boss Martin Whitmarsh.

"As team principal I am honoured to represent this great team, but I am one small part of a group of dedicated and fantastic people.

"A great team and a competitive car can only succeed with the best drivers. Neither of our drivers need much of an introduction because between them they have won the past two world championships. We are thrilled this year to have Lewis and Jenson represent the team on track. Both drivers are winners and they want to win this year.

"Every year of F1 racing throws up a unique set of regulation challenges, and 2010 is no exception. We have designed a car that exploits the double diffuser concept.

"We look forward to an exciting championship with many new and notable faces and at least one older one. We remain proud partners of Mercedes-Benz, but we must be at our best to beat the works team.

"Our goal is clear and we aim to win."

Engineering director Paddy Lowe added: "Firstly we as a technical team faced a great challenge when you have not one but two world champions in the car. We felt some pressure to provide the right equipment to get the job done - we took that seriously.

"It is a very sophisticated car but very elegant. That comes from unprecedented collaboration between aero team and mechanical design team."

Test driver Gary Paffett will be the man in charge of taking the new car for its first laps on Monday, when pre-season testing kicks off at Valencia.

AUTOSPORT

MORE PICS

VIRGIN TO LAUNCH CAR ONLINE

Virgin Racing will unveil its first Formula 1 car in a broadcast on its website next Wednesday.

The VR-01 will be revealed via virginracing.com at 10.00am on 3 February, the team having chosen to hold a 'virtual' event rather than a normal launch.

The car has been designed by Nick Wirth's Wirth Research organisation and, like the other start-up teams, Virgin will use Cosworth engines. Wirth expects the car to run for the first time next week prior to joining the second F1 group test at Jerez.

AUTOSPORT 

Ferrari may be working on 'B' spec F10

Ferrari may already be working on a 'B' version of its recently-launched F10 car.

It became the first team to launch its 2010 challenger on Thursday, but there are rumours that the initial performance estimates aren't as high as Ferrari had hoped. The Times said that, despite cutting short development on last year's car to focus on the F10, there is speculation sweeping through the Italian media that a replacement is already on the drawing board.

It is not unusual for teams to immediately work on updates and traditionally all cars receive major tweaks after the first few fly-away races. However, the possibility that the team is already working on a 'B' spec version suggests a more fundamental revision of the design.

Ex-Ferrari driver Gerhard Berger thinks his old team is not as strong as it was during its years of domination in the early 2000s.

"Even with [Fernando] Alonso, Ferrari's overall package is not as strong as it once was with [Michael] Schumacher," he told Switzerland's Blick newspaper. "They are now missing [Jean] Todt, [Ross] Brawn and the often underestimated designer [Rory] Byrne. And without the right people, soon you are lost."

SOURCE: espnf1.com

^ The above wouldn't surprise me.

I'm changing the gearbox in my car this morning so I will pass judgement on the MP4-25 when I'm done but let me tell you, the first impressions are extremely good. The McLaren looks to be hugely competitive.

McLAREN MP4-25 

A genuinely impressive piece of work from McLaren doing away with almost everything from the disappointing MP4-24.  

New wide, tall, flat nose which I believe will become the norm, beneath the nose is a trick new front splitter much like the one used on the Williams FW31. This splitter should work similarly to the diffuser at the rear of the car which "sucks" the car to the road by changing the air pressure around it (to put it simply).  

Moving further back, aggressive rectangular sidepod packaging which slopes right back to the floor at the end of the vodafone signage, this takes insipiration from the Red Bull RB5 of yesteryear. This left the car with less room for the cooling and other ancilleries for the engine and fuel tank which meant they sit toward the centre behind the airbox. To cover all this is the new sharkfin engine cover.

 The low sidepods and shots of the rear of the car combined with the novel centred, high, exhausts leads me to believe that the car features a HUGE double decked diffuser using the exhausts to blow over the top of the crash structure and the small flip up in front of it to improve the diffuser's effectiveness and produce downforce in it's own right. It will also mean more hot air is blown downstream of the car at a more central position which will hinder followers by increasing their engine and brake temperatures. 

Mechanically the car features a new front suspension geometry, moving back to the 2008 designs which have the steering arm coupled to the lower wishbone, so McLaren obviously feel they don't need it as a flow conditioner anymore.

It will be interesting to see how it goes on track, McLaren have made alot of loud noises about it but they did the same of the MP4-18... and that never turned a wheel in anger. Ever. I think the car will be at the front of the field but there looks to be many things that could go wrong, and if it does (like the MP4-24) it's going to be so much harder to find the problem.