Formula 1 launch season 2016: what we know so far

The Formula 1 launch season used to begin in early January and incorporate glamorous locations and high-profile guests to gain maximum publicity for each new car. The 1997 McLaren extravaganza with the Spice Girls was certainly a high-water mark.

But in the modern era of minimum testing and seeking maximum development time, as well as cost control, teams are now opting for online launches or simply to pull the covers off their new cars in the pitlane at the first test.

In 2016, the testing begins in Barcelona on February 22 and as a result it looks like F1 fans will have to wait another month to see what this year’s challengers will look like.

What we know so far

Ferrari teased its social media followers with a promise of “something unique” this morning, which turned out to be a drive to get the team’s followers to be involved in the online launch of the Scuderia’s new car. The competition closes on February 7, so we can expect to see the new design shortly afterwards.

McLaren announced on Twitter, with a none-too-subtle swipe at Ferrari, that it would be revealing the MP4-31 on February 21, the day before the first test gets underway.

https://twitter.com/McLarenF1/status/689047420957765632

Sauber will not be taking its 2016 car to the opening test, but it will be using an updated version of its 2015 machine with this season’s livery. It is understood that the changes to the F1 calendar, which brought the Australian Grand Prix forward to March 20 from April 3, meant the team had to shift its schedule.

Williams will also reveal its 2016 challenger at the first test according to the team’s head of performance engineering, Rob Smedley, who told Sky Sports that it is “not going to have any kind of glitzy or glamorous launch we're just going to launch it on February 22, in Barcelona.”

Mercedes, Red Bull and Toro Rosso have all favoured the pitlane reveal in recent seasons.

Lotus, now Renault, opted to release images of its car online last year, as did Williams, but so far there is no indication if it will do the same in 2016. However, the French manufacturer is holding a team launch on 3 February with more details of its plans for the new season set to be revealed.

Force India chose to reveal its 2015 livery at special event in Mexico but the team subsequently missed most of winter testing – it is not yet known what its 2016 plans are.

Haas F1 is yet to announce when its 2016 cars will be unveiled but the team has passed the FIA’s mandatory crash test and is therefore on course to take part in the Barcelona tests.

Manor, now officially called Manor Racing, is in a similar position to Haas first after passing the crash test, and the team announced that it will reveal its new car on the first day of winter testing.

https://twitter.com/ManorRacing/status/689487229803204608

Have big launches had their day?

It seems that the era of high-profile F1 car launches has passed by – but is that a actually good thing? The teams need to find a balance between publicity and development time for their new cars. Force India’s 2015 livery event and Lotus and Williams’ online preview from last year seems to satisfy both of those needs.

These approaches provide F1 fans with the chance to see what a team’s car would look like, at least colour-wise, while giving the squad maximum time to perfect its designs. After all, the best publicity is a world championship-winning car.