Last Updated on November 18 2024, 2:19 pm

Formula One is infamous for its unpredictable wheezes, the latest being born out of the wish to celebrate 75 seasons of the sport next year. Project F175 was launched last week which will see all the teams attend one big launch party, where the next generation of cars will be revealed by the teams.

The two hour long event will take place at the O2 arena in London on February 18th with all team principals, drivers and other senior personnel expected to attend. F1 car launches have been a ‘thing’ in bygone times with teams in competition to outdo their rivals.

Prior to the advent of the cost cap a number of spectacular F1 car launches have taken place with Eddie Jordan in 2002 ranked high on the list of the spectacular. Midway through an ordinary media event at Brussels airport, a message was announced from the control tower that a “special delivery had arrived for Mr. Jordan.”

 

 

 

Jordan car launch extravaganza

Then a large cargo jet performed a low level fly by before returning to land. As the plane finished taxiing to its given stand, the side doors were opened to reveal a distinctive cargo to the world, the Jordan EJ12.

The recent introduction of the cost cap means even the best financed F1 teams have to weight where they commit to spending. This has led to a number very dull F1 car launches particularly amongst the smaller teams who often merely post online renders of the cars from the CFD designs.

Alpine were most F1 writers favourite launch for 2024 with the team including their WEC hypercar adding interest and great for brand awareness. Senior staff were present for the journalists to speak with and the media access was apparently much improved. 

The launch was “a vast improvement from last year’s disorganised one”, according to veteran F1 writer Edd Straw. “This put ‘Team Enstone’ front and centre, revealed a genuine car, integrated the World Endurance Championship project and made good use of technical director Matt Harman.”

Albon admits F1 ladder “a dark art”

 

 

 

RB rubbing rags of 2024 car launches

Bottom of the pile was the re-branded AlphaTauri launch. Now the awkwardly named, “The Visa Cash App Racing Bulls” decided their big new American based sponsor would be seen in the glittering lights of Las Vegas.

The timings for the event in the Nevada desert were not widely advertised in advance and neither was the event streamed for fans to watch online. The images of the car were finally dumped onto the internet by which time most had lost interest.

“This was not a launch for fans or media and a limp way to start a new era,” was Scott Mitchell-Malm’s verdict. Josh Suttill called it a “woeful first launch” for RB’s new identity and said “you couldn’t have designed a more alienating method of delivering a new look”.

Edd Straw’s cutting review read: “It was poorly communicated, offered nothing to fans and didn’t make it clear there would be little for those in Europe who made the effort to be around when it was happening.

F1 flexi wings allowed until 2026

 

 

 

Red Bull’s New York flop

“Sums up a team only interested in serving those it sees as bringing in big money and that appears more of an afterthought than ever for Red Bull.”

Red Bull had struggled a year earlier with the big car launch destined for New York but an artic front swept the state during the week and the event had to be hastily re-arranged to ensure those in attendance did not freeze to death.

The presentation included copious video clips from sponsors often with embarrassing salience in between, unknown extreme athletes sponsored by Red Bull who appeared overwhelmed by the whole event and the introduction of Ford’s CEO, Jim Farley, whose performance cleared up speculation on whether Ford were a genuine F1 OEM or merely sponsoring and badging the work of Red Bull Powertrains.

F1 is now trying to tidy up what is a popular time of the year with F1 observers and fans alike. Each season fans wait with baited breath to see the designs of the all new prototype racing machines with their liveries which are set to compete over the coming campaign.

Ferrari offer Hamilton extraordinary Schumacher priviledge

 

 

 

Ferrari negotiate expenses

However, for three of the teams not based in the UK, there is the additional time and expense of bringing their cars and presentation team over to England for several days. Ferrari are reported to have negotiated a financial arrangement with F1 and the FIA to cover increment costs which will presumably be the case for RB and Sauber.

Clearly the Scuderia were unimpressed at being forced to do their big reveal away from the tifosi in Italy. In a move that may be seen as a snub to the F1 powers that be, Ferrari have announced they will still do their tradition car reveal in Italy, several days before the project F175 is aired.

Today the Ferrari museum in Maranello announced on X:“From November 15th to January 12th, grab your fan ticket at Musei Ferrari for a chance to join the exclusive launch of Scuderia Ferrari HP’s 2025 single-seater in person.”

Whilst the date of Ferrari’s launch has not yet been published, sources in the Italian media believe it will be pointless if it follows the collective reveal at F175.

Contract Clause: Sainz to Red Bull wild rumours gather pace

 

 

 

Ferrari snub F1 launch event with their own first

New recruit Lewis Hamilton will be in attendance for the launch in Italy. As the only F1 team in continuous existence throughout the history of the sport celebrates the glory and emotion from 75 years of competition the seven times world champion will be front and centre if president John Elkann gets his way.

Mercedes are preventing Hamilton from any Ferrari related duties until the first of January, meaning he will be absent from the regular post Abu Dhabi Grand Prix test at the Yas Marina Circuit.

Ferrari have indicated Lewis will now debut in red, sometime early in January next year in a two year old car at Fiorano. There Lewis will hosted Ezo Ferrari’s old house, something the team last offered only to their greatest ever driver, Michael Schumacher.

Steiner wanted to “kick Schumacher’s ass through the paddock”

 

 

 

Newey disciple removed from role

The ebb and flow of Formula One folk moving between teams is a well trodden path; more so since the introduction of the FIA’s new spending restrictions which came into effect in 2022. The bigger teams had to slim down their headcount to remain under the financial ceiling and with the improved level of sponsorship, the smaller teams were in fact able to grow.

Back in 2022, Aston Martin were waist deep into their new $200m investment programme to create a state of the art facility at their Silverstone base. Yet they urgently needed the engineering brains to design a car that would be competitive with the likes of Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari.

Red Bull have historically been highly respected for their advanced aerodynamics department, delivering championship winning cars for Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen. With Adrian Newey playing a floating role since he gave up the role of team Technical Director in 2018, Pierre Wache and Dan Fallows became the heart of the unit… READ MORE