Mclaren And Ferrari F1 Launches

Two of Formula 1’s most iconic teams, McLaren and Ferrari, have now revealed the new cars which they hope will bring them success on racing circuits all around the world this year, so let’s take a closer look.

It has to be said that, for now at least, the McLaren F1 outfit is something of a sleeping giant after enduring a difficult few years - the Woking based team may have won 182 Grand Prix to date, but their last victory was way back in 2012. The current trend does seem to be upwards though and, if their new challenger has a capable chassis and the Renault power unit is reliable and on the pace, then the good times may well start to return.

The car’s livery is fairly similar to last year’s, featuring a new version of its papaya orange and blue paintwork. The branding of new sponsors Estrella Galicia 0,0 and Huski Chocolate is prominent, as is the “A Better Tomorrow” slogan of the British American Tobacco company. McLaren chief executive Zak Brown made it clear that no tobacco products will be promoted and that the link-up is technology related.

Both last year’s drivers have departed. Fernando Alonso went of his own volition to seek new challenges elsewhere in the motorsport world and Stoffel Vandoorne was deemed not good enough to be retained. In their place come Spanish driver Carlos Sainz from Renault and 19 year old British rookie Lando Norris, who was the runner-up in last season’s Formula 2 championship.

The McLaren sporting director Gil de Ferrari enthused about the new car “This is a beautiful piece of art. I think it depicts well all the capabilities that McLaren has in terms of craftsmanship and engineering”. Let’s just hope the car goes as well as it looks.

Ferrari is the only Formula 1 team to have competed every year since it all began back in 1950 and the brand has a unique mystique.

Last season their championship battles faltered on both the Drivers and Constructors fronts compared to Mercedes and so this year their loyal but demanding “tifosi” fans will expect an improvement.

Over the winter the former team principal Maurizio Arrivabene departed and has been replaced by the highly regarded former chief technical officer Mattia Binotto.

The team’s official name is Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow and the new car was revealed during a slick presentation at the team’s base at Maranello in northern Italy. They have called it the SF90 to commemorate the manufacturer’s 90th anniversary this year.

The Mission Winnow element of the team name relates to a business strategy of sponsor Philip Morris International to incorporate change through constant improvement. Like McLaren, Ferrari is keen to explain that the link-up with Philip Morris is not to promote any tobacco products, but their business management strategy.

The new car’s livery is predominantly red, as always of course, and four time champion Sebastian Vettel has been retained as the lead driver for a fifth season.

However, the 31 year old German will have to very much be on top form to deal with the challenge he will face from the new young driver who has arrived to replace Kimi Räikkönen - 21 year old Charles Leclerc.

The Monegasque driver may only have a single season of F1 racing under his belt, for the Alfa Romeo Sauber team last year, but such is his promise that Ferrari has chosen to place him in one of their two coveted race seats for this year.

It will be absolutely fascinating to see how the established master deals with his young understudy in the heat of battle, just one of many interesting new intra-team contests between drivers this season.

Just one team, Alfa Romeo Racing, has yet to officially reveal its new car, but this will happen on Monday when pre-season testing begins at Spain’s Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.