6 of the Best Formula 1 Car Launches
Force India will reveal their 2015 Formula One car, the VJM08, in a ceremony in Mexico City later this month, according to Sky Sports' Pete Gill.
The unveiling, which is scheduled for January 21, promises to take F1 back to a time when teams actually put some effort into showcasing their brand new machines, with local hero Sergio Perez set to receive a warm welcome ahead of the return of the Mexican Grand Prix later this year.
In recent years, we have become accustomed to outfits unveiling their cars either online, at their headquarters or in the Jerez pit lane ahead of the first pre-season test.
Although there is nothing wrong with these launches—especially in the modern era when cost control is all-important—they have gone some way to robbing F1's pre-season schedule of its romance and glamour.
In chronological order, here are our six favourite car launches of years gone by, with our choices based on how inventive and stylish the releases were.
Spice Girls Steal the Show at 1997 McLaren Launch
1 of 6McLaren invited the Spice Girls to launch their 1997 car at London's Alexandra Palace. But on the above evidence, we can assume that they soon regretted it.
The presence of what was arguably the biggest band in the world at the time came at the cost of the team's MP4-12 and the new-look West livery, which were reduced to backseat roles as the Spice Girls took full control of proceedings.
A plus side to the launch, however, was watching Mika Hakkinen squirm with awkwardness as the cackling herd threatened to visit him in Monaco before trying to undress the Finn in front of a few thousand people.
Hakkinen, though, went on to win his first grand prix at the final round of 1997, with team-mate David Coulthard winning twice as McLaren secured fourth in the constructors' championship.
The Spice Girls, unsurprisingly, were not asked to launch another McLaren car, although a future appearance at four-time champions Red Bull cannot be ruled out for obvious reasons.
Jordan's 2002 EJ12 Delivered by DHL in Brussels
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Jordan's 2002 car launch began like any other—albeit one that was taking place in an aircraft hanger in Brussels, Belgium—with drivers and staff discussing the season ahead.
The true reason behind the choice of location soon became clear when, as per motorsport.com, Control Tower announced that an urgent delivery for team boss Eddie Jordan was imminent.
A screen cut to a shot of a DHL-liveried cargo plane arriving at the airport and it was soon towed into the hangar, where the side door was opened to reveal a car hiding under wraps.
Once it reached ground level, it was left to Giancarlo Fisichella and Takuma Sato to pull the sheets off and reveal the EJ12, with Jordan signing a docket to confirm the arrival of his delivery and, with it, his team's capture of DHL as title sponsor.
As sponsor announcements go, delivering a car on a plane beats a bland press statement every day of the week.
The car itself was also beaten every week, with Jordan scoring just nine points in 2002.
McLaren Reveal 2007 MP4-22 in Front of Bumper Crowd in Valencia
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McLaren secured a number of new signings for 2007, with two-time world champion Fernando Alonso arriving from Renault to partner rookie driver Lewis Hamilton and Vodafone joining as title sponsor.
After failing to win a race in 2006, the Woking-based outfit suddenly had plenty to shout about and chose the Spanish city of Valencia to parade their new-look car.
The MP4-22 was unveiled in a ceremony at the Ciudad de las Artes y de las Ciencias, where Hamilton, Alonso and reserve drivers Gary Paffett and Pedro de la Rosa fiddled with some Vodafone products in front of the world's press.
The best came later on, however, with Alonso and Hamilton taking to floodlit streets behind the wheel of McLaren's 2006 car—donned in the new livery, of course—to entertain a crowd of over 150,000 people, as per Formula1.com's estimation.
The Valencia Street Circuit would go on to host its first grand prix in August 2008, but the MP4-22 turned out to be one of the most controversial cars in F1 history.
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Force India Launch 2008 Car at Mumbai's Gateway of India
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Despite being rooted to the back of the grid as the team formerly known as Jordan was passed from owner to owner, Force India made the unveiling of their first Formula One car a high-profile affair in 2008.
Having purchased the backmarker team from Spyker in October 2007, Vijay Mallya took the outfit to his home country to launch the VJM01 at the Gateway of India in Mumbai.
Under the night sky, the historic monument looked more like the scene of a rock concert as it was blasted with strobe lighting, with the car and drivers Giancarlo Fisichella, Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Liuzzi popping into view atop an elevating stage.
A video of the launch, capturing the atmosphere in Mumbai, is available here.
Although the car—a modified version of the 2007 Spyker—was useless, failing to score a point in 18 races, the team's brief visit to India sparked a need for regular trips, with the nation hosting its first grand prix in 2011.
Toyota Unveil 2009 Car with Online 'Movie Premiere'
5 of 6Online launches have become commonplace in this cost-saving era of Formula One and it was Toyota who set the benchmark in 2009.
As well as producing the standard studio photographs and the accompanying quotes from the drivers and senior team personnel, the Japanese manufacturer released a short, movie trailer-esque video to compensate for the lack of glamour of an online unveiling.
The website set up specifically to showcase the trailer, as is the norm with Internet launches, crashed within minutes of the scheduled presentation, but once it was finally up and running, fans were given a treat.
Despite some horrendous acting by Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock—as well as a cameo appearance from reserve driver Kamui Kobayashi—the film encapsulated the anticipation surrounding the new-for-2009 regulations, with Toyota making no secret of their desire to win with the TF109.
A first victory, however, continued to elude the Cologne-based outfit and Toyota withdrew from F1 at the end of that season.
McLaren Piece Together the 2011 MP4-26 in Berlin
6 of 6McLaren are not the type of team who do things by halves, but they made an exception in February 2011 when they revealed the MP4-26 in the German capital of Berlin.
Four mechanics wheeled a half-built chassis into Potsdamer Platz and, with the help of members of the public—who brought anything from engine covers to nose cones to the makeshift workshop—soon assembled the car in front of a respectable crowd.
The highlight came when Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton, McLaren's all-champion driver pairing, arrived on the scene carrying a steering wheel and headrest respectively to put the finishing touches to the car, before being presented with their crash helmets by onlookers.
It was the last truly unconventional F1 launch and McLaren's out-of-the-box thinking was rewarded with six wins and second place in the constructors' standings in 2011.
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