Ferrari has announced that they will be unveiling their 2010 challenger, the ‘281’ on January 28th at Maranello. It will then take its first laps at the Ricardo Tomo Circuit on February 1st, along with the majority of the 2010 grid.
Also reported this week is that Red Bull will not have their RB6 ready on time to attend the first open test in Valencia, but will instead wait an additional week and run their first test at Jerez the following week.
A launch date has not yet been announced for McLaren but it has been reported that they will also be attending the 1st test at Valencia.
In this new era of cost cutting, it is likely that the 2010 round of car launches will be low key affairs. But it is interesting to note that everybody is working furiously to try and get to the track at the first available opportunity on February 1st. This is very different from years past when teams would wait until the flyaway races were over before bringing their new chassis out for competition.
We will continue to update this launch list as new details become available. Further, we will include pictures and links as the new cars get on track. Stay tuned to the Paddock and we will keep you updated.
UPDATE: Autosport reports that Virgin plans on making it to Jerez for the 2nd winter test session. This is ahead of their original schedule which had them missing Jerez on February 10-12.
| Team | Launch Date | First Test |
|---|---|---|
| McLaren | TBA | February 1st, Valencia |
| Mercedes GP | January 25th | February 1st, Valencia |
| Red Bull | TBA | February 10th, Jerez |
| Ferrari | February 28th | February 1st, Valencia |
| Williams | January 31st | February 1st, Valencia |
| Renault | TBA | TBA |
| Force India | TBA | TBA |
| Torro Rosso | TBA | TBA |
| Lotus | February 5th | February 17th, Jerez |
| Campos | TBA | TBA |
| USF1 | Early February | Early February, Barber |
| Virgin | TBA | February 10th, Jerez |
| Sauber | Janruary 31st | February 1st, Valencia |
