The launch dates of two of Formula 1’s most anticipated cars in 2018 have been confirmed with Mercedes and McLaren making announcements on Thursday.
The four-time defending world champions will unveil their latest creation, the W09, on February 22, which is also the same day as their main rival from last year Ferrari.
Meanwhile, McLaren, who many tip to be a thorn in the side of the top three teams this season, will reveal the MCL33 a day later on February 23, likely at their base in Woking.
Expectations are the British team will return to the papaya shade of orange, seen on the IndyCar Fernando Alonso raced with at Indianapolis, which is the traditional racing colour used by founder Bruce McLaren on his early cars.
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It will also be the first McLaren powered by a Renault power unit, after splitting with Honda following three poor seasons, but the designers have had to overcome a few hurdles to integrate the French manufacturer’s engine.
“The Renault architecture is very different,” technical director Tim Goss told Motorsport.com. “You have two fundamental engine architectures out there; the Mercedes/ Honda approach and you have got the Ferrari/ Renault approach.
“We had to reconfigure the chassis, change the cooling system and reconfigure the gearbox to make it fit,” he added. “But we’ve managed that in time without any significant compromise to the chassis. It was quite a big change.
“In the end, we were fortunate that the decision to move from one engine to another was made just in time. It couldn’t have been made any later.”
The team which will take on the Honda engines, Toro Rosso, have also revealed the covers of the STR13 will be taken off on February 25 in Barcelona, the evening before the first test begins and likely a time many teams will opt for with all F1 media in attendance.