Red Bull Motorsports
F1
These are the 2017 F1 cars
From orange to silver, from shark fins to step noses – here are the 10 pristine machines that will contest the 2017 F1 season.
Mercedes W08 EQ Power+
Mercedes W08 EQ Power+
© Daimler AG
Can the new Merc pick up where the old one left off? The Silver Arrows have won 51 of the 59 Grands Prix since F1 embraced the V6 turbo hybrid era in 2014, meaning any new Mercedes comes with great expectations. Lewis Hamilton was taken aback by the car's width when taking it for a spin around Silverstone; is the back of the 2017 Mercedes the most common view the rest will be seeing of Hamilton and new teammate Valtteri Bottas this year?
Red Bull RB13
Formula One has always had a superstitious aversion to the number 13, with the number bypassed when the FIA would allocate numbers to teams for their two cars until drivers got to choose their own from 2014 onwards. Only Pastor Maldonado has raced with 13 in recent times, and it didn't help him much – mind you, repeatedly hitting things didn't either, but we digress … The RB13 thumbs its nose at bad luck, and it's the nose of the car that caught eyes when it was revealed last weekend, the small duct at its tip differentiating Red Bull's 2017 challenger from the rest. Expect plenty of cameras to be trained on Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen when they roll out of pit lane for this week's test in Spain.
Ferrari SF70H
Ferrari needs the SF70H to be a race-winner
© Scuderia Ferrari
Recent even-numbered years don't agree with Ferrari; the Prancing Horse never galloped fast enough to make the top step of the podium in 2014 or 2016. Can the SF70H get Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen back to where Vettel was in 2015 on his debut in Ferrari red? The pressure is on the sport's most famous team.
Force India VJM10
The VJM10 and 'that' beak
© Sahara Force India
"Unfortunate" was the word used by Sahara Force India technical director Andy Green to describe the nose design of the VJM10, which aims to exploit an area of the front suspension regulations, but has created a stepped look that caught the eye for the wrong reasons. If this ugly duckling produces better results than the car that propelled the team to the heady heights of fourth overall last year, we're tipping no-one at SFI will be too bothered, not least drivers Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon.
Williams FW40
Williams celebrates 40 years in 2017
© Drew Gibson/Williams
Williams, like plenty of other teams, has gone all-in on the shark fin at the back of the car, while the front features the thumb-tip nose design that characterised its 2014-15 machines. The car to be driven by veteran Felipe Massa and rookie Lance Stroll has been named in recognition of the team's 40th anniversary in 2017.
McLaren-Honda MCL32
Past to present - the new McLaren
© McLaren Honda
For reasons that are entirely clear, the new-for-2017 McLaren to be driven by Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne was probably the most notable of the week's unveilings, the team electing to run a colour scheme with a nod to its 1960s roots. In a F1 world that has operated through a largely silver and white lens in recent teams, a splash of orange will make McLaren stand out – now can the team produce a car that can attract positive attention for reasons other than its paintjob?
Toro Rosso STR12
Sainz, Kvyat and the STR12
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
If prizes were handed out for pre-season beauty, Toro Rosso's 2017 challenger surely takes the biggest ribbon. A lighter shade of blue than we've become used to seeing from STR cars greeted the world's media when Carlos Sainz and Daniil Kvyat lifted the covers off the STR12 on Sunday, but it was what the car looked like rather than its colour that had technical director James Key a little disappointed. The front suspension, sidepods and nose of the car look rather similar to the Mercedes W08 launched the week before. "On the one hand we were sort of pleased to see someone else has done a similar thing," Key said, "but on the other we were disappointed that we weren't the only team to think of something." Still, being compared to the dominant team of the past three years before you've turned a wheel can't be a bad thing.
Haas VF-17
Does more grey mean more success for Haas?
© Haas F1 Team
Things not to do when planning an F1 launch – run the car for a filming session at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya the day before with people (and their smartphones, and their social media accounts) in attendance. When the VF-17 was officially launched the following day, Haas lost the chance to surprise with a new livery featuring much more grey than the team's maiden F1 challenger last season. The paintwork isn’t the only thing that's new, team principal Guenther Steiner commenting "I think the pedal box is the same, but all the rest is very different from last year’s car." Romain Grosjean and ex-Renault pilot Kevin Magnussen will put the car through its paces this week.
Renault R.S.17
Renault has high hopes for the R.S.17
© Renault Sport
"We expect to be fifth in the championship," Renault Sport Racing president Jerome Stoll said at the launch of the R.S.17, which features a lot more black in its livery compared to its 2016 predecessor, which scored just nine points and finished an inauspicious eighth in the constructors' race. In addition to Nico Hulkenberg joining the team to drive alongside Jolyon Palmer, a French motorsport giant – four-time F1 champion Alain Prost – will join the team in an advisory role.
Sauber C36-Ferrari
Sauber will be hoping for gold with the C36
© Sauber
Last in last year's constructors' championship, first to launch their car in 2017. The only way is up for Sauber this season, and the car to be driven by Marcus Ericsson and Pascal Wehrlein (well, when Wehrlein recovers from the back injury that will sideline him at this week's Barcelona test) features a striking blue and gold livery, few sponsor logos, and recognition of the team's 25 years in F1 where sponsor logos might otherwise have been. The team's target after such a barren 2016? The midfield, according to team principal Monisha Kaltenborn.
