Ahead of the 2024 Formula 1 season roaring to life, fans are kept busy by the various livery reveals/season launches from each of the 10 teams, but the sad reality is that these season launch events leave a lot to be desired.
The F1 grid in its entirety has now pencilled in the dates for kicking off 2024 proceedings. Haas gets the ball rolling on Friday, February 2 with what (if the team remains consistent) will likely be a livery render reveal rather than a physical car launch. Sauber and Williams will both launch on February 5, the former in the United Kingdom, and the latter in New York City, USA.
Next up on the schedule is Alpine, with the Anglo-French outfit opting for a February 7 launch which will also see it launch its FIA WEC campaign. The Alpine launch will be followed a day later by Visa Cash App RB (RB, Racing Bulls, Toro Rosso, Minardi – pick your poison), with the recently renamed team kickstarting its 2024 campaign in Las Vegas on February 8.
Aston Martin’s AMR24 will break cover at the team’s Silverstone headquarters on February 12, with Ferrari’s launch coming a day later and the Brackley-based Mercedes outfit holding its unveiling at the British Grand Prix circuit on February 14. McLaren will also launch on Valentine’s Day, but the Woking-based team gave us all an early treat by unveiling its livery ahead of time on January 16. Reigning champions Red Bull brings its season to life on February 15 to end launch proceedings.
Every year team’s social media accounts buzz and whir into a frenzy, with sizzle reels announcing impending announcements, announcements marking launch dates, preceding a content splurge counting down to the big event and then… The launch itself.
Ferrari’s 2023 launch aside – where the Maranello outfit roared its ‘actual’ car into life at its Fiorano test circuit in front of a select group of adoring Tifosi – F1 season launches are a fairly anti-climactic affair.
Note the phrase, season launch, not car launch, for seldom is it that an actual race car for the year ahead is unveiled during one of these events. Instead, show cars or previous year’s machines are wrapped in the latest team branding so that brand partners can get their high-cost exposure.
At the other end of the spectrum from Ferrari, you have the likes of Red Bull’s 2023 launch, a multi-hour affair full of awkward live entertainment, press announcements and the same livery fans have seen for the last two decades.
Or there was the bizarre Alfa Romeo (now Sauber, Stake, or Kick) launch of the C43, which showed images of a rendered C43 on the screen behind the presenting team several minutes before the actual reveal.
No doubt the majority of the 2024 launches will run similarly, but fingers crossed Ferrari sticks to its successful 2023 method, otherwise, it’s best not to get one’s hopes up.
It’s easy to be cynical about F1 launches, but they do of course serve a purpose – there’s a reason Red Bull’s livery is the same year after year, it’s instantly recognizable as F1’s fastest car, a partnering brand’s dream. Also, why show your rivals a hi-res up-close sneak-peak of your pride and joy?
From a journalistic point of view, mining the various quotes from drivers, team principals and technical chiefs offers content to mine until pre-season and a chance to gauge the mood and prospects for each team moving forward.
Here is a positive to be found in the otherwise humdrum business of season launches and it can prove fruitful to explore. Take McLaren last year, openly admitting its car would be slow out of the gate and teasing a revised concept for the races to come – or Alpine, setting its target to close the gap to the top three, only for the world to use that as an unfavourable yardstick as the season wore on.
This slight positive aside, the real action begins in testing, where a true glimpse of the 2024 F1 grid will be afforded to viewers, journalists and rival teams alike. Take season launches for what they are and look ahead to Pre-Season testing in Bahrain on February 21-23, that’s where the real fun begins.
| Team | Location | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Haas | TBC | 02 February |
 | Kick Sauber | London | 05 February |
 | Williams | New York | 05 February |
 | Alpine | TBC | 07 February |
 | RB | Las Vegas | 08 February |
 | Aston Martin | Silverstone | 12 February |
 | Ferrari | Maranello | 13 February |
 | Mercedes | Silverstone | 14 February |
 | McLaren | Woking | 14 February |
 | Red Bull | Milton Keynes | 15 February |
