Five teams to unveil cars after the first practice
Although Williams have yet not given any official statement but there are reports that the team will not be able to launch its 2011 car before the beginning of the first pre-season test. Some leading newspapers revealed earlier today that the team is expected
to run the interim version of its last year’s car for the first practice session, while its new car might be launched by the mid of February.
The first practice session will kick off at the Valencia track, on the 1st of February, while the second one is scheduled to take place on February 10, 2011. Both the sessions will stretch over three days. So far, only two of the teams, McLaren
and Force India, have announced to run the first practice with their old cars, while it is believed that some of the other teams will also be doing the same. McLaren has decided to bring its car, MP4-26 in public on February 4, in Berlin, a day after the first
practice ends.
Around five teams, including HRT, Virgin, Williams and the two mentioned above are supposed to be unveiling their cars after the first practice. There are even reports that Williams might miss the second practice as well, and will launch its package by the
mid of February. Williams have seen severe financial and management issues all through the 2010 season, and was one of the last teams to begin working on its 2011’s chassis. The new car of the team, FW33, is also not expected to be that competitive. The reports
also suggest that Virgin and HRT might hit the track even after Williams and Force India.
Talking to the media, earlier this month, Force India declared that its new car will be unveiled ahead of the second test at Jerez. The Indian team skipped the first practice of last season too but believes that the late launch helped it in giving ample
time to develop the car. The other team that did not bring the new car at last season’s first practice was Red Bull, the winner of both the drivers’ and constructors’ titles, in 2010 season.
On the other hand, Ferrari will be the first team to bring its car on the track. The Italian squad has announced to reveal and rollout its package at Maranello on 28 January. Similarly, Sauber and Renault will bring out their cars a day before the test session
begins, i.e. on 31st of January. Mercedes and Toro Rosso cars will be seen by their fans for the first time in the morning before the practice begins at Valencia’s pit lanes.
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