F1 will soon head into another launch season – and not only that, but an all-new era of regulations. As we patiently wait for teams to pull the covers off their 2026 designs, it seems like the perfect moment to revisit some of the boldest and most memorable reveals from years gone by…
1997 – McLaren MP4-12 – A touch of Spice
We begin with the worlds of pop music and F1 colliding in spectacular style back in 1997, thanks to McLaren calling on pop star sensations the Spice Girls to help launch their car for the new season. When 2 Become 1, you could say…
Introducing a new title partnership and livery, McLaren were keen to make their mark and combined pulling the wraps off the MP4-12 challenger with a special performance from the band everyone was talking about at the time.
Cue the music, some bewildered expressions from team mates Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard, an awkward question and answer session and a whole lot of glitz and glamour – it was certainly a memorable way to start the year.
1999 – BAR 01 – Split personalities
F1 newcomers BAR initially confused the waiting media when they placed not one but two cars under wraps ahead of their 1999 reveal, but it soon became clear what was going on when drivers Jacques Villeneuve and Ricardo Zonta arrived.
BAR’s backers, British American Tobacco, had seen an opportunity to advertise a couple of their brands in Lucky Strike and 555, leading to one white, red and black livery presented by Villeneuve and another blue and yellow design unveiled by Zonta.
However, they were forced to rethink those plans when the FIA intervened and stated that each team’s cars should look almost identical, leading to an unusual solution of a split Lucky Strike/555 colour scheme – separated by a zip down the middle.
2002 – Jordan EJ12 – Special delivery…
Eddie Jordan landed another sponsorship coup for his eponymous F1 team by signing a deal with DHL ahead of the 2002 campaign, prompting a pre-season visit to the logistics specialist’s main hanger at Brussels Airport just outside the Belgian capital.
With the presentations under way, the control tower announced that a special delivery had arrived for Jordan’s team boss, followed by a video showing a DHL-liveried Airbus A300 flying past and the hangar doors then opening to let the plane in.
Carefully unloaded from a side door and unboxed for the gathered journalists? Jordan’s new F1 car, the bright yellow EJ12, which was soon on the move again thanks to the fast-approaching Australian Grand Prix to kick off the season.
2007 – Honda RA107 – A brave new world
“I think you’ll find what’s underneath this cloth quite dramatic,” commented Honda’s F1 CEO Nick Fry with a smile, just before Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello combined to pull the wraps off one of the most unusual-looking cars in the sport’s history.
Indeed, with support from their partners in adopting an almost logo-free contender, Honda’s RA107 modelled a map of the world from front to rear – raising eyebrows among the press who had made their way to the launch at London’s Natural History Museum.
It was an important message under Honda’s ‘Earth Dream’ initiative, which drew attention to the world’s changing climate, but as summarised by F1.com writer David Tremayne, in a dreadful season “the car performed about as well as it looked”.
2011 – McLaren MP4-26 – Piece by piece
There’s a common theme with the launch events mentioned above in that they all involved (at least) one fully built car being shown off, but in 2011, McLaren felt it would be more interesting to put their new challenger together in real time.
In a gathering at Berlin’s Potsdamer Platz, prize winners and fans brought various car parts to waiting mechanics, who duly fitted them to the MP4-26, with Button then adding the steering wheel and team mate Lewis Hamilton the head rest.
Button and Hamilton would win three races apiece in the car they helped build, including the former’s stunning last-to-first performance at the Canadian Grand Prix, which remains the longest race in F1 history at more than four hours.
2025 – F1 75 Live – A launch extravaganza
For the 2025 season, F1 took things to a whole new level, marking the sport’s 75th anniversary with a spectacular launch show – featuring every team and driver on the grid – live at London’s The O2.
From host Jack Whitehall roasting F1’s biggest stars to big-name musical performances, and a host of celebrity guests to the varied livery reveals themselves, it was an unforgettable evening for everyone involved.
“I think that has been a great success,” F1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali said of F1 75 Live. “Showing the platform, also to convince the more sceptical ones, that F1 has to think big.”
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