Excitement is building for the 2024 F1 season after McLaren became the first team to reveal its livery ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix on 2 March.
Over the coming weeks more F1 teams will reveal the look of its 2024 challenger, meaning last season will shortly become a distant memory providing the opportunity for all 10 constructors to start again.
That is much needed for some because 2023 proved disappointing for many teams as Red Bull dominated the campaign, winning 21 of 22 grands prix.
Before then, however, teams will launch their 2024 livery - though, like McLaren, some will only reveal the colour scheme initially while trying to keep car design a secret until pre-season testing.
Here are all the launch dates:
F1 Car Launch Dates 2024
|
Team |
Car launch date |
|
15 February 2024 |
|
|
14 February 2024 |
|
|
13 February 2024 |
|
|
McLaren |
14 February 2024 |
|
12 February 2024 |
|
|
7 February 20224 |
|
|
5 February 2024 |
|
|
8 February 2024 |
|
|
5 February 2024 |
|
|
2 February 2024 |
Red Bull
Date: 15 February 2024
Red Bull will reveal its RB20 on Thursday 15 February, however the team tends to launch a show car while unveiling the actual spec in testing. Regardless, the livery is often kept the same with Red Bull sticking to its traditional navy, red and yellow look.
The team usually does its launch event from its Milton Keynes factory, but Red Bull held a glamorous unveiling in New York last year which included announcing Ford as a new partner on 16 February 2023.
It is unknown what strategy Red Bull will use for 2024’s launch, but it will be difficult for the RB20 to emulate the success of the RB19, which is statistically the most dominant car in F1 history and gave Max Verstappen his third consecutive drivers’ world championship.
Mercedes
Date: 14 February 2024
Mercedes was underwhelming in 2023, as the Silver Arrows had its first winless season since 2011 despite finishing second in the championship.
Team boss Toto Wolff therefore confirmed that Mercedes is “changing the car completely” for 2024, as it attempts to fight Red Bull closer having not won since George Russell’s victory at the 2022 Brazilian GP - which was also a 1-2 for the Silver Arrows.
The W14's successor will be revealed on Wednesday 14 February ahead of pre-season testing in Bahrain on the 21-23 February. Last year, Mercedes held its launch event at Silverstone where it ditched the traditional silver for a black livery to save weight.
Ferrari
Date: 13 February 2024
Ferrari was the first team to announce the date of its 2024 unveiling with the Scuderia doing so on Tuesday 13 February 2024, presumably from its Maranello base.
This is just eight days before the start of pre-season testing in Bahrain, while team boss Frederic Vasseur confirmed Ferrari’s car will be “95%” new.
This comes after Ferrari finished third in the 2023 F1 standings, while Carlos Sainz’s win in Singapore was the only grand prix won by a non-Red Bull car last season.
Sainz will go into 2024 with Charles Leclerc as his team-mate for a fourth year, while both of their contracts expire at the end of the season.
McLaren
Date: 14 February 2024
McLaren had a remarkable turnaround in 2023 as it started the year with zero points in the opening two races, before mid-season upgrades helped lift the team up to fourth in the championship.
If McLaren continues that rate of development, challenging Red Bull in 2024 might not be totally off the cards – especially with its young, talented driver pairing of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
On the 16 January, McLaren became the first team to reveal its livery for the 2024 season, however the MCL38's launch specification design will not be unveiled until Wednesday 14 February.
Aston Martin
Date: 12 February 2024
Aston Martin arguably started 2023 with the second quickest car, as Fernando Alonso scored six podiums in the opening eight grands prix after very aggressive upgrades over the winter.
However, Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes quickly caught up in the development race. So, Aston Martin fell to fifth in the standings.
Performance director Tom McCullough confirmed Aston Martin has focused on improving its car efficiency for 2024, as it hopes to get back to the form shown early in 2023.
Aston Martin became the fourth team to reveal its launch date, with the AMR24 being unveiled on Monday 12 February 2024 at Silverstone.
Alpine
Date: 7 February 2024
Alpine’s 2024 F1 car will be “completely new front-to-back” after a disappointing 2023 season where the Enstone-based outfit dropped from fourth to sixth in the championship.
Reliability was often a concern as Alpine retired from a grand prix on 10 occasions - the highest behind Williams on 11 - while development hit a “plateau”, so the team started working on its 2024 car early.
Alpine’s 2024 car launch will be on Wednesday 7 February, where the team will unveil its new liveries for both F1 and the World Endurance Championship. At the launch event last year, Alpine unveiled two liveries for the 2023 season: its traditional blue and a pink one in the colours of title sponsor BWT that was used for the opening three rounds.
Williams
Date: 5 February 2024
Williams enjoyed a much-improved season, rising from last to seventh in the championship in James Vowles’ first year as team boss.
Straightline speed was a big strength of the FW45 evident in Alex Albon’s third-row start at Monza.
The British outfit will unveil its 2024 challenger on Monday 5 February, however last year Williams used the event to reveal its new livery and not the car itself.
Williams traditionally has a blue colour scheme, although the team ran a special Gulf livery in Singapore, Japan and Qatar last year.
VCARB (formerly AlphaTauri)
Date: 8 February 2024
There is much change at the team from Faenza in 2024 as it has ditched the AlphaTauri name for VCARB.
VCARB has scheduled its 2024 car launch date for Thursday 8 February, where the livery and overalls worn by Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda will be unveiled from Las Vegas.
This will come alongside a new team boss, as Ferrari’s ex-race director Laurent Mekies has replaced the long-serving Franz Tost.
Mekies takes over the team who finished eighth in the 2023 standings, but as 22 of its 25 points came in the final eight rounds with VCARB now taking a development direction similar to sister team Red Bull, there is optimism that it will improve in 2024.
Sauber
Date: 5 February 2024
Sauber and Williams announced their car launch dates within minutes of each other, and both teams will unveil its 2024 challenger on the same day.
The C44 will be revealed in the United Kingdom on Monday 5 February, which marks a first for Sauber, as past unveilings have happened in Switzerland, Austria and Germany.
It is part of a new era for the team as its title partnership with Alfa Romeo has ended ahead of Audi’s arrival in 2026.
Sauber needs to bounce back in 2024 after slumping from sixth to ninth in the championship, while the team has taken an all-new approach for the C44.
Haas
Date: 2 February 2024
Haas dropped back to last in the championship – its 2021 finish – after coming eighth in the 2022 F1 standings.
The American squad struggled in race trim as its tyres often overheated, so Haas began working on its 2024 car fairly early knowing there was not much left to gain last season. Haas also opted for a new team principal in 2024 as Guenther Steiner left the team with Ayao Komatsu as his replacement.
Haas became the final team to announce when it will reveal its look for 2024 and that will be on Friday 2 February. However, Motorsport.com understands that it will merely be renders of the new livery ahead of a shakedown at Silverstone on 11 February.
