Tuesday 18 February 2020 07:40, UK
Ten teams - and now 10 cars - have been revealed for the 2020 Formula 1 season. Let's take a closer look at the cars and teams' targets...
For the second successive year, Haas were the first to release images of their contender for the new season even before F1's unofficial 'launch week' formally began. A return to the team's more familiar livery aside, little was given away in the digital images - but the early message from the team was certainly clear. 2020 must be better than 2019, when they slumped to ninth in the championship with a car that consistently misbehaved and mishandled on race day.
The need-to-know quote
"Undoubtedly the VF-20 has to deliver where our previous car didn't." - Guenther Steiner
The need-to-watch video
So is this the Ferrari that delivers world title glory back to Italy? We won't know whether the SF1000 - named so to recognise the fact that F1's oldest team reach the 1,000 race milestone this year - joins the Maranello hall of fame for another nine months, but the team are confident they have worked hard to address the weakness that held back last year's model. Chasing downforce has been the chief target, with tighter packaging at the rear of the car noticeable on the launch-spec chassis. We're also expecting to see a different front wing soon. The car retains the weight-saving matte finish of its predecessor but, in good news for F1's traditionalists, the SF1000 features more of that famous Ferrari red.
The need-to-know quote
"It may look very similar to last year but, believe me, it is completely different." - Mattia Binotto
The need-to-watch video
The first car to hit the track, there is certainly heightened expectation around the second Red Bull-Honda car with the team optimistic of their first true title challenge of the hybrid era. There were no quirky launch-special livery reveals this time, with the RB16 simply revealed via studio images online before the team got straight on with running it for the first time at Silverstone. While it's true for all teams, Red Bull, in particular, tend to hold plenty of juicy developments back until deeper into pre-season.
The need-to-know quote
"The integration of the power unit fully into the car now is a work of art." - Christian Horner
The need-to-watch video
Perhaps the 2020 car presented so far with the most noticeable visual changes, the matte-finished MCL35 is the challenger McLaren hope will continue their revival. As noted by Carlos Sainz at the launch, the car is noticeably slimmer and sleeker - particularly the nosecone - as McLaren bid to iron out some of last year's weaknesses. The car is the first overseen by technical boss James Key, who now spearheads a revamped technical team. Will the MCL35 consolidate McLaren at the head of the midfield?
The need-to-know quote
"From the cockpit backwards, it's a very different approach to what we had before and that's really what the conceptual side of things was." - James Key
The need-to-watch video
How do you improve on perfection? Well, F1 teams will certainly tell you there is actually no such thing - even if the predecessor to the Mercedes W11, 2019's W10, won 15 of 21 races last year and became the team's sixth different double title winner. The events the world champions didn't win - and even some they did - were often weekends when they were hindered by either cooling or rivals', particularly Ferrari's, engine performance. Even sleeker and thinner than before, especially around the sidepods, can the best get even better in the final year of this rules era?
The need-to-know quote
"The regulations being so similar means that we actually have to be quite bold if we want the car to be competitive." - James Allison
The snakeskin-themed livery may be a one-off, but the car running around Fiorano on Valentine's Day was indeed the real C39. The team, in their second year under the Alfa Romeo name, will be hoping that their form from the first half of 2019 will prove to be the norm through the whole season this time, after a tougher end to the last campaign. The car in its full race livery will be revealed on the morning of the first test.
A new name and a dramatic new look for the outfit formerly known as Toro Rosso. The AT01 is both literally and metaphorically the new global marketing vehicle for Red Bull's fashion brand, with AlphaTauri's arrival coinciding with a wholesale change of image. But the nimble Italian racing team is very much the same as before and they head into 2020 on the back of their joint-best-ever season.
The need-to-know quote
"We must be within the first five in the Constructors' Championship." - Franz Tost.
A big season for Williams has, crucially, begun on time with the Grove outfit avoiding the pitfalls of last year by keeping to schedule with the debut of their new car. The FW43's colourful livery grabbed the early attention, but the detail of the team's development work - namely the decision to keep with 2019's concept and focus on the previous areas of weakness - will ultimately come to define how 2020 plays out. The car is noticeably slimmer around the sidepods and rear.
The need-to-know quote
"We are all committed to re-building Williams and returning the team to competitiveness. As such, our 2020 campaign is about making progress." - Claire Williams
After slipping down the pecking order last year, Racing Point wasted little time at their Austrian launch in making their intentions for 2020 clear: "We want to be at the top of the midfield and closer to the top three than ever before," declared team boss Otmar Szafnauer. That certainly underlines that there's no intention of 2020 being a 'holding year' before they rebrand as Aston Martin in 2021.
The need-to-know quote
"The team has never been in such a good position for the start of a season." - Sergio Perez.
The need-to-watch video
We've only seen the merest of glimpses of the 2020 Renault - but the car, decked out in darker testing livery, has already been on track at Barcelona. After falling short of their own targets last year, the Enstone team are clearly aiming to regain the momentum of 2016-18 and wrestle back fourth place in the Constructors' Championship.
Watch all six days of F1 Testing live on Sky Sports F1 - for the very first time. Test One begins on February 19, with eight hours of daily track coverage underway from 8am. Subscribe to F1 on Sky Sports here.
