AutoAction
FREE DIGITAL MAGAZINE SIGN UP

Mercedes, Williams and McLaren release launch dates

By Thomas Miles

Date posted: January 13, 2023

More launches can be penned in with famous F1 teams Mercedes, Williams and McLaren announcing their respective dates.

Williams looks set to be the team kicking off launch season after announcing the earliest launch date so far.

Fans only have to wait until Friday, February 6 to get the first glimpse of a 2023 F1 car with Williams to reveal its FW45.

The team is looking for a fresh start after finishing last for the fourth time in five seasons and slipping from eighth to 10th in the constructors championship.

Thai driver Alexander Albon remains for a second season with the team after recording a trio of points finishes at Australia, Miami and Belgium.

Alex Albon slides through a puddle at the 2022 Candaian Grand Prix. Photo by Mark Sutton / Sutton Images

He will welcome Logan Sargeant in the second seat, with the American becoming the latest Williams F1 rookie after replacing Canadian Nicholas Latifi.

Sargeant has been a Williams Academy driver and was a standout in last year’s Formula 2 season, scoring two wins on his way to fourth in the championship.

Behind the scenes Jost Capito is no longer the team principal and despite the team stating it will find a  replacement in “due course” (now confirmed as former Mecedes F1 man James Vowles) has been no sign of an announcement yet.

But what is confirmed to arrive on February 6 is the new Williams. The team has completed some major livery changes over recent years since the Martini sponsorship departed with white focused cars in 2019 and 2020, the introduction of a blue rear end in 2021 before going completely blue last year. 

The colours of Australia’s newest F1 star Oscar Piastri will race in during his maiden season will be unveiled on February 13 when McLaren takes the covers off the MCL37 at home base.

Piastri joins the team after dominating the junior ranks and being released from his Alpine deal following a contractual saga.

Oscar Piastri’s first F1 car will be unveiled next month. Photo by Carl Bingham / LAT Images

Remaining in the #4 McLaren will be Lando Norris, who heads into his fifth F1 season after being the only non Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes driver to stand on the podium in 2022.

In addition to Piastri replacing fellow Aussie Daniel Ricciardo, another change McLaren must adapt to will be the departure of Andreas Seidl, with Andrea Stella stepping up as team principal this year.

Since 2018, McLaren has returned to its roots racing predominantly papaya based liveries, which have proven popular with fans and many will be keen to see if the look will be continued.

One of the most eagerly anticipated annual launches is held by Mercedes and the latest silver arrows will break cover on February 15.

The team which has dominated the turbo hybrid era hopes its 2023 challenger is the one that re establishes its stranglehold.

After collecting eight straight constructors titles from 2014 to 2021, Mercedes took a step back last year and struggled to come to grips with the troublesome W13 package following a major regulation change.

Mercedes’ famous silver arrows look returned last year. Photo by Andy Hone / LAT Images

Despite a number of issues led by proposing restricting the three-pointed star from keeping up with rivals Red Bull and Ferrari, the team eventually closed the gap by the end of the season with George Russell leading home Lewis Hamilton in a breakthrough one-two at Sao Paulo.

Everyone at Brackley will have their fingers crossed the new W14 will be a return to the glory days rather than resemble its predecessor.

Before being slightly underwhelming on track, the W13 left many jaw-dropped on two occasions in the preseason.

After two seasons racing in black, Mercedes made a surprise return to its traditional silver scheme, while even more gasps were made when its unique “no pod” design was unveiled at pre-season testing.

Mercedes knows how to win, put on a show and present an immaculate car, and its upcoming Silverstone launch should be no different.

Red Bull, Haas, and Alfa Romeo are yet to annouce their dates.

2023 F1 car launch dates

Williams – February 6

AlphaTauri – February 11

Aston Martin – February 13

McLaren – February 13

Ferrari – February 14

Mercedes – February 15

Alpine – February 16 

For more of the latest motorsport news pick up the latest issue of AUTO ACTION.

AUTO ACTION, Australia’s independent voice of motorsport

Shares

Recent Stories

array (
  0 => 
  WP_Term::__set_state(array(
     'term_id' => 37,
     'name' => 'F1',
     'slug' => 'f1',
     'term_group' => 0,
     'term_taxonomy_id' => 37,
     'taxonomy' => 'category',
     'description' => '',
     'parent' => 660,
     'count' => 2056,
     'filter' => 'raw',
     'cat_ID' => 37,
     'category_count' => 2056,
     'category_description' => '',
     'cat_name' => 'F1',
     'category_nicename' => 'f1',
     'category_parent' => 660,
  )),
  1 => 
  WP_Term::__set_state(array(
     'term_id' => 11,
     'name' => 'Latest News',
     'slug' => 'latest-news',
     'term_group' => 0,
     'term_taxonomy_id' => 11,
     'taxonomy' => 'category',
     'description' => '',
     'parent' => 0,
     'count' => 13397,
     'filter' => 'raw',
     'cat_ID' => 11,
     'category_count' => 13397,
     'category_description' => '',
     'cat_name' => 'Latest News',
     'category_nicename' => 'latest-news',
     'category_parent' => 0,
  )),
  2 => 
  WP_Term::__set_state(array(
     'term_id' => 2029,
     'name' => 'ZZZ-Email',
     'slug' => 'email',
     'term_group' => 0,
     'term_taxonomy_id' => 2029,
     'taxonomy' => 'category',
     'description' => '',
     'parent' => 2031,
     'count' => 4303,
     'filter' => 'raw',
     'cat_ID' => 2029,
     'category_count' => 4303,
     'category_description' => '',
     'cat_name' => 'ZZZ-Email',
     'category_nicename' => 'email',
     'category_parent' => 2031,
  )),
  3 => 
  WP_Term::__set_state(array(
     'term_id' => 1683,
     'name' => 'ZZZ-My105',
     'slug' => 'my105',
     'term_group' => 0,
     'term_taxonomy_id' => 1683,
     'taxonomy' => 'category',
     'description' => '',
     'parent' => 2031,
     'count' => 2151,
     'filter' => 'raw',
     'cat_ID' => 1683,
     'category_count' => 2151,
     'category_description' => '',
     'cat_name' => 'ZZZ-My105',
     'category_nicename' => 'my105',
     'category_parent' => 2031,
  )),
  4 => 
  WP_Term::__set_state(array(
     'term_id' => 2031,
     'name' => 'ZZZ-RSSFeeds',
     'slug' => 'zzz-rssfeeds',
     'term_group' => 0,
     'term_taxonomy_id' => 2031,
     'taxonomy' => 'category',
     'description' => '',
     'parent' => 0,
     'count' => 3702,
     'filter' => 'raw',
     'cat_ID' => 2031,
     'category_count' => 3702,
     'category_description' => '',
     'cat_name' => 'ZZZ-RSSFeeds',
     'category_nicename' => 'zzz-rssfeeds',
     'category_parent' => 0,
  )),
)
55990

Russell masters big wet

David Russell walked on water to win the first Porsche Carrera Cup Australia race held on New Zealand soil. After a Safety Car start, drivers had to contend with extremely […]

Ricciardo sanctioned with three-place grid penalty for Miami

Daniel Ricciardo has been handed a three-place grid penalty for breaching Safety Car regulations during the Chinese Grand Prix, a loss he is set to serve in two weeks time […]

Penske suspends Cindric and key staff over IndyCar scandal

Team Penske President Tim Cindric and three others have been suspended in response to the team’s recent push-to-pass IndyCar scandal. Both winner Josef Newgarden and third-place Scott McLaughlin were disqualified […]

Reynolds hurt by ‘steering drama’

David Reynolds’ steering issues summed up “an average” weekend in Taupo for Team 18, which lost significant ground in the teams championship. After showing strong pace at both Bathurst and […]