BERLIN: Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Haas unveiled their cars for the 2017 Formula One season on Sunday on the eve of a first round of testing by teams in Barcelona. Red Bull were the last of the major teams to reveal their new challenger in a season in which new rules should increase speed and make driving more demanding. Red Bull were the only team to beat Mercedes last year - with Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen winning a race apiece - and are expected again to be the major challenger to champions Mercedes.
The RB13 was unveiled in a video presentation which played with the symbols for luck such as a horseshoe and four-leaf clover, or bad luck in the form of the number 13 or a black cat.
As with most competitors, a noticeable feature is the “shark fin” on the rear bodywork, while the car also features a hole in the tip of the nose.
Haas go into their second Formula One season with a Ferrari-poweredVF-17, to be driven by Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen, who has joined from Renault to replace Esteban Gutierrez.
The US team, who finished a creditable eighth in the constructors’ table last season, have chosen a dark grey livery with red, black,white and light grey tones.
Team principal Guenther Steiner said: “Aesthetically, the car has a more aggressive look. It’s lighter and more aerodynamically efficient. Everything we learned from our first car has been applied to our new car.”
Toro Rosso were the last of the 17 teams to unveil their 2017 car,with drivers Carlos Sainz and Daniil Kvyat revealing the STR12 at Spain’s Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
The team hope the new Renault-powered car will help them improve on their seventh place last year when using Ferrari engines.
The team retains its blue livery but in a lighter shade to parent company Red Bull.
Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost said: “For all Formula One fans,2017 should be a year of excitement and uncertainty, as the sport’s technical regulations have undergone one of the biggest changes we have seen in a couple of decades.
“In simple terms, the cars are wider, longer, lower, faster, noisier and use bigger tyres, promising more grip, higher cornering speeds and hopefully even closer racing.” — DPA
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