Marussia and HRT have become the final Formula One teams to unveil their 2012 cars ahead of the Qantas Australian Grand Prix, to be held in less than two weeks.
Marussia took the wraps off its MR01 which made its on-track debut at Silverstone today. The Anglo-Russian team had been forced to delay its launch after the car failed the mandatory crash tests last week. At this point, the car still needs to pass that safety test.
The Cosworth-powered Marussia MR01 will be driven by Timo Glock and debutant Charles Pic this year.
The team enjoys a technical agreement with McLaren Applied Technologies and the MR01 carries a number of key design traits of the McLaren, including the nose. Both the Marussia and McLaren teams are the only F1 cars that won’t feature the platypus-style nose.
Team boss John Booth said that the two day test at Silverstone is for promotional use. While Glock and Pic can get used to the car, they will not be conducting any meaningful testing before Melbourne.
“We are very pleased to be running the new MR01 for the first time this morning,” said Booth.
“It has been a long and frustrating wait for everyone in the team but we can now get back on track – literally – and start working toward the first race of the season in Australia next weekend.
“Today is the first of two promotional events, so while the drivers will be able to get a feel for the car, they won’t be able to draw any real conclusions until we start running in anger in Melbourne. Nevertheless, this is an important day for us and we’ll enjoy every minute on track with the new car.”
HRT became the last team to release its car, taking the covers off during a shakedown at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya.
Like Marussia, the Spanish-owned team failed its crash tests prior to official testing. The car, to be driven by Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan, is at Barcelona now for its shakedown.
Unlike the new Marussia, the car does not feature the stepped nose.
