Daniel Ricciardo’s Formula One team McLaren have announced the launch date for the new car they hope will continue their revival.
Britain’s most successful F1 team finished third in last season’s constructors’ championship – their best result since Lewis Hamilton left for Mercedes at the end of 2012.
This year Australian ace Ricciardo joins McLaren from Renault, and he will help 21-year-old British teammate Lando Norris take the wraps of their latest machine on February 15.
Ricciardo, 31, enjoyed a much more fruitful season with Renault in 2020 compared to his difficult debut campaign in 2019, registering two podiums and finishing fifth in the drivers’ standings.
McLaren, winners of 20 combined drivers’ and team titles, will be powered by Mercedes engines this year.
Speaking earlier this week, McLaren’s production director Piers Thynne said that while most teams were carrying over their chassis from last year, his team had essentially had to build a brand new car.
“Whereas every other team will carry over most of its car from last year into this year, our switch to the Mercedes power unit means that’s not the case for us,” he said.
McLaren have become the second team to announce the launch date for their 2021 car after Alfa Romeo revealed they will unveil their challenger in Warsaw on February 22.
The new season is due to begin in Bahrain on March 28, with Hamilton bidding to win an unprecedented eighth world title.