Valentine's Day is often a special occasion for all people in love: time to dedicate to each other, gifts, special dinners. This year, however, for Formula 1 fans there will be a further reason to consider that day special.
According to what Motorsport.com has learned, February 14 is the date chosen by two prominent teams to present their respective single-seaters for the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship. We are talking about Mercedes and McLaren.
The two teams based in England, in Brackley and Woking respectively, will reveal their cars on the same day. A questionable choice for reasons of visibility, because one will inevitably return to the other, but the days to present their cars are not infinite and Sauber and Williams have already had to resort to the same day for their presentations.
These will be two very important single-seaters, but for different reasons. Mercedes, after two years of chasing the idea – which later became a utopia – of “size zero” stomachs, must return to fighting for victories and titles.
The most successful era in the history of Formula 1 marked from 2014 to 2021 is still around the corner, but, in some ways, it seems light years away. From 15 consecutive championships in 7 years to just one victory in two seasons. This figure gives a good idea of the importance that the W15 will have, provided that the three-pointed star continues to use the count in the theme song that saw it return to Formula 1.
The drivers will always remain the same: Lewis Hamilton, fresh from his renewal with Mercedes, and George Russell, author of a 2023 between shadows and lights which saw him finish very far from his teammate in the Drivers' World Championship rankings.
In recent seasons, Mercedes has used the day of presentation to immediately put its car on the track. He always did it at Silverstone, taking advantage of the 100 kilometers available for the filming day.
McLaren, however, has often resorted to static presentations at the McLaren Technology Center in Woking. The single-seater then took to the track directly for the tests, which again this year will be held in Sakhir, Bahrain, on the same circuit where the 2024 World Championship will start.
The team directed by Andrea Stella will be one of the most anticipated next season after the sensational comeback in the second part of 2023. From mid-summer onwards, McLaren was the second team to have brought home the most points, but ended the season at fourth place due to a nightmare start.
The new single-seater should return to follow the order of the acronyms used before 2023, when MCL60 was used to commemorate the team's 60th anniversary. This means that the acronym could follow the one used until 2022 and be MCL37.
It is certain, however, that the two drivers will be Lando Norris, with a multi-year contract with Woking, and Oscar Piastri, an Australian who has shown very interesting things in his first year in Formula 1. The former will have to take the final step to become a top driver, while the latter will have to find the consistency of performance that could give McLaren one of the strongest driver pairs in current F1.
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