F1 car launches 2024: New look Stake F1 catches the eye

F1 fans are getting to see the cars that will contest the 2024 season as the 10 teams reveal their challengers for the new campaign in a series of glitzy launch shows.

F1's best and brightest have spent the months, or longer in some cases, since Max Verstappen's 19th win of 2023 in late November's final race of the year in Abu Dhabi, working on their vehicles for the upcoming term, the 75th in the sport's history.

With pre-season testing due to begin in Bahrain on Wednesday 21st February, the teams are taking turns to gradually unveil their cars for the upcoming campaign.
 

While we have already seen some eye-catching livery changes, the technical regulations have remained almost unchanged this season, giving the designers from the lower-placed teams last year a chance to try to catch up with the Red Bull car which proved to be a class above its rivals in 2023.

Here we take a look at the 2024 cars that have been unveiled already and list the launch dates for the remaining teams.

Haas

Launch date: 2nd February

The last team in the 2023 F1 constructors championship was the first to come out from behind the curtain this season as Haas launched its 2024 car on 2nd February.

The VF-24 builds on the major upgrade that the team first used at the 2023 United States Grand Prix, but the team said that getting that package together has prevented them from making any huge design changes for the start of this season.

It's fair to say that expectations are not high for the team at the start of the season and new team principal Ayao Komatsu has admitted that he expects them to be towards the back of the pack in the opening races at least. 

The team didn't score any points in the five races after they made the changes last season and something more radical may be needed to move them up the field. 

Williams

Launch date: 5th February 

Williams unveiled their new livery for 2024 on 5th February but their new car, the FW46, will not be seen until the pre-season test at Bahrain on 21st February.

The team made progress last season, finishing seventh in the constructors championship having been at the back of the pack in 2022. 

The car was particularly strong in a straight line and used its speed on the straights to good effect at Montreal and Monza, where Alex Albon secured season-high finishes of seventh.

Williams appear to be heading in the right direction with James Vowles, a key figure in the Mercedes team over the last decade, as their team principal.

Stake F1

Launch date: 5th February

The most eye-catching launch to date was undoubtedly the one from the newly renamed Stake F1 team, which will race with a lurid green and black livery.

It is certainly a major change from the red and white of the team's car in their last year as Alfa Romeo in 2023.

Technical director James Key has said the C44 is a virtually all-new car and it will feature major changes to the suspension and aerodynamics compared to last season.

The team finished ninth in the standings last season, so trying something completely new seems like the smart approach.

Alpine

Launch date: 7th February

Everything is new at Alpine this season after a tumultuous 2023 campaign and new team principal Bruno Famin is hungry for success as he bids to turn their fortunes around.

The team fell from fourth to sixth in the constructors standings last season and have also gone for a completely fresh approach in 2024 having abandoned developing last year's car early to look ahead to this season.

Changes include a revamped suspension and improvements to the brakes, although their Renault power unit is still likely to put them at a disadvantage compared to most of their rivals.

It remains to be seen how much the turmoil within the team hampered their development plans but the new principal is promising regular upgrades to the A524 car throughout the season.

Visa Cash App RB

Launch date: 8th February

The renamed Visa Cash App RB F1 team - known as Alpha Tauri from 2020 until last season having been Toro Rosso before that - will launch their 2024 car in a late-night Las Vegas event on 8th February, which will be the early hours of the 9th in Europe. 

The team is the only one on the grid with any kind of driver change this season, as they began last season with Yuki Tsunoda and Nyck De Vries as their line-up, but the Dutchman was replaced mid-season to accommodate the return of Daniel Ricciardo, who keeps the seat for this year.

The team is already being commonly referred to as VCARB rather than their unwieldy full name and they also have a new team principal with Laurent Mekies replacing Franz Tost.

The car is set to run for the first time at Misano on 12th February. Observers will be keen to see how closely it resembles the design of the main Red Bull challenger.

Aston Martin

Launch date: 12th February 

Aston Martin came out of the blocks fast last season and were the closest challengers to Red Bull in the early races but they fell back into the pack as other teams made more progress during the season and finished fifth in the constructors championship.

This year's car, the AMR24, will reportedly feature major aerodynamic changes when it is unveiled at Silverstone.

Ferrari

Launch date: 13th February

It has already been a dramatic year for Ferrari, with the news that Charles Leclerc has extended his deal, but Carlos Sainz Jr will be departing at the end of the season to be replaced by Lewis Hamilton ahead of 2025.

Ferrari released a video of their new car, the SF-24, being fired up for the first time this week and team principal Fred Vasseur has said it is almost completely changed from last year's car and addresses its shortcomings.

McLaren

Launch date: 14th February

McLaren made major progress with a mid-season upgrade last season and are aiming to build on that with their new car, the MCL38. 

The team have already revealed their 2024 livery, which features more black and less papaya than last season but is broadly similar.

The changes that worked so well last year were carried out by the current design team, so there is reason to believe they can build on their previous good work.

Mercedes

Launch date: 14th February

We will be seeing Lewis Hamilton in a Mercedes for the final time this season and the seven-time world champion will at least be pleased that the W15 features major changes from the troublesome 2023 car. 

The team are set to unveil new front and rear suspensions, a new chassis and a new gearbox after they finished second in the constructors championship without winning a single race last season.

Red Bull

Launch date: 15th February

The most eagerly anticipated launch of the year will be Red Bull's RB20 after the team dominated in 2023. While there was clearly no need for the champions to do anything radical while their rivals take big swings trying to catch up, the new car is reportedly an evolution of last year's car. 

It was a fantastic starting point, though, and the team have had plenty of time to think about this year's car as they did not make huge in-season upgrades to the RB19.