Following Haas’ launch on Tuesday of their 2023 livery, launch season is officially underway!
With that in mind, though, what is one of the weirdest launches to have ever taken place?
F1 car launches are certainly nothing like what they used to be, with the traditional format now being of shareholders, sponsors, content creators and reporters all sitting in a well-designed room together, suited and booted.
Nowadays, the new cars are then unveiled from underneath a huge cover, whilst flashing lights and loud suspenseful music set the mood.
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Back in 2005, Narain Karthikeyan and Tiago Monteiro probably wished they had a modern car launch, with Jordan having unveiled what would end up being their final Formula 1 car in the Red Square, Moscow.
The duo stood in the middle of the Red Square visibly shivering, with the launch having taken place in sub-zero temperatures.
The launch took place in Moscow, Russia, as the side had been taken over by Russian-Canadian Alex Shnaider, who is a former commodities trader.
Shnaider was the founder of the Midland Group; however, the side continued to run under the Jordan name for the 2005 season, before switching to Midland F1 Racing for 2006.
Jordan’s 2005 launch was accompanied by a Russian military band, making for a fascinating launch that certainly wouldn’t be replicated today.
The 2005 season was a disappointing one for the backmarker side; however, Monteiro did claim a podium at the controversial United States Grand Prix, with only six cars having started the race at Indianapolis.
2006 was even worse for the side, with Shnaider having actually sold the team to Spyker Cars towards the end of the campaign.
Spyker went on to become Force India in 2008, the team that are, of course, known today as Aston Martin.
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The Jordan outfit also completed a bizarre launch in 2002, after the team’s challenger came out of a cargo plane at Brussels Airport.
It was at first a completely average launch, before the control tower at the airport suddenly announced, “special delivery had arrived for Mr Jordan”.
A cargo plane went on to do a low fly-pass, before landing on the runway, where the team’s car was then unveiled.