MEDLAND: Activate Launch Mode

For fans of Formula 1, the main date circled in the diary is the first race of any new season, when questions will finally be answered and the true performance of each team is seen for the first time.

For team press officers, the date is a very different one.

Launch day is the cause of sleepless nights, stressful phone calls, organizing and reorganizing. It is the day the new car is shown to the world for the first time (if leaks have been avoided) following months of development. It has to go well.

In recent years, many teams have moved away from the traditional launch format and opted to unveil their cars online or in the pit lane before the start of testing. But this season – perhaps due to new regulations and a longer off-season – there has been a full week of unveilings, four of which have been part of tailored events.

Granted, Williams had released renders of its 2017 car at the end of last week, but Sauber kicked off proceedings with real images of its new car on Monday, albeit only in an online reveal. Then came Renault, Force India, Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren.

Physical launches are so beneficial when it comes to forming a reaction to a car. The Williams render was hard to relate to, and while the Sauber images were more impressive, they also lacked a bit of scale due to their being a studio photoshoot. But once Renault pulled back the covers on the R.S.17, excitement really began to build.

Having walked round these cars and looked at their dimensions, it is clear F1 has delivered what it aimed for in terms of more aggressive-looking machinery. Standing at the rear of the Renault in London on Tuesday, I couldn't help but be impressed by the imposing view courtesy of a lower rear wing and much wider Pirelli tires.

The message was clear too: 2017 is Renault's time to show there is value in all of its investment. Last season was a rushed effort due to the late takeover of Lotus, but this season is the first chance to build a complete car – marrying power unit and chassis – and take a step forward. Cyril Abiteboul made clear to all those working below him that the resources in place should mean the only teams capable of beating Renault this year are other manufacturers.

Abiteboul singled out Force India as a team he felt would not have the funds to keep up with the development of the manufacturer outfits, while his comments also meant he expects Williams, Toro Rosso, Haas and Sauber to be behind Renault. Those quotes did not go unnoticed when attention turned to the Force India launch at Silverstone a day later...

Vijay Mallya took every opportunity to hit back at Abiteboul, claiming his team has the resources and development plan in place to introduce upgrades throughout the season. His bullishness just about detracted from the ugly nose on the VJM10 (pictured) – but no car needs to be pretty, only quick.

Yet even with continuous improvement, Force India's targeting the top three this season is a hugely ambitious aim. The team has been massively efficient throughout its 10 years in F1, but to get the better of at least two manufacturers as well as potentially Red Bull in a season of change would be a remarkable achievement. If Abiteboul has put the pressure on Renault, Mallya has thrown down an even bigger gauntlet to his employees.

The team with the most obvious goal unveiled its new car just a matter of yards away from where the Force India had broken cover, with the Mercedes W08 being rolled out onto the pit straight at Silverstone. Of course this is a car that is expected to challenge for yet another championship, and armed with the best power unit on the grid and three years of dominance behind it, the W08 has to be the early favorite.

Mercedes withstood Storm Doris – with high winds and sometimes rain lashing the circuit throughout the day – to put on a strong display. The car was running on track as media were let in, and we were actively encouraged to share it with the world even before the official launch. For the drivers to deal with such conditions was already impressive, but the slickness of the operation – Lewis Hamilton driving in the morning and Valtteri Bottas in the afternoon, with Q&As with both (and other team members) to boot – was a reminder of what a well-oiled machine this is, even with the departures of Nico Rosberg and Paddy Lowe.

While Bottas was understandably excited, it was Hamilton who caught the eye. The three-time world champion was in an infectiously good mood, joking with journalists he had clashed with just a few months before and being very honest about his emotions. A year ago in Stuttgart, Hamilton was in a different mindset – posting derogatory messages about press conferences on Snapchat – but this was a man who looks ready to grab his new car by the scruff of the neck and produce his best.

Of course, Hamilton's demeanor is helped by the confidence with which Mercedes starts the season. The following day and it was time for Ferrari and McLaren to reveal the fruits of their labors this winter, and both teams need to show improvements compared to 2017. On Friday, they also took very different approaches.

The Ferrari was launched via an online video with no supporting quotes, as the team waited for comment from team members until after its filming day was complete. McLaren, on the other hand, broadcast a live launch event from the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, before the drivers and numerous team members spoke.

"Even until today, starting with the launch of the car it's something we don't see so often these days in Formula 1, and we will be back a little bit to what Formula 1 should be," Fernando Alonso said of the launch and the new regulations. "A good presentation, a good-looking car, everything in an excellent way..."

Alonso is happy to see the sport heading in a different direction with the cars, but he was as reserved as the rest of his team on Friday. Unlike Renault or Force India, there were no proclamations of hard targets from McLaren, with "progress" the buzzword. Keeping expectations in check, Zak Brown, Eric Boullier and the technical team all said wins are unlikely, but closing the gap to the front is the priority.

Of course, to the majority in F1 – and with apologies to the press officers who work so hard – the contrasting approaches employed by the teams are largely irrelevant. How you launch your car doesn't matter, it's all about what it produces on the track, and to that end, we heard a very telling comment from McLaren chief engineer Peter Prodromou on Friday.

"The car that has impressed me so far is the Mercedes," Prodromou said. "I haven't had a good look at the Ferrari, I've seen some pictures, but clearly Mercedes has put a huge amount of man hours into the car. That's the one that stands out."

Deliver the fastest car, and nobody will care how you launched it. Over to you, Red Bull.