Button and Perez Unveil McLaren MP4-28

McLarenMcLarenUnited Kingdom, 1963 > present92 models
1883 photos
12 videos
had its drivers unveil the 2013 MP4-28 at its headquarters today. Before the sheet was removed from the car, McLaren had a parade of important cars in its history including a Can-Am M8DMcLaren M8DUnited Kingdom, 1970 > present1 photo
, Aryton Senna's 1988 MP4/4McLaren MP4/4 HondaUnited Kingdom, 1988 > present2 photos
3 videos
, Lewis Hamilton's 2008 MP4-23McLaren MP4-23 MercedesUnited Kingdom, 2008 > present2 photos
. Button and Perez arrived to the show in a P1McLaren P1United Kingdom, 2012 > present3 photos
and 12C SpyderMcLaren MP4-12C SpiderUnited Kingdom, 2012 > present10 photos
1 video
respectively. When they uncovered the MP4-28, it was clear why there was such a long build up to show the new car. The MP4-28 looks almost identical to last year's MP4-27McLaren MP4-27United Kingdom, 2012 > 20125 photos
. 

"It is exactly the same color scheme and I think it looks similar to last year, but it is completely different to last year under the skin.

"We know the regulations haven't changed much since 2012 but it's enough to make a difference," said Button during the presentation. 

Given the secrecy in Formula 1, McLaren has done nothing to explain what those changes are, but hopefully they will improve the car's reliability over last year. Formula 1 testing begins next week at Jerez, but we likely will not know whether McLaren's MP4-28 has made the right changes until the Australian Grand Prix on March 17. 

Given Lotus'LotusUnited Kingdom, 1952 > present68 models
951 photos
7 videos
reveal of the e21 on Monday, it appears that the 2013 Formula 1 cars will look nearly identical to the 2012 cars at least cosmetically. It is possible that some of the constructors have some new elements under the body, but we will not know until the racing starts.