Gentlemen, start your engines
More and more teams are ready at last to get 2018 rolling, with winter testing to start in little more than a week's time. Several engines have been fired up in the team factories in the meantime, so we've made a compilation.
Mercedes
Mercedes AMG F1 were the first to reveal a sound clip of their 2018 power unit kicking into life for the first time.
Nervous energy fills the air. Twelve calendar months, a thousand man years in the making. And now, a first milestone passed.
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) February 5, 2018
The W09 is more than a machine. It carries the passion and drive of an entire racing team. This is when it starts to become reality…#W09Countdown pic.twitter.com/bOMQcZwWVI
Ferrari
Ferrari revealed the sound of the startup of its new engine on 9 February. The team is reportedly "boosted due to hitting the team's performance and reliability targets on the dyno".
Fire it up #ForzaFerrari pic.twitter.com/CFQasnu2b8
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) February 9, 2018
Toro Rosso
Toro Rosso kicked their new Honda power unit to life on 14 February, and the team states is was a trouble free process, contrary to McLaren's issues one year earlier.
What a fantastic Valentine's Day, the STR13 and the Honda RA618H finally meet ❤️ pic.twitter.com/vEY14v28Aw
— Visa Cash App RB F1 Team (@visacashapprb) February 14, 2018
Alfa Romeo Sauber
Sauber powered up its Ferrari engine for the first time on 14 February.
Up close and personal 💕
— Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber (@stakef1team_ks) February 14, 2018
The #C37 roars to life as we get ready for Barcelona in less than two weeks! 😊#AlfaRomeoSauberF1Team #F1 pic.twitter.com/qUaBzKVMc5
Renault
'Dark horse' of the season, Renault F1 Team released a clip to sketch the context of what it means to build up a Formula One car, while also firing up their R.S.18 engine for the first time in Enstone.
Building a new car. Months of work, hours of careful thinking, a dash of hope and the most secretive phase of the season. We did everything we could to sneak a look at our R.S.18 for you while it was fired up for the very first time... Did we succeed? Take a look to find out 😉 pic.twitter.com/YeolL4c3tx
— BWT Alpine F1 Team (@AlpineF1Team) February 14, 2018
The team tweeted before that the engine was first kickstarted on 14 February, at 00:30.
It's a Valentine's Day baby again! @RenaultSportF1 is proud to announce the birth of the R.S.18 at 00.30 this morning.
— BWT Alpine F1 Team (@AlpineF1Team) February 14, 2018
She came to life revving joyously. Her (multiple) parents are all doing well. #RS18 #LaRS18IsComing #ValentinesDay pic.twitter.com/ZqSjdyZgMB
McLaren
McLaren has successfully fired up its new Renault-powered MCL33 for the first time at its Woking factory.
Following a switch from Honda engines, McLaren had to play catch up late last year to accommodate the new concept of power unit in its car.
Ahead of an official launch next week, the team released a short video of the Renault fire-up on Friday.
Sound on, volume up, it's #MCL33 fire up time. 🔊 #BeBrave pic.twitter.com/j46hU3kx6T
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) February 16, 2018
