13 F1 teams to unveil 2010 cars in joint launch

MONACO — All 13 Formula One teams will unveil their 2010 cars in a joint launch next month in Valencia, Spain.

Mercedes GP chief executive Nick Fry said Thursday the launch date has not been decided. But it will take place just before the first testing session of the season at the Cheste Circuit in Valencia.

“We’re not all just going off and doing our own individual launches,” Fry said. “We can do something which is a lot more customer friendly.”

Fry said the team, which bought out Brawn GP last month, would be making a driver announcement by early January. It has already signed Nico Rosberg to replace world champion Jenson Button and has been linked with seven-time champion Michael Schumacher.

“We learned very clearly this year that you’ve got to have two drivers capable of scoring points in every single race,” Fry said. “With the lack of testing it’s very difficult to expect a younger driver to do that, so clearly highest on our list are people with F1 experience.”