FOTA confirms joint launch scrapped for 2010

The F1 teams association FOTA has confirmed that plans for a common car launch for Formula One teams at the end of next month have been scrapped.

To cut costs, the FOTA teams association was earlier reported to have agreed to stage a single event for the unveiling of the 2010 cars.

It was to take place on the last weekend in January in Valencia, just prior to the first group test of the pre-season at the nearby Ricardo Tormo circuit, with a budget of around 2m euros.

It was rumoured, however, that the smaller teams were concerned that the spotlight and international coverage would not have been on them, and Germany's Auto Motor und Sport reported that logistical reasons were cited for the cancellation.

The publication said the clinching problem was the fact that not all teams - notably the new ones Lotus, USF1, Virgin and Campos - would have had a 2010 car ready to launch.

"The joint car launch project has been postponed to 2011, in order to ensure a totally successful event," FOTA confirmed in a statement.

Auto Motor und Sport said the teams will all now launch their cars individually, but in low-key and low-cost fashion.