New McLaren, BMW cars ‘on schedule’

(GMM) As the car launch season of 2009 gets set to kick off, McLaren and BMW-Sauber have declared themselves fully happy with their winter progress.

Ferrari on Monday will become the first team to take the wraps of its 2009 single seater in Italy, but the reigning constructors' champions' rivals will shortly follow suit.

McLaren, the team of 2008 drivers' champion Lewis Hamilton, has scheduled a 16 January launch at its Woking base, and team boss Ron Dennis told the German broadcaster RTL: "We are way ahead of our schedule."

BMW's F1.09 will be debuted at Valencia on January 20, and managing director Walter Riedl has similarly declared that the car is fully "on schedule".

"The component production during the winter break went exactly to plan. Everything is now focused on 20 January, the roll out of our 2009 car," he said.

Following the debut of the 2009 Ferrari, Toyota's will be the next new car to be revealed with an online event on Thursday.