Only Mercedes, Williams to test 2015 engine at Jerez

Nine weeks after the 2014 finale, formula one is now counting down the mere days before the resumption of track action.

The winter lull will soon be replaced by a spate of car unveilings and the sound of F1 2015, as the first official test of the new season begins at Jerez on Sunday.

Williams and Force India have already revealed their new car designs, and now Lotus has shown images of its newly Mercedes-powered E23, sporting a more conventional front solution after the double-pronged nose of its uncompetitive predecessor.

"Improvements within our design, aero and simulation departments have all contributed to the development of a car which is a huge step forward," said team CEO Matthew Carter.

Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, however, claims that Lotus will have to make do with the 2014 version of Mercedes’ turbo V6 engine for the Jerez test.

The publication said another Mercedes customer, Force India, will follow the same strategy, with only the works team and its most competitive customer Williams to run the German marque’s 2015 specification at the first test.

Ferrari, meanwhile, finally announced on Monday the official name of its 2015 car, which until now was only referred to by its internal project code, 666.

The new red single seater, to be revealed on Friday, will be called SF15-T.

Insider Leo Turrini wrote on his Quotidiano blog that the nose of the 2015 car is "very different" to that of its disappointing predecessor, the F14-T.

And McLaren said its works Honda-powered 2015 car was fired up for the first time on Monday, before Fernando Alonso drives it at Jerez on Sunday.