Some F1 fans will be able to tell their grandchildren of the days when car launches were major events, such as McLaren's 1997 bash at London's Alexander Palace, complete with the Spice Girls and Jamiroquai, and even Benetton's unveiling of its 1996 car at the superb Amphitheatre in Taormina, Sicily.

These days, what with the credit crunch and so on, launches are far more humble affairs, with some teams opting to forego any sort of ceremony and simply proclaim; 'here it is, take a picture'.

The latest team to confirm that there will be no sort of show is Force India, with team owner Vijay Mallya telling India's Telegraph that; "there will be no formal launch this year".

With its new partnership with McLaren-Mercedes, much is expected of the Silverstone-based outfit this year, and while Mallya and his team clearly like a 'do' it is probably best that the team keeps its head down and gets on with the job of developing the car and moving up the grid. After all, Ron Dennis will be able to remind Mallya that the 1997 launch of the MP4-12 at Alexander Palace was in many ways the highlight of the Woking team's season.

Responding to comments that his team could be the big surprise of 2009, Mallya said: "I would like to say just one thing... don't expect miracles.

"No team has had enough testing and so," he added, "the first couple of races will be shakedown races. From Barcelona onwards however, we will be seriously competitive."