Sauber has announced that its 2012 contender will be unveiled at Jerez on February 6, the day before the first test of the year gets underway.

The Swiss team, which finished seventh in the Constructors' Championship this year, with Kamui Kobayashi scoring its best result in Monaco where he finished 5th, has retained the same line-up for next year as it seeks to close the gap to Force India and Lotus (Renault).

In its Christmas greeting to the media, the team, in clear festive spirit, revealed that Technical Director James Key has overseen the construction of a carbon-fibre Advent wreath and bonded it to the 17-metre-high ceiling of its wind tunnel building using a pushrod-actuated wishbone construction.

"The wreath has a closed circuit design and weighs 640 kilograms (not including candles)," siad the team. "Made from high-density beeswax, the candles are kept aspirated off-throttle to ensure optimum flame development.

"The circular form of the wreath conforms strictly with Christmas regulations to ensure there aren't any of those seasonal arguments," said CEO Monisha Kaltenborn.

While Team Principal Peter Sauber adds: "The wreath's impressive performance really comes into its own on Sundays, when we need it most. Further development stages will follow in the run-up to Christmas Eve."