McLaren has announced that its 2015 contender, the MP4-30, will be launched online.

Taking to Twitter, the Woking outfit revealed that the car will be launch online on 29 January, a week after Force India launches its car - the only other team to announce a launch date thus far - and three days before the start of testing in Jerez.

The team will be under intense scrutiny this year, what with its rekindled partnership with Honda and the return of Fernando Alonso.

While one of these partnerships resulted in numerous drivers and constructors' titles, the other was to lead to the biggest fine in the sport's history and exclusion form the world championship standings.

The days of glitzy launches, accompanied by pulsating music, dry ice and light shows, seemingly long gone, more and more teams are opting for online unveilings or merely rolling their cars out for a few cheesy snaps moments before they take to the track for the first time.

Having once held its launch at London's Alexander Palace, scene of last week's PDC Worlds Darts Championship, complete with 'music' from The Spice Girls and Jamiroquai, McLaren, still to announce (find?) a title sponsor, is now clearly opting for the quieter, low key approach.

Chris Balfe