Marussia launch 2012 car

It might not have passed the mandatory crash tests, but Marussia has unveiled its 2012 challenger the MR01.

Having not run a single lap in official winter testing in either Jerez or Barcelona, the new Marussia completed its first laps around the track at Silverstone on Monday afternoon.

The new car is believed to have passed the official FIA crash test, but only in an unobserved capacity, so it still needs to officially get the green light from the FIA, but nonetheless, it was able to run today with Timo Glock and Charles Pic sharing driving duties and they will do the same tomorrow.

Marussia will be running a Cosworth engine, while a technical partnership with McLaren has played its part in the cars new design, the previous CFD technology used to design the car have gone and a more conventional design has been completed with the aid of technical consultant Pat Symonds.

The result, a pretty snazzy looking car, with the black and red colour scheme of previous years and a sleek front nose and wing, looking more similar to a McLaren then the ugly broken nose design of the other cars.

'We are very pleased to be running the new MR01 for the first time this morning, It has been a long and frustrating wait for everyone in the team but we can now get back on track - literally - and start working towards the first race of the season in Australia next weekend.' Marussia team boss John Booth told Autosport Magazine.

'Today is the first of two promotional events, so while the drivers will be able to get a feel for the car, they won't be able to draw any real conclusions until we start running in anger in Melbourne. Nevertheless, this is an important day for us and we'll enjoy every minute on track with the new car.'