McLaren has unveiled its 2012 Formula 1 car, the MP4-27, at the team’s Woking base. With two British world champs in Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, McLaren finished last season with six victories and second in the standings, behind champions Red Bull. The MP4-27′s brief is therefore simple – beat the bulls.

The 2012 car looks a lot like last year’s machine, but McLaren says that the MP4-27 chassis has been substantially revised, with all major systems updated or redesigned. No more U-shaped sidepods too, to comply with new regulations.

“We have set ourselves tough and ambitious targets, and we aim to deliver those by the first race and have a championship-winning car. This car is a complete rework from nose to tail, and there is very little that is carried over. A bit of the fuel system is the same, but almost everything else on the car has changed,” said Tim Goss, McLaren’s director of engineering.

“There were a few features we have pushed quite hard from the beginning of the project. I am proud of the whole team and the efforts so far, and from now we go to the next phase of the project which is really wringing the performance out of it. We have a good track record of that – we have big plans, upgrades for the front wing, rear wing, floor and bodywork are already planned,” Goss added.

Elaborating further, technical director Paddy Lowe said: “The regulations are trimming us into narrower and narrower boxes. We don’t see big radical changes from one year to the next year. This car looks very similar but underneath a great deal of changes have taken place.

“Every part has been assessed for weight and performance. If you add all that up, you get a car that is quicker. Teams are tasked to find that 1% to 2% performance improvement – but nevertheless there are obvious innovations.

“We have done a lot of work around the back end, and there is a lot more tidy packaging there, and we have had to do a lot of work on exhausts. That has given the aerodynamicists a great challenge, not only to find the downforce but also in creating the right balance. You need downforce but also you have to be able to use it in the right area.”

Are we looking at the machine to break Red Bull and Seb Vettel’s total domination?

Virgin Racing was one of the three new teams that joined F1 last season, but Richard Branson’s latest plaything has always been in the shadow of Lotus Racing and now Team Lotus. But there’s a shake up happening within, which has already seen technical director Nick Wirth leave. Now, Virgin has announced a technical partnership with front runners McLaren, which will give them access to Woking’s top notch facilities.

“Under the terms of this technical partnership, Marussia Virgin Racing will be able to access McLaren’s wind tunnel, simulator, rigs, and fitness and well being programmes. These properties are state-of-the-art, and we confidently therefore expect Marussia Virgin Racing to derive significant benefits from them,” revealed McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh.

“When we undertook our detailed review of the team in the first half of 2011, it was clear that our bold ambitions for the future would need to be matched with some equally bold steps towards achieving them. Our technical partnership with McLaren is very exciting indeed. McLaren is one of the most prestigious and successful marques in grand prix racing history, with an enviable record of success over many years,” said Andy Webb, CEO of Virgin Racing.

“We can benefit enormously from McLaren’s far-reaching techniques and capabilities and I have no doubt that this partnership will see us take the technical steps necessary to make a significant leap forwards,” he added.

All this comes after Virgin hired Pat Symonds as consultant since the start of this season. The former Renault man was implicated in the 2009 Crashgate scandal, and is serving a ban till 2013 that doesn’t allow him to take an official position. He will continue working for Virgin.

After ending his dad Anthony’s job as his manager last year, McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton will now be managed by Simon Fuller’s famous XIX Management. Fuller, not to be confused with the departed American Idol judge, is the creator and producer of the Idol franchise, which includes the popular American Idol. In XIX Management, Hamilton will join top British sportsmen like Andy Murray and David Beckham.

“It was important I took my time to make this decision as it had to be right for my career and my long-term future. I spoke to many interested companies in recent months but I felt Simon Fuller along with his team at XIX Entertainment not only wanted to help me become an even better racing driver, but they also shared my ambitions for the longer term. I look forward to working with them closely,” the ex-F1 champ said.

The entertainment mogul said: “I’ve met Lewis and his father several times in the past and kept an eye on his career closely over the years. Like any British fan I watched with pride and admiration at his achievements, incredibly winning the world championship at such a young age.

“He’s not only one of the leading sportsmen of his generation, he will I believe become one of the best of all time. It’s an honour to be partnering with Lewis in what will be a very exciting stage of his career.”

Image by Darren Heath