Brundle: They're not the prettiest

"They're not the prettiest racing cars I've ever seen," Sky Sports F1 HD's commentator said. "The McLaren looks quite good - they're happy to have lowered their whole chassis, but we're seeing the high chassis remaining, the regulations mean they've got to drop the nose a little bit.

"But as my old team boss, bless his heart, Ken Tyrrell used to say to me: 'They all look beautiful when they cross the finishing line first'.

"Clearly they've optimised the aerodynamics. The biggest change is at that back; it sounds boring but it's about the exhaust blowing and when the driver's got his foot on the throttle. That will slow them down quite a lot and we'll just have to put up with the ugly noses."

Brundle, who was speaking at Silverstone after Force India had launched their new car, also described how frantic it can be for teams to get their new cars ready.

Difficult

With limited testing time ahead of the new season, most teams have opted to make use of the full 12 days allocated but a few, notably Mercedes, have opted to give their cars a later debut.

"You can either launch late and spend another two or three weeks developing your car, or get it on track and start perfecting it that way," Brundle said.

"You're locked into a key part of the design then, but if you can get out and get the systems checked like Sahara Force India are here today...

He added: "It's particularly difficult this year because there's been just 71 days from the end of last season to the first test and, critically, they have to pass the crash tests before they're allowed to go out and test the cars on track.

"It's really shortened up the process, which is why so many teams are launching their car and saying 'Hello media. Right, get out of the way...we've got to get on track and get on with the business'."

Brundle predicted big things for Paul di Resta, who is embarking on his second season of f1 with Force India.

"This team will obviously think they can do the job for him. They're saying today 'We anticipate being fifth in the World Championship. That's our target'.

"Paul di Resta is going to be on the scene for a long time. He's a quality act as we saw through his rookie year last year. He's got Nico Hulkenberg as his team-mate, who will keep him more than honest I can assure you.

"It's year two for Paul and he's already looking more confident, saying 'I've got a lot of things in the car I'm happy with now, I learned so much last year'. You sense he's grown into the role of full-time Formula 1 driver.

Having attended McLaren's launch on Wednesday, Brundle would have seen a relaxed Lewis Hamilton, who is looking to made amends this season after an inconsistent 2011.

"He was quite jokey and seemed happy enough, but the drivers just want to get on and drive the cars. At the end of the day it's the stopwatch that makes all the difference in this business - it never lies," Brundle said.

Key part of the year

"They're going to go on the track when they finally get the chance in the first test at Jerez and you can be sure the drivers will be going into the first corner and going 'Feels good' then getting on the throttle harder, going 'Oh good traction, it feels like it's easy through the air...good straight-line speed'.

"This is a key part of the year. If you put the car on the track and it's a bit of an old dog...you're in for a bad season. You can sort it out a little bit but you're always on the back foot. A car that sits on the track and feels right is right for the whole season."

Brundle also sang the praises of Jenson Button, who finished ahead of Hamilton in the drivers' standings last year, and bracketed him alongside his team-mate, Fernando Alonso and World Champion Sebastian Vettel in terms of talent.

"I think you've got to put JB in that list, quite frankly, because I think he's just proving time and time again what a world class driver he is. He's turned up at McLaren and basically stolen the team off Lewis Hamilton, and Lewis has got to do something about that fast," he added.