The cars for the 2012 Formula 1 season

With the 2012 Formula 1 season just over a month away, majority of the teams have launched their steeds just in time for the first official test session of the year in Jerez, Spain.

For this season, the most controversial change has been to the car's nosecone. With regulations limiting the nosecone's height to just 22 inches off the ground, most of this year's entries now bear a stepped nose design, giving the cars what has come to be known as the 'platypus' nosecone. Of all the cars launched so far, only McLaren's MP4-27 retained the conventional design, thanks to the car's lower chassis suspension geometry.

As we wait for Mercedes, HRT and Marussia to launch their cars, probably at the next test sessions in Barcelona, Spain, let's look back at the cars that have been launched so far.