Mercedes has revealed the primary photos of the W16, its new automotive for the 2025 Formula 1 season.
The staff, which introduced the livery for this automotive on the F1 75 launch occasion final week, endured a combined season in 2024. Though it gained 4 grands prix, probably the most because the present floor impact rules have been launched two years earlier, it fell to fourth within the constructors’ championship, its lowest place since 2012.
Mercedes‘ final automotive was particularly aggressive on high-speed circuits. Nonetheless the staff struggled to make it work throughout a spread of tracks and was usually puzzled by the variations in efficiency they encountered as monitor circumstances modified throughout a race weekend. Remedying that has been a key focus for the staff with its newest design.
Nonetheless Mercedes has misplaced the enter of Formulation 1’s most profitable driver of all time, and certainly one of its most skilled drivers, following Lewis Hamilton’s transfer to Ferrari.
Group principal and co-owner Toto Wolff mentioned it’s embarking upon “an thrilling new period” this 12 months.
“Final season was extremely aggressive on the monitor and, while we took a number of wins, we’re all centered on difficult for victories extra constantly,” he mentioned. “We have now made good points within the low season, however we’ll solely know the place we stand come the primary race in Australia.”
George Russell, who scored his third grand prix victory at Las Vegas final 12 months (and misplaced one other at Spa the place he was disqualified when his automotive was discovered to be underweight), is now Mercedes’ most skilled driver.
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He’s joined by F1 rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli, whose promotion to F1 has been astonishingly fast. He gained three junior championships in 2023, probably the most senior of which was the Formulation Regional European title, then skipped Formulation 3 and spent a single season in Formulation 2 earlier than being employed as Hamilton’s alternative.
The staff’s former race driver Valtteri Bottas has returned as third driver this 12 months. Frederik Vesti will proceed as reserve driver.
Footage: 2025 Mercedes W16
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