Mercedes’ W13 2022 Formula 1 car was taken out onto the track for the first time on Friday, shortly after it was publicly launched.
The car was first driven by George Russell, who has joined the team for the year, replacing Valtteri Bottas.
Russell, who has been part of the Mercedes family for several years, made his race debut for Mercedes at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, replacing an ill Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton drove the W13 car after Russell, at a Silverstone track that is being hit with an ongoing storm.
F1’s regulations permit two filming days per year for each team, with running restricted to 100km and Pirelli’s demo tyres in use.
Mercedes enters the 2022 campaign looking to take a ninth consecutive Constructors’ Championship and remain undefeated in the turbo-hybrid era.
It missed out on its first Drivers’ title since 2013 last year, when Red Bull’s Max Verstappen beat Hamilton to the championship in controversial circumstances.
Most F1 teams have had shakedown track time with their cars prior to pre-season testing.
The first test will commence next week in Barcelona and will be held across three days, before a further three days of running is carried out in Bahrain, one week before the start of the new season.
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