Mercedes has become the latest team to reveal its new car for 2025, the W16, which it hopes will inspire a return to Formula 1 title contention over the upcoming campaign.
The German marque was present alongside the other nine incumbent teams at the O2 in London last week as it unveiled an all but unchanged design scheme on a show car.
But while several sides had published images from renders or shakedowns of their actual 2025 challengers, Mercedes had adopted a secretive approach with the W16.
The team has elected to break with usual tradition and not hold an annual shakedown at Silverstone, instead choosing not to run the new car until touching down in Bahrain.
With pre-season testing commencing this week, Mercedes has now unveiled the W16 prior to its maiden track outing occurring at the Bahrain International Circuit on Tuesday.
Both George Russell and new team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli are expected to get behind the wheel as Mercedes embarks on a new era without Lewis Hamilton involved.
Antonelli has succeeded the seven-time F1 champion, who brought the curtain down on an illustrious career with the Silver Arrows that spanned six titles and 84 race victories.
The Italian has slotted in alongside Russell, entering his fourth season with the team, to create the first Mercedes line-up without an F1 champion since it returned in 2010.
Mercedes recorded its lowest placing since 2012 last season as it dropped to fourth place, despite managing to land four wins – two apiece between Russell and Hamilton.
The eight-time Constructors’ Champions appeared to be mounting a revival in the build-up to the summer break, though that proved to be the squad’s latest false dawn.
Mercedes concluded the campaign with three podium finishes across the last 10 races – including a 1-2 in Las Vegas – as it lagged behind McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull.
However, Russell has vowed that Mercedes has been more “thorough” than ever with its winter preparations in the bid to avoid the setbacks that it has endured in this ruleset.
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