Mercedes is set to begin its post-Lewis Hamilton era without a traditional Formula 1 car launch, according to a report.
Motorsport.com reports that Mercedes will opt against holding a car launch event and will instead lift the covers off of the W16 charger at the Bahrain International Circuit on February 25, a day before the three-day F1 pre-season test.
Per F1 regulations, Mercedes will be able to run 200km on track for ‘Promotional Events’ which equates to approximately 36 laps of the Bahrain circuit to be shared between new team-mates George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
2025 is the first year since 2012 that Mercedes is without Hamilton and thus a new era for the squad is being launched.
Traditionally, Mercedes would conduct its season launches at Silverstone, which is just a few miles from its Brackley base.
However, the advent of F1 75 has perhaps been the cause behind Mercedes changing its plans this year.
On February 18, all 10 teams will gather at London’s O2 Arena to unveil their 2025 liveries in the special F1 75 event.
That will provide Mercedes with a global showcase of its new livery and give the team’s partners new and old increased exposure.
Among the new partners at Mercedes is Adidas, which has entered a multi-year agreement with the Silver Arrows.
Still, unlike Mercedes, some teams are still committed to unveiling their new cars in a standalone event.
Williams will bring its FW47 to the public eye on February 14 at Silverstone with a special one-off livery.
Hamilton, meanwhile, will head from London to Maranello, Italy on February 19 as Ferrari unveils its 2025 charger.
Kimi Antonelli ramping up Mercedes F1 testing mileage
A lot of attention will be on Hamilton’s Mercedes replacement in 2025, 18-year-old Antonelli.
Antonelli has been busy preparing for his debut season, having participated in FP1 sessions in Italy and Mexico City last year.
In addition, the young Italian conducted testing mileage in Mercedes’ 2021 and ’22 machines in 2024 and drove the W15 in the Abu Dhabi post-season test.
Antonelli has already been out on track this year, driving the 2020 Mercedes W11 at Jerez.
Team Principal Toto Wolff has revealed to Auto Motor und Sport that Antonelli “has completed around 9,000 kilometres in Formula 1 cars.”
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