Hitting the track for our first run with W15 😍
Mercedes's newly launched 2024 challenger - W15, hit the track for the first time yesterday at Silverstone Circuit.
Knowing that 2024 is the last season for Lewis Hamilton in Mercedes, Toto Wolff said he was keen on bringing a quick car for the seven-time World Champion during the launch.
Mercedes went through some major revisions (as promised by the team principal) in hopes of making a significant jump forward and fighting for the Championship.
Shortly after yesterday's official event, Mercedes drivers jump straight into the car for the shakedown at Silverstone Circuit, which recently prolonged its contract with F1 by ten more years.
George Russell had the privilege of being the first one to be sat in the car. You can distinguish the 25-year-old by his bright blue helmet in the video below, which was shared by Mercedes on X (formerly Twitter).
As usual, it was a cloudy and rainy day at the Silverstone, so Mercedes drivers weren't as fortunate as Aston Martin drivers, who had a nice sunny day and dry circuit a few days earlier.
By the new rules, each team is permitted 200km (around 124 miles) of driving with their new car (for shakedown and filming) ahead of the official testing days in Bahrain.
Vintage @SilverstoneUK 🌧️😆
Wet conditions, combined with Pirelli's testing tires, which are unlike any other tires that will be used throughout the season, make it hard to gather any sort of data.
However, these first few laps were essential for both Russell and the seven-time World Champion to get the first feel of the new car that they will be driving for 24 weekends in 2024.
#F1 | Another video of Lewis Hamilton going around the Silverstone track on the W15.
The second driver to jump into the car was Lewis Hamilton; the 39-year-old already mentioned he was "mega-motivated" for the new season with his team.
Recent rumors said that Mercedes's simulations suggested the team was able to find half a second with in-lap time with the newer version of their car.
While we can't wait to see the actual comparison between the new cars during the first race in Bahrain, we can at least enjoy the first pictures and videos like the one below.
🚨| Debut of the Mercedes W15 this morning at Silverstone. #F1 #MercedesAMGF1
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