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Lewis Hamilton will be putting the new Mercedes W04 through its paces today and on Friday at the Jerez circuit in southern Spain where pre-season testing has begun.
After three largely unsuccessful F1 campaigns, Mercedes have turned to the former world champion in a bid to bring the glory days back to the famous Silver Arrows. Hamilton replaced seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, who retired from the sport at the end of 2012.
Hamilton will be just as hopeful the Mercedes’ Brackley-based boffins have finally got the car right after taking the decision to turn his back on McLaren to sign for the German giants.
His new teammate, Nico Rosberg, who won last season’s grand prix in China, was the first to get his hands on the Mercedes W04, completing a few installation laps ahead of the car’s official unveiling.
The 2013 challenger follows the trend of using a smoothed out nose and also sports the name of new sponsors, mobile phone manufacturer BlackBerry.
Ross Brawn, team principal at the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team, said: “It is especially pleasing to be able to launch this exciting partnership today as our latest Silver Arrow takes to the track with BlackBerry branding.”
The Australian season-opener takes place in Melbourne on March 17 and Bahrain, which was the big uncertainty last year mainly due to negative international media reports following the unrest, remains firmly on the calendar with an April 21 date as the fourth round of the season.
