Raring to go

Full of anticipation for the challenge of the upcoming 2020 F1 season, the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team ran its all-new car for the first time at Silverstone International Circuit in UK.

The Mercedes-AMG F1 W11 EQ Performance, as the car is officially known, ran at Silverstone with Valtteri Bottas behind the wheel followed by 2020 contender Lewis Hamilton making his laps in the afternoon.

Toto Wolff, Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team principal and chief executive, said: “This year will be particularly challenging because there will be teams that will put a lot of focus on 2020 and there will be teams that will start to shift their resources into 2021. Getting that balance right will very important, but that’s not an easy thing to do.

“Our ambition is clear: we want to be competitive in both 2020 and 2021. That is a great challenge, but the greater the challenge, the more we like it.”

As part of Mercedes-AMG’s strategy, “EQ Performance” stands for the brand’s future hybrid models. The EQ Performance designation places the 2020 Formula One car and its state-of-the-art hybrid Power Unit at the forefront of the future Mercedes-AMG line-up, showcasing how F1 technology is pioneering in motor racing and automotive technology in general. The “W11” represents the fact that this is the eleventh Mercedes-made Formula One car since the three-pointed star returned to Formula One as a works team in 2010.

Both drivers were eager to get back into the car and on track.

“It’s a real privilege for Valtteri and myself to be the only people who get to drive this machine and I really enjoyed stretching its legs”, said Hamilton.

“I’ve been in constant communications with the engineers, trying to keep an eye on everything that was happening at the factory. It was a really exciting day – finally seeing in person what this team has worked towards so hard. As a driver, you’re just itching to get back into the car.”