Mercedes launch last car of Lewis Hamilton era

Mercedes has launched its new Formula One car, the W15, ahead of its first shakedown test at Silverstone on Wednesday.

The new car will likely be the last Mercedes driven by Lewis Hamilton in F1, who announced earlier this month that he will leave the team at the end of 2024 to join Ferrari.

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The launch of the new car follows two fallow seasons for the former champions, with just one victory since F1 introduced new technical regulations in 2022.

In that time, rivals Red Bull have swept to two dominant drivers’ and constructors’ championships, including a record season in 2023 in which it won 21 of the 22 races.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said he still expected Red Bull to be leading the way at the start of this year, but made clear his team was determined to hunt down their rivals.

“On one hand, you need to be realistic about the odds of beating a team that is a fair chunk ahead under these regulations, and who got things right over the last two seasons whilst we have not,” he said. “There are no miracles in the sport.

“On the other hand, our ambition is strong. It is Red Bull and a very successful car that are the benchmark we are aiming to beat. I do not know when that will happen, we do not have any crystal ball. But we will know soon enough how far ahead they are and the task in front of us.

“We hate losing, and that drives us. But that does not mean that we can’t enjoy the challenge we have in front of us, working through our problems and what we need to do as a team. That is all part of the development.”

Mercedes started altering its development direction last year, although it was not feasible to change certain aspects of the car, such as the monocoque and rear suspension, until the start of this season.

New push-rod rear suspension is one of the more obvious alterations to the W15, and technical director James Allison said the biggest changes had been agreed upon as early as last summer.

“When we talk about a layout change, you’re generally talking about where the engine sits in the chassis, what geometry of rear suspension you’re going to have on the gearbox and what changes you are going to make to the part that contains the driver,” he said. “Those are all three things that are hypothetically doable in the…