Mercedes became on Friday morning, one day after Ferrari, the eighth team to present its car for the 2022 F1 season, a W13 that before going out on the track is already considered one of the great favorites.
It will be the car carried by Lewis Hamilton, who will play his tenth year with the German team, and George Russell, who arrives from Williams to take the place that Valtteri Bottas had in recent times.
Although once again the car was leaked minutes before, at 09:00 in Great Britain (10:00 in the morning in Spain) the act began in which Mercedes showed the colors of its new weapon in an event at Silverstone.
Photo by: Mercedes AMG
Photo by: Mercedes AMG
Photo by: Mercedes AMG
Photo by: Mercedes AMG
A car called W13 that follows the name that the team adopted when it returned to Formula 1 in 2010. W was the call sign for Daimler , and since its first stage in the 50s, Mercedes single-seaters in F1 carried that initial.
As for the color, after two years dyeing its W11 and W12 black against racism, Mercedes returns to the silver color and historically related to its signature.
The car features black accents and the fluorescent green of main sponsor Petronas , as well as a speckled star design on the engine cover, in addition to the maroon that accompanies Ineos and also appears on the inside of the front wing endplates.
“The team’s mentality has always been the same in recent years, that the points counter goes back to zero,” Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said.
“There is nothing from the previous years that will make you win the championship again.”
“Like every year, we’re skeptical about whether we’ve done a good enough job, and that’s the right mindset.”
“For me, the two best moments of each year are when you first start, which we did in December, and then the second moment is when the car is put together,” said Wolff.
“I’ve been looking at this incredible machine for the last few days, and now to see it complete with the bodywork on it is very exciting. It’s quite an amazing car, but I hope it will be amazing when it comes out on track.”
Hamilton and Russell will get their first chance to test the Mercedes W13 at a shakedown that will take place today at Silverstone Circuit following the car’s launch.
“Going into this year, I haven’t set any goals for myself initially,” Hamilton said. “I think obviously every single person in this team has worked towards the ultimate goal of winning the world championship, and again raising the bar and doing something that no one has done before.”
For his part, Russell commented: “There are many faces that I have met in the last six or seven years”
“When we started working together, we really got into it. Obviously relationships have been built over time, but I already knew a lot of the people. Having worked with Lewis or seen him work when I was a junior driver , or even sitting in the meetings with the engineers, it will feel very natural, being his teammate with him and sitting next to him. I think it’s going to be a very exciting season for all of us and for Formula 1 in general.” .
Mercedes is facing a huge challenge, that of facing a regulation change that is destined to equalize things and level the grid. Those of the star have won the last eight constructors’ championships consecutively and with authority and now comes the big question of whether they will also continue to dominate with the new rules.
After Mercedes, all that remains to be seen is the appearance of the Alpine, whose A522 will be presented on Monday, February 21, and that of the Alfa Romeo, which we saw at a shakedown with camouflage decoration but until the 27th, after the first week of test, it will not display its true colors.
