Mercedes reveal their 2016 car as they look to defend their Formula One title once again

Mercedes are hoping their new F1 car will fire them to a hat-trick of titles
The Mercedes AMG Petronas team have won 32 of their last 38 races
The F1 W07 Hybrid will be rolled out at the Circuit de Catalunya on Monday

Published:
11:06 GMT, 21 February 2016

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Updated:
13:14 GMT, 21 February 2016

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World champions Mercedes have unveiled the car they hope will fire them to a hat-trick of consecutive Formula One titles.

Lewis Hamilton, winner of the last two driver championships, is bidding to become the first Briton to claim four titles, while his team will aim to strengthen their stranglehold on the sport which has seen them triumph in 32 of the last 38 races.

And with few changes to the sport’s technical regulations over the winter, the Silver Arrows will begin the season, which starts in Melbourne on March 20, as the favourites.

Mercedes have unveiled the car they hope will fire them to a hat-trick of consecutive Formula One titles

The W07 will be officially rolled out at the Circuit de Catalunya on Monday ahead of a four-day winter test

The Silver Arrows will begin the season, which starts in Melbourne on March 20, as the favourites

The W07, similar in appearance to its all-conquering predecessor, will be officially rolled out at the Circuit de Catalunya on Monday ahead of this week’s four-day winter test.

Hamilton will take to the wheel first with team-mate Nico Rosberg taking up testing duties on Tuesday.

‘While the car may look very similar to its predecessor from the outside – as is inherent within stable regulations – underneath there are quite a lot of mini revolutions that make up an overall evolution for the new season,’ technical director Paddy Lowe said.

‘It’s very tough to find performance under a stable set of regulations and we were particularly pleased with how the car turned out in 2015 when we had the same situation.

‘The team did a fantastic job – digging very deep to find all sorts of innovations in areas that might have been considered static.

‘2016 is another carry-over year from a regulatory point of view and potential gains inevitably become harder to find under these circumstances. It’s far easier to find performance when you have a new set of rules, that’s for sure.’