Pictures: Mercedes Targets 'more Consistent' Season As It Reveals New W16

Mercedes has revealed the first images of the W16, its new car for the 2025 Formula 1 season.

The team, which presented the livery for this car at the F1 75 launch event last week, endured a mixed season in 2024. Although it won four grands prix, the most since the current ground effect regulations were introduced two years earlier, it fell to fourth in the constructors’ championship, its lowest position since 2012.

Mercedes‘ last car was especially competitive on high-speed circuits. However the team struggled to make it work across a range of tracks and was often puzzled by the variations in performance they encountered as track conditions changed during a race weekend. Remedying that has been a key focus for the team with its latest design.

However Mercedes has lost the input of Formula 1’s most successful driver of all time, and one of its most experienced drivers, following Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari.

Team principal and co-owner Toto Wolff said it is embarking upon “an exciting new era” this year.

“Last season was incredibly competitive on the track and, whilst we took several wins, we are all focused on challenging for victories more consistently,” he said. “We have made gains in the off-season, but we will only know where we stand come the first race in Australia.”

George Russell, who scored his third grand prix victory at Las Vegas last year (and lost another at Spa where he was disqualified when his car was found to be underweight), is now Mercedes’ most experienced driver.

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He is joined by F1 rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli, whose promotion to F1 has been astonishingly rapid. He won three junior championships in 2023, the most senior of which was the Formula Regional European title, then skipped Formula 3 and spent a single season in Formula 2 before being hired as Hamilton’s replacement.

The team’s former race driver Valtteri Bottas has returned as third driver this year. Frederik Vesti will continue as reserve driver.