Mercedes says it intends to be in title competition in 2025 because it formally launches the W16 that might be pushed by George Russell and Kimi Antonelli.
All ten groups might be working in pre-season testing in Bahrain this week, however forward of Wednesday’s opening day there are a selection of shakedowns going down, with Mercedes on monitor on Tuesday. After Mercedes completed fourth in final yr’s constructors’ championship – 121 factors behind Purple Bull in third and 198 adrift of title-winner McLaren – group principal Toto Wolff is anticipating a better yr forward.
“It will be a extremely aggressive season,” Wolff stated. “We noticed final yr simply how shut the sphere was. You couldn’t say race-to-race who can be on the entrance, and I anticipate this yr to be even nearer. We should be at our best possible if we need to problem for championships this season.”
Russell and Antonelli’s partnership is described by Mercedes as the following chapter following the departure of Lewis Hamilton, and technical director James Allison says the goal has been to offer the drivers a automobile that they will have extra confidence in.
“Being the fourth yr of those laws on the chassis aspect, the automobiles are within the extra mature part. Large beneficial properties in lap time are more durable to return by however we’ve been concentrating on making enhancements within the areas that held us again final yr,” Allison stated.
“Our main focus has been on dialing out the W15’s slight reluctance to show in gradual corners, together with the imbalance in tyre temperatures that made the automobile inconsistent from session to session.
“We’re happy with our progress over the winter and we’re trying ahead to discovering out the place we stack up towards everybody else.
“It is going to be a fiercely fought championship from the off. At this stage of the laws, the automobiles are converging by way of efficiency. There might be a number of winners, and it’s attainable that we’ll see much more groups than the 4 that scored victories final yr taking to the highest step of the rostrum.”
The principle mechanical modifications embrace a brand new entrance suspension for the W16, whereas the group says each aerodynamic floor has been up to date together with additional unseen developments that beneath the bodywork.
Mercedes gained 4 races in 2024, and energy unit boss Hywel Thomas believes tiny beneficial properties can have a significant impression in turning that into extra constant victories.
“We have now been taking a look at reliability updates, and a few calibration upgrades, to ship robustness, squeeze the final little bits of efficiency out of the facility unit and provides ourselves one of the best alternative this season,” Thomas stated. “We’ve made good progress and hopefully that may add efficiency on monitor.
“Given the place we’re on this set of laws, lap time beneficial properties are small. There’s nonetheless the chance to seek out little bits and that may be the distinction come Saturday and Sunday.
“You possibly can see final yr, notably in qualifying, simply how shut a number of the groups have been on the entrance. Discovering these 10 or 20 milliseconds is essential; it may be the distinction between pole or the second or third row. We’ll proceed chasing these beneficial properties and hopefully be within the struggle for the championships come Abu Dhabi.”
