Hamilton and Bottas lift the covers off the W08 at Silverstone

Mercedes AMG F1 lifted the covers off their 2017 Title defender, the W08. Hamilton and Bottas revealed the W08 to the public at Silverstone. Toto was also present at the launch to answer a few questions.

Hamilton drove the car around the Silverstone circuit before launch as part of the laps allowed by the FIA under ‘filming day’ quota.

“It is so exciting to see this thing come together. From working in the wind tunnel. Then they have this jig which is into real carbon fiber. You see it all come together, do the seat fitting over the winter and in the last few days seeing it all appearing. Somehow they all just slot in perfectly.” Hamilton said.

“Driving today, naturally the car feels wider, which it is, and the front tyres feel huge. There is quite a lot of grip already even in the cold conditions here.

“This is not a test, really the laps I did today were behind a vehicle to get filming in and just a shakedown. I got to go a little bit faster but it’s so gusty and it is wet.”

His new team mate was also present at the launch and seemed very excited to get on track. He was slotted to drive the car post-launch. He said,”It is a big day for me. Driving a Silver Arrow for the first time is something very special.

“I have been waiting for this moment for quite a while and also for the test for a long time. I am going to drive the car in less than an hour. It feels real and I am amazed how good the car is looking.

“What I really like about this is how clean it looks, but there is a massive amount of detail on the rear end and bargeboards – development has been done – and how far everything has been taken with this car. It looks cool.”

Both drivers seem very excited about the car. The lack of the shark fin seen on most cars was a surprise but Bottas believes his engineers have taken the decision after putting it through a rigorous development phase. The new nose on the W08 is pleasing to the eyes. The livery is pretty much the same. With some changes in livery which make the car look eye catching.

Mercedes still seem to be the favorites despite the major regulation changes. The power unit will still play a much larger role to overcome drag. Red Bull and Ferrari will be looking to match their performance but only time will tell.