First pictures: Mercedes launch W06 in Jerez

2015 F1 testing

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The Mercedes W06, the car the team will use to defend its 2014 championship success, has been officially launched in Spain.

Mercedes dominated last year’s season, comfortably taking their first constructors’ championship victory while Lewis Hamilton claimed the drivers’ title for the second time in his career. However executive director Toto Wolff vowed the team were not being complacent about their chances for 2015.

“We will not fall into the trap of being overly optimistic or trying to make crystal ball predictions because this is not how the sport works,” he said. “In fact, this is possibly the most brutally honest sport because the stopwatch never lies.”

The new W06, which the team began concentrating their efforts on fully well before the end of last season, is an evolution of last year’s successful design. The power unit is the element which has seen the most change.

“Beneath the covers there have been a raft of developments from both a chassis and power unit perspective – all aimed at creating a car that is safer, more efficient, more reliable and ultimately faster,” said executive director for technical Paddy Lowe.

“With the hybrid era still very much in its infancy, there is plenty of scope for innovation”

Lowe added that although the new hybrid turbo technology was proven last year, reliability remains a concern.

“This time last year, with the new hybrid technology yet to hit the track, we went to Silverstone for a filming day and were genuinely surprised to see the car drive out of the garage,” he said.

“Second time around we may be over the initial hurdles of the new formula but we keep them fresh in our minds, as it demonstrates that nothing can be taken for granted.”

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Will Wood
Will has been a RaceFans contributor since 2012 during which time he has covered F1 test sessions, launch events and interviewed drivers. He mainly...

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20 comments on “First pictures: Mercedes launch W06 in Jerez”

  1. Why are Mercedes so open with their engine?

    1. That’s an old pic from last year when they won some engineering prize

      1. “Some engineering prize” lol. Yes nice pics of a groundbreaking engine design.

  2. I think that’s the best looking car! Very sleek

  3. Looks great :)

  4. Certainly looks a good package, and I don’t think they will have huge issues defending those titles with it!

  5. Beautiful!

  6. Oh look, it is the car that is currently lapping the Jerez circuit quickly, consistently and reliably. I give you the car of the 2015 season, not only the best looking but also the fastest.

    1. I suspect you very likely correct @countrygent , but I hope that somebody will surprise us, please surprise us somebody, and challenge at least for some wins.

  7. I love this car, it is one of the only ones this season I would refer to as beautiful.

    Serious question, does anyone know what the black things are that stick out of the nose cone? No other team has them, they seem more pronounced than last years car but were also present then.

    1. Aren’t those cameras? Or at least one is a camera and the other is a dummy for balance, no?

      1. I thought so too!

      2. I wondered if that was what it was but it seems an odd thing to do with cameras as clearly it is going to have what you would imagine to be a negative effect on the airflow over the nose (although they have done a good job of sculpting them like an aerofoil) and it seems strange no other team has them like that.

    2. Toro Rosso also has the gull-wing cameras this year

  8. I wondered if that was what it was but it seems an odd thing to do with cameras as clearly it is going to have what you would imagine to be a negative effect on the airflow over the nose (although they have done a good job of sculpting them like an aerofoil) and it seems strange no other team has them like that.

  9. Best looking car last year and now best looking car this year.

  10. While other cars seem to have had to change their front end design radically, Mercedes don’t seem to have to have done a hell of a lot of alteration to adhere to this seasons rules.

  11. Is it me or do they not have brake ducts?

  12. Interesting that the Mercedes nose ends behind the front of the wing when most others protrude beyond the front of the wing. Some others protrude quite a bit in front of the wing. Wonder what Mercedes knows about the nose that others may be missing.

    Speaking of front wings, how much development is good? Would it make more sense for the regs to go in a direction similar to the rear wing? Some of the front wings make it look as though the main purpose of the rest of the car is to support the front wing. The Mercedes front wing is a bit different than some of the other teams, but it looks as though the front wing has become the place to add as many winglets, planes, curves, deflectors, separate surfaces, splitters, doo-dad gizmo gadgets, etc. to beyond comprehension. Is this a good thing?

    1. I think its mostly that Mercedes (and Lotus whose nose is as short) have learnt a lot from crashtesting their nosecones last year @bullmello. You can see that Red Bull was gunning for the same, but had to add that knob on the tip to make it pass.
      Also its already being rumoured that the bigger teams with long noses (and apparently STR) are working on a short nose as well, but just have issues getting it through a crashtest, so its not impossible that before mid season all but maybe Sauber and Force India will have a short nose.

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