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Mercedes Launch the W09 – Will It Be Another Triumphant Season?

Mercedes AMG F1 gave the Formula 1 world the first glimpse of their 2018 challenger. The official launch of the W09, in the familiar silver livery, took place today. The car was in action at Silverstone earlier. Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton took turns in shaking out the car on the track on the first filming day.

Mercedes Launch the W09 – Will It Be Another Triumphant Season?

The undisputed champions of the V6 Turbo-Hybrid Engine era will start their quest for their fifth title winning season in a row. The Silver Arrows has clinched four consecutive Constructors’ and Drivers’ titles, since 2014.

In 2017, Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari ran Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes close for most of the season. But in the Asian-leg of the season, after the summer break, the Italian team imploded in spectacular fashion. Will 2018 finally be the season when other teams catch up with Mercedes? Can any other driver or team finally win a title since the V8 Engine era ended?

Toto Wolff and James Allison on the W09 EQ Power+

The car is christened the W09 EQ Power+ for the 2018 season. ‘EQ Power+’ stands for the brand’s future performance hybrid models. The car seems to resemble the W08 diva of last season on the outside. But the new challenger must be an evolution on last year’s car with many changes under the skin. The long wheelbase has stayed, with only a minor modification in the rake height.

Toto Wolff (Team Principal and CEO) said:”It is always a very exciting time because what has been designed is coming together and coming alive.

“It’s never going completely seamlessly or smoothly, as a matter of fact you’re trying to push the boundaries and make the car as light as possible and eventually as quick as possible. We’ve had a good winter, I would say, no real drama. But there is always stress within the organisation at that time of year.

“We like some of the character traits from our diva. The W08 was the fastest car on the grid, scoring the highest number of pole positions and winning the most races last year. So we were careful not to lose the car’s many strengths, just to overcome the difficulties.”

James Allison (Technical Director) said:”The winter is intense.The planners have got thousands of lines of plans to deliver on, the design group have got to deliver several hundred new designs per day in order that they can be made.

“All of the test and development people and the people running the dynos have to stand ready as the pieces come in hot from the machines that made them to assemble them up and put them on all the in-house testing kit that allows us to be reasonably sure that everything is strong enough and has the right shape and will perform reliably.”

The Drivers

Lewis Hamilton Is Ready For 2018

The car might have evolved, but the driver line-up remains the same from last season. Lewis Hamilton, four-time World Champion, heads into his sixth season with Mercedes (2013-2018).

The reigning world champion said:”It’s hard to believe that it’s already our sixth year together, it feels like it’s gone by so quick. It’s been an emotional rollercoaster together. What we see today is an evolution of both of our driving DNA fused into one.

“I hope that [Bottas] is more comfortable in it. That can only bode well for the team. It’s definitely not moved away from me.

“My job is to explain the weaknesses and put a feeling into technical terms so the team can go and design something to fix it.

“I’m really hopeful that this year we’ve ironed out a lot of the creases.

“There’s a different aerodynamic characteristic this year compared to last year.

“We’ve taken some of the good from last year, but there were circuits that we went to where we weren’t that strong, so hopefully we’ve found a compromise which will favour a majority of the grand prix circuits.

“Some of the suspension, some of the roll issues that we had, some of the ride issues that we had, some of the floor characteristics, those things will be improved quite a lot.

“Everything’s brand new, all the suspension, everything’s been re-done.”

Valtteri Bottas Sets Goals

Valtteri Bottas starts his second season with the Brackley-based team and his fifth season in F1. The Finn said:“I want to use all the things that I learned last year and be on a good level on every single race weekend – that’s going to be the goal for me this year.”

Hamilton said:“It’s a work of art, and it’s really just incredible to see.”  The drivers and the team will hope the W09 performance matches the good looks and they continue their title winning spree.

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