Mercedes have become the 10th team to launch their 2012 challenger. The W03 will be piloted by Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg, making it their 3rd consecutive year as team mates.
(c) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team |
The car was launched early on Tuesday morning, ahead of the first day of testing at Barcelona later in the day. The car will make its track debut in the hands of Michael Schumacher, or though it did have a demo run at Silverstone a few days previous, where a spy photographer was able to capture the car.
The most controversial feature on the 2012 car is the stepped nose, which the majority of the field have got. The Mercedes car has a more prominent, sharper drop at the step of the front wing, a feature Mercedes have said is an “elegant interpretation of the 2012 regulations”. They also compare the overall car’s design to this as well. They also have
“The F1 W03 is a car that I believe, and hope, our team can be proud of, and which will deliver the on-track results that everybody has worked so hard to achieve," said Ross Brawn.
He then added "Notwithstanding the distinctive nose design, which is certainly an acquired taste, the F1 W03 is an elegant interpretation of the current regulations, and a clear step forward over its predecessor in terms of detail design and sophistication.” He also described the predecessor as “bold” and “radical” with a significant amount of risk which did not pay off.
(c) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team |
"From the beginning of our running, we have been able to focus on understanding the car and making good progress with our test programme. It will be very interesting to learn more about where we stand in the next few weeks."
The drivers and team, including Ross Brawn, are hoping the W03 can drag them further up the table. They have finished 4th in the constructors for 2 years in a row since forming from the BrawnGP team at the end of 2009.
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