We’re eagerly awaiting the start of the
2020 Formula 1 season, which kicks off in Australia on March 15. To whet our
appetite, the Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport team has just released images of
its latest challenger, the F1 W11 EQ Performance.
No details have been released just yet,
but the car appears to be an evolution of last year’s W10, with hallmarks
including a conventional front wing design, aerodynamic wing mirror shrouds and
a large air box surrounding a triangular crash structure. There are a few
notable changes, such as a new nose “cape” design and even tighter sidepod
packaging, the inlet now situated above the side impact structure.
The livery has been revised with red
accents derived from chemicals producer Ineos, which signed a major five-year
sponsorship deal. Elsewhere, the silver and black design is similar to last
year’s car, with the Petronas green stripe now a solid one; the array of
three-pointed stars at the back of the engine cover now also gets one red star
to honour former chairman Niki Lauda, who passed away last May. Eagle-eyed
readers will also notice another new sponsor in the form of AMD, which jumped
ship from Ferrari.
Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport will
field an unchanged lineup of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. Both the team
and Hamilton are chasing their seventh titles this year, before an overhaul of
the current regulations takes effect in 2021.
