Mercedes announces launch date

The Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team has announced that their 2021 car, the W12 will be unveiled on the 2nd of March, two weeks before the official pre-season testing gets underway at Bahrain.

Mercedes is poised to stretch its winning record in 2021 after having dominated the sport’s hybrid era since the introduction of the new power units in 2014. The Brackley-based outfit has secured the Drivers’ and the Constructors’ Championship title in each season since the start of the new era with the team looking set to win its eighth successive titles in both championships this year.

Teams have agreed to stick to the 2020 chassis due to the coronavirus pandemic this year, but cars will be different at various fronts. The aerodynamic development is still allowed and FIA has imposed new restrictions around the rear of the car, including the rear brake ducts and the back section of the floor in order to trim down the downforce produced by the cars.

Moreover, Mercedes has also been forced to remove its controversial Dual-Axis system from its car for 2021. The Anglo-German team’s Technical Director James Allison said that the development work has been rather intense despite the unusually high amount of carry-over parts.

"The rules are very, very different for 2021, the work we've had to do has been very wide-reaching. it's been a really unusual, unfamiliar but intense winter development period for this new car" despite not having to work on a new chassis.

"I say intense, because although bits of this car have carried over, the challenge of getting it ready for a new season has been every bit as difficult as it normally is because a lot has changed," he stated.

"Probably the most intense and difficult thing for us is reacting to the aerodynamic changes that come for 2021,” added Allison.