First look at W17 on track as Mercedes debuts 2026 F1 car
Mercedes shake down their W17 F1 2026 challenger at Silverstone.
Mercedes have provided the first images of their 2026 F1 car on track.
The Brackley-based F1 squad revealed the design and livery of their much-anticipated W17 challenger on Friday morning, before conducting an initial shake down run at a soaked Silverstone.
George Russell and Kimi Antonelli took turns behind the wheel as they racked up 67 laps and nearly 200km of mileage as part of a filming day.
“We have had a sensible first day of running with the W17 at Silverstone,” Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin said.
“As with any shakedown, the focus is on ensuring everything operates safely and reliably. We were able to get through our allotted mileage, with both George and Kimi getting to experience the 2026 car on track for the first time.
“That is testament to the hard work of everyone at Brackley and Brixworth. Our attention now turns to Barcelona where we will look to build on today’s running and add to our understanding of the W17.”
Following Audi, Cadillac, Racing Bulls and Alpine, Mercedes are the fifth F1 team to run their 2026 car on track.
Mercedes now head to Spain for F1’s collective shakedown at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya between 26-30 January.
They will then host a public season launch event on 2 February before the two official pre-season tests in Bahrain ahead of the Australian Grand Prix on 8 March.
Mercedes ended 2025 second in the constructors’ championship behind world champions McLaren.
It is believed Mercedes have found a loophole in the rules that allows them to run their engine at a higher compression ratio that permitted.
Rivals fear this could hand Mercedes, and their customer teams, a key advantage at the start of F1’s new era.
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