This is the actual Silver Arrows in which the Mercedes GP team will race in the upcoming Formula One season.
The W10 features that typical Red Bull Racing style high nose plus a small fin on the engine cover.
Ex-Williams driver Nico Rosberg will have the unique opportunity to shakedown the new Mercedes race car first during the opening day of official testing at Valencia. As for Michael Schumacher, all attention will be on the timesheets to see if he can still maintain that level of competitiveness since retiring from Formula One racing back in 2006. The German will drive the W01 in the afternoon session.
News story on the Silver Arrows. Links here:
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81167
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2010/02/01/mercedes-w01-debuts-in-valencia-pictures/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8490627.stm
With so many new cars launched in the past couple of days, February 1st signals the first official day of testing. Follow the progress with these links:
http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2010/2/10384.html
http://www.autosport.com/news/
Nico Rosberg gave an early thumbs-up to his new Mercedes GP W01 after a first taste at Valencia on Monday – but admitted that new regulations have made it much harder to read the true picture from testing.
The German completed 39 laps in his new 2010 car on the opening day of action in Valencia, before handing the machine over to team-mate Michael Schumacher.
And although Rosberg feels that the heavier fuel loads used this year will cloud the picture in testing, he says he is encouraged by how his first experience of the car and team went.
“The first impressions of the car were very positive,” he told media inside the Mercedes GP motorhome.
“It felt great – although it is difficult to compare because there are so many things different with the fuel, the tyres and the fuel levels you are running in testing, plus we haven’t run on this track for a long time. So it is very difficult to compare.
“In recent years you would have had a better impression. But now, since with the fuel level, you don’t really know what other people are running either.
“It used to be in testing that everyone put 50kg or 60kg, but now you don’t know what everyone is doing. It is very difficult to get a good initial impression.”
When asked if he could sense it was a car built by a championship-winning team, he said: “It felt good, yes. But it is impossible today. There are so many new circumstances that I cannot feel, is it a winner or is it not a winner? It generally felt very good but it is impossible to be sure how the performance is now.”
Beyond the overall performance of the car, Rosberg said he was also encouraged by how comfortable he felt in his new environment on his first day on official duty.
“That is a question that I was asking myself – after four years with one car, the same people always building it, you wonder how is it going to be [with a new team]? Do you feel comfortable straight away or not?” he said.
“To be honest, it felt very similar which was a very nice feeling. All the position I am sitting in there, the steering load, the way the steering feels, the power from the engine, everything is different – but I really felt at home quickly, which was good. It was very similar to what I am used to, in everything.”
And with huge interest surrounding team-mate Schumacher, Rosberg admitted that his own efforts had moved up a gear because of the man he was working alongside.
“For me, it is a great thing to have him there,” he said. “It is fantastic, and it has given me a little bit extra motivation I must say. Just that little touch extra, to have him there, which is a good thing.”
Source: Autosport.com
Michael Schumacher says he is feeling like he is making his Formula 1 debut again after returning to testing action in current GP machinery at the Valencia circuit on Monday.
The seven-time world champion took to the Spanish circuit in the afternoon to complete his first laps at the wheel of the new Mercedes W01.
Schumacher immediately showed he has lost none of his speed, finishing the day as third quickest, over half a second ahead of team-mate Nico Rosberg.
The German admitted he was feeling like a kid with a new toy.
“In a way it is like 1991, honestly,” Schumacher told reporters after the test. “When I came into F1 I was shocked on the first lap and extremely excited on the second lap and further laps. And it is exactly the same today.
“I feel like a young boy that has a toy in his hands and enjoys himself.”
Schumacher, who has moved to Mercedes after 13 years working for Ferrari, said it was weird to see the red cars on track without him in them.
“Naturally I suddenly see my old car on the track and not siting in it, it is a strange sensation,” he added. “But it was good to see my brother on the track, in the car and I enjoyed to see my friends down at Ferrari this week.”
The Mercedes driver, who managed 40 laps himself, was very pleased with the work done during the day.
“I think we have done a very good job. The guys did a superb job out there, being out there making a few control checks and making the car reliable. We did more than 80 laps, and for the first day that is a superb job.”
And Schumacher said he felt no physical problems whatsoever despite fears about his neck.
“I am fine. I have worked out very well and prepared myself extremely precise and that is the result.”
Source: Autosport.com
Hey it does actually look like an arrow! I’m liking this design. Not too fancy but not too mad either. All eyes will be on this team to mirror the Brawn team did last year. Without Shuey it imo would be a tough year for them, but with the real driving god at the wheel, he could do wonders for them.
As everyone is saying,the test times are meaningless. But one things for sure though, it not the “wow that car can go!” that we got last year. But who knows, they are now a works team, so development in season, and all the other things that require £££££ is now a thing of the past. That could be the thing to keep this team at the top.