The 2014 challenger for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas formula One Team was launched today in southern Spain, at Jerez, just before the first official testing session begins.
Interestingly, Mercedes-Benz tells us that this is “the first all-new Silver Arrow to hit the track since 1954,” something which kind of ground our gears for a minute or so, but then we were simply swept of our feet by the beauty of the new F1 W05.
“It is always exciting to pull the wraps off a new car for the first time but even more so at the start of this momentous 2014 season. Our new Silver Arrow is the result of a single-minded, integrated approach between our engineering teams. My compliments and thanks go to every team member in Brackley, at Brixworth and also at our key partner, PETRONAS, for their hard work to deliver this new car and the Power Unit at its heart; it is the result of several years of intense effort. But we know that the adventure has only just begun.
We have a busy winter testing period ahead of us and a long season where both performance and reliability will be critically important. Lewis and Nico begin the season hungry for success and I am confident that our team will benefit thanks to the continuity of their work during the winter period. We have positive momentum after our second-place finish last season. Our clear target is to continue building up our team and we aim to deliver on every single race weekend in 2014.” said Toto Wolff, Executive Director (Business) of MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS and Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport.
Apparently, the new V6 “Hybrid Power Unit” was started being developed as early as mid-2011, when the FIA rules for the engine were officially published. Called The PU106A Hybrid Power Unit, the turbocharged 1.6-liter powerplant achieves an efficiency gain of at least 30 percent compared to the old 2.4-liter V8.
Hopefully, last year's rumors about the Mercedes-AMG engine being more powerful than the ones from Renault and Ferrari were completely founded, and we are about to witness the best F1 season for the Silver Arrows since the 1950s.
“It is always exciting to pull the wraps off a new car for the first time but even more so at the start of this momentous 2014 season. Our new Silver Arrow is the result of a single-minded, integrated approach between our engineering teams. My compliments and thanks go to every team member in Brackley, at Brixworth and also at our key partner, PETRONAS, for their hard work to deliver this new car and the Power Unit at its heart; it is the result of several years of intense effort. But we know that the adventure has only just begun.
We have a busy winter testing period ahead of us and a long season where both performance and reliability will be critically important. Lewis and Nico begin the season hungry for success and I am confident that our team will benefit thanks to the continuity of their work during the winter period. We have positive momentum after our second-place finish last season. Our clear target is to continue building up our team and we aim to deliver on every single race weekend in 2014.” said Toto Wolff, Executive Director (Business) of MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS and Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport.
Apparently, the new V6 “Hybrid Power Unit” was started being developed as early as mid-2011, when the FIA rules for the engine were officially published. Called The PU106A Hybrid Power Unit, the turbocharged 1.6-liter powerplant achieves an efficiency gain of at least 30 percent compared to the old 2.4-liter V8.
Hopefully, last year's rumors about the Mercedes-AMG engine being more powerful than the ones from Renault and Ferrari were completely founded, and we are about to witness the best F1 season for the Silver Arrows since the 1950s.