The SL63 AMG may have been a nice surprise, but the real reason why the press was gathered today at the Circuit de Catalunya track in Spain was the launch of Mercedes’ brand-new fighter for the 2012 Formula 1 championship.
Mercedes GP chose the first day of FIA’s second official pre-season test in Barcelona to unveil the W03. Admittedly, it has come late to the party, as the company’s F1 racer was launched later than most of its competitors, but the team reckons that this was a good thing, since it gave them more time to hone the car.
The project was initiated in May 2011 and despite having 200 more parts compared to last year’s car (4,500 vs 4,300) it is actually lighter and better packaged than its predecessor.
Mercedes GP principal Ross Brawn said: “We had a car that was mechanically complete some time ago and we’ve done a lot of work on rigs to understand how it behaves and performs.”
As for the delay, Brawn claims it was intentional. “For us, at least, in that respect this is probably the best prepared program we’ve had going into the first race,” said Brown.
Design-wise, the W03 has adopted the clumsy, airflow-maximizing stepped nose seen in almost every 2012 car with the notable exception of the McLaren. The Woking-based team’s new car has bucked the trend – and is much better looking than the competition.
Brawn agrees that the nose is “an acquired taste” but is quick to add that the new car is “elegant” and “a clean step forward in terms of detail design and sophistication”.
Schumacher, who will be the first to test the W03 today, has already driven the car last week so he already has a first impression of what it feels like. “It instantly have us good feedback and, starting today, we will work hard to make it a competitive runner,” said Schumacher.
The seven-time world champion was cautious about how the new car performs versus its rivals since he and his teammate Nico Rosberg have another seven days of testing at Barcelona.
“Obviously, we will only see over the next couple of weeks how big the step is that we have made, but I can say we will definitely try to deliver,” Schumacher added.
Follow the jump to see videos of both today’s launch and in-car footage from Rosberg’s test at Silverstone five days ago.
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