‘WhatsApp button’ on steering wheel of Mercedes W15 F1 2024 car

Mercedes’ W15 will feature a ‘WhatsApp button’ on its steering wheel in the F1 2024 season.

Is it to enable Lewis Hamilton and George Russell to send emojis back to Toto Wolff? Not quite, but it does allow communication between driver and garage.

The button, featuring the WhatsApp logo, will replace the yellow button previously seen on the Mercedes’ steering wheel which Hamilton or Russell would press to communicate with the garage.

So, it provides the same functionality but with a clever sponsorship opportunity added.

It is an innovative idea, giving WhatsApp some major exposure and providing Mercedes with a quirky addition to their F1 2024 car (and the income that inevitably comes from it).

The steering wheel of every F1 car includes up to 25 buttons, enabling the driver to easily access his most crucial features.

Hamilton and Russell will now be seen pressing the WhatsApp button all season when they want to communicate with their team.

WhatsApp and Mercedes first announced their partnership last November.

Toto Wolff told Associated Press that he would receive messages via WhatsApp from Mercedes board members questioning his race strategy.

“I’m trying to turn the phone upside down so I’m not seeing the board members texting me, ‘What the hell is the strategy department thinking?’” Wolff said.

“It’s quite fun. Sometimes.”