Mercedes doesn't want F1 car to lose all 'diva' traits

Mercedes Formula 1 boss Toto Wolff does not want to lose all of the "diva" traits from the championship-winning W08 car from 2017 as the team puts the finishing touches to its new model, the W09.

Mercedes recovered from a pre-season deficit to Ferrari to clinch its fourth straight set of titles in 2017 led by drivers' champion Lewis Hamilton and teammate Valtteri Bottas, with the narrow peak operating window of the W08 leading Wolff to call it a "diva".

Mercedes will officially unveil its new 2018 car, the W09, at Silverstone on February 22, and Wolff is happy with how plans are progressing ahead of its first on-track running.

"It's never going completely seamlessly or smoothly, because you are trying to push the boundaries, make the cars as light as possible and - eventually - as quick as possible," Wolff said.

"We have had a good winter, I would say. No real drama, but there is always stress within the organisation at this time of year."

Despite the "diva" nature of last year's car, Wolf does not want the 2018 model to lose all of these traits given its success.

"Some of the character traits from a diva, we like," Wolff said.

"The W08 was the fastest car in Formula 1, it scored the most pole positions and won the most races. So, you need to be careful not to dump the things that actually work on the car, just to remedy the difficulties the car showed.

"We analysed it properly and when we go testing in a month's time, we will see if the car is a little bit better behaved or not."