Mercedes rolls out revised W10 for second F1 test

Mercedes is running a heavily revised car design during the second Formula 1 pre-season test at Barcelona in the search for added performance. 

The second week of winter testing kicked off on Tuesday at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with Mercedes getting to work early as Lewis Hamilton hit the track in the team’s W10, which was seen sporting a number of new aerodynamic components. 

Among the plethora of major updates included a new bulbous nose and front wing, as well as revisions to the floor, sidepods, endplates and T-wing elements. 

Mercedes is experimenting with its package after initially launching its 2019 challenger with a front wing that varied greatly from many teams on the grid, including radical designs from the likes of Ferrari and Alfa Romeo. 

Speaking during the first test, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff played down concerns about how the reigning world champions’ concept differed compared to its rivals. 

“I think we have evaluated many different possibilities and philosophies before we started and the big risk with the new regulations,” Wolff explained. 

“We have seen major innovation on the car that we haven’t anticipated before but having said that we are still very open minded about what others have done. 

“We have spotted all of the possibilities, we will be following our path and trying to make this car as fast as possible and if we spot something on another car that we deem to be worthwhile developing we will look at it.

“It’s always interesting with new regulations to see how others have interpreted them,” he added. 

“We can clearly see that with some of the cars, the front wing design is very interesting, on the Ferrari and the Sauber - it’s a different concept to some of the other teams. 

“There is a lot of innovation on the cars that you need to have an eye on. At the same time, you mustn’t be distracted by what others have done. You need to stay true to your design philosophy and continue to develop your own package.”

Both Hamilton and teammate Valtteri Bottas reported handling issues after the first test, leading to some swift work from Mercedes in a bid to improve its car ahead of the new campaign.