The Mercedes-AMG F1 W10 was launched earlier today. Here are official images as well as quotes from select team members.

Click here to see the recently launched Renault RS19.

The execs speak

Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO “We’ve come a long way since 2010 when we re-joined Formula One with a Mercedes works team. We had a steep learning curve in the first few years, building the long-term capability of the team and continuously improving our performance. We saw the first good season in 2013, when we finished second. After that, we’ve been on a winning streak with five consecutive double championships – an incredible success that none of us in the team, even in our wildest dreams, would have believed possible, especially since we were up against formidable opponents.”

“The 2019 season will be a new challenge for all of us. The regulations have changed quite substantially. We have to start from scratch, we need to prove ourselves again – against our own expectations and against our competitors. We start the season with zero points, so we’re taking nothing for granted and there’s absolutely no feeling of entitlement to be at the front. In fact, with the regulation change for the new season, every team can have a shot at the title and we’re seeing all of them as a potential threat.”

Technical Director James Allison: “Regulation changes are both opportunity and threat. They are an opportunity because all the old assumptions about what you need to have to be quick are swept away and, if you are fleet of foot and smart in dealing with that, you can do better than all the other teams that are tackling the same change. They are a threat because if you are not as smart and you didn’t see how to make the most of these new regulations, then you’ll certainly suffer in the coming season. But they are always exhilarating because you have that sharp sense of anxiety that you might not be doing enough but equally the thrill and excitement of looking forward to finding out.”

“The handling of the W09 was a big improvement over the rather idiosyncratic W08,” said James. “We managed to be competitive at tracks which had plagued us in recent years. However, notwithstanding this improvement, we were still not as good as some of our competitors at preserving the performance of the rear tyres. We have worked hard on the suspension and aerodynamic characteristics to deliver a car that will be much kinder to its tyres – enough, we hope, to allow us to be competitive at all phases of the race and at each track on the calendar.

“Even though the minimum weight limit was lifted by 10kg for 2019, weight reduction remains a real challenge on the current generation of F1 cars. Components that we felt were stripped to the bone in 2018 have been taken, one by one, and subjected to a further round of aggressive analysis to shave further weight from them. Some components surrender what feels like a giant step of half a kilo, others just a few grams, but collectively each of these victories add up to a handful of kilos that have been invested back in the car on aerodynamics, suspension and Power Unit to bring performance.”

Andy Cowell, Managing Director of Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains: “We’ve made changes to the cooling architecture of the Power Unit, which hopefully provide aerodynamic benefit on the car and also provide efficiency benefit on the Power Unit – so, hopefully a win on both the chassis and on the Power Unit. Right at the heart of the Power Unit is the conversion of fuel into heat release in the combustion chamber and useful work out of the crankshaft. We have made steps on the combustion efficiency and on the ERS system. The marriage between the turbocharger assembly with the MGU-H, the inverter, the cells and the MGU-K: that whole system is now capable of operating more efficiently and helping with energy deployment through a race.”

A strong and trusted driver line-up for 2019

While the 2019 Formula One paddock will see changes to various driver line-ups in almost every team, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport will stay true to the line-up that won the team the 2017 and 2018 Constructors’ Championships – Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. After the winter break, both drivers are now eager to go back racing.

“I had a great Christmas with my family and then I went snowmobiling, I went skiing, I went surfing with Kelly Slater, which was amazing,” said reigning champion Lewis Hamilton. “I completely switched off from racing for a while, trying to focus and re-centre myself and training hard for the new season. 2018 was a great year, but I feel like 2019 can be even better. I want to achieve more, I want to continue to keep pushing. I feel energised and I’m ready to attack.“

“I had a really good winter; I’m full of energy and I’m looking forward to the new season,” said Valtteri Bottas. “I started my first training camp in early January and have been on a good path ever since. I did most of my training in Finland, first in the south close to my home town, then further north in Lapland because that’s where you get a proper winter. The conditions are quite harsh, it’s freezing cold, snow is guaranteed, but it’s a great environment to exercise and prepare your mind and your body for the upcoming fight.”

As for the reigning world champion, he begins his seventh season with the Mercedes works team, with which he has scored four world titles, 52 race wins and 57 pole positions since 2013.

“I’m really looking forward to the next step of our journey together with Mercedes and embarking on what’s not been done before,” concluded Lewis. “This is my seventh year with the team and the energy and the determination within the team are really inspiring. The buzz really starts at the beginning of the year when you see the car coming together. And then you get to the shakedown and you get into the car – it just never gets old. It feels like a real privilege – so many people have worked together to form that car and you know how much hard work has gone into it. Driving the new car is like meeting someone new for the first time – you want to get to know them the best way as quick as possible as you embark on a journey together.”