Mercedes reveals W16 F1 2025 car launch date

Mercedes will unveil its W16 2025 Formula 1 car on 24 February, two days before pre-season testing commences in Bahrain.

The W16 will be its first car since the 2012 W03 not to be raced by Lewis Hamilton, as it prepares for a season with its new line-up of George Russell and rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

Autosport had previously reported that the Brackley-based outfit would not be carrying out its usual launch event at Silverstone. Instead, it will reveal the car on 24 February, before putting it through its paces in a filming day at the Bahrain International Circuit on the 25th.

Pre-season testing will then take place at the Sakhir venue from 26-28 February, before the season-opening Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park on 14-16 March.

Mercedes finished fourth in the 2024 constructors’ championship and, although it returned to winning ways after a lean 2023, its W15 was plagued by a narrow set-up window and frequent overheating of the rear tyres.

This often cost the team over a race distance in both hotter climates and at high-energy circuits that frequently took the tyres out of the optimum working range as the rears overheated.

By contrast, the car was able to switch its tyres on more successfully in cooler conditions – as demonstrated by its domination of the Las Vegas weekend.

The W15 also worked best at low ride heights, which sapped performance at bumpier circuits when the floor needed to be raised to limit contact with the track.

Trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin theorised that the team was also hurt by a perceived lag in its update schedule versus the other frontrunning squads, as it needed time to understand the all-new concept developed for 2024.

Mercedes will also unveil its 2025 livery at the collective F1 season launch at the O2 Arena in London on 18 February to commemorate F1’s 75th anniversary.

Ferrari and Williams have both announced launch dates for their 2025 machines, with Williams planning to unveil its new FW47 before the collective livery launch event in a special colour scheme.

2025 F1 car launch dates