Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 W11 EQ Performance debuts as team, Hamilton chase seventh titles in 2020

We’re eagerly awaiting the start of the 2020 Formula 1 season, which kicks off in Australia on March 15. To whet our appetite, the Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport team has just released images of its latest challenger, the F1 W11 EQ Performance.

No details have been released just yet, but the car appears to be an evolution of last year’s W10, with hallmarks including a conventional front wing design, aerodynamic wing mirror shrouds and a large air box surrounding a triangular crash structure. There are a few notable changes, such as a new nose “cape” design and even tighter sidepod packaging, the inlet now situated above the side impact structure.

The livery has been revised with red accents derived from chemicals producer Ineos, which signed a major five-year sponsorship deal. Elsewhere, the silver and black design is similar to last year’s car, with the Petronas green stripe now a solid one; the array of three-pointed stars at the back of the engine cover now also gets one red star to honour former chairman Niki Lauda, who passed away last May. Eagle-eyed readers will also notice another new sponsor in the form of AMD, which jumped ship from Ferrari.

Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport will field an unchanged lineup of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. Both the team and Hamilton are chasing their seventh titles this year, before an overhaul of the current regulations takes effect in 2021. What do you think of the new car and livery?