World Champions Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport, along with Aston Martin Red Bull Racing and Racing Point F1 Team were the three to release their challengers for the 2019 FIA Formula One World Championship overnight. Let’s take a closer look.

 

 

Mercedes give the W10 it’s first shakedown

 

World Champions Mercedes gave their new F1 W10 EQ Power+ it’s first run at the shortened 2.98km Silverstone International Circuit with five-time champion Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas piloting their new offices.

 

Although the Silver Arrows had to abide by the ‘promotional event’ rules to run the new contender, limiting them to just 100 kilometres running and on Pirelli’s super-hard demonstration compounds, images of the W10 having it’s first shakedown at Silverstone gives the fans a stunning look at the team to beat this season.

 

Before the W10 ran on track at Silverstone, renderings of the new Silver Arrow were released online, the car that they hope will give them it’s sixth consecutive World Driver’s and Constructors Championships.

 

 

Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport Team Principal and CEO Toto Wolff looks ahead to the upcoming season.

 

“The 2019 season will be a new challenge for all of us,” explained Wolff. “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.”

 

With the first pre-season test just around the corner, Wolff is keen to hit the Circuit De Barcelona-Catalunya to see how the new challenger’s data stacks up between the simulator and on-track.

 

“We’re eager to hit the ground running in Barcelona, to benchmark ourselves against our own simulations and see if our predictions materialise on track,” Wolff continued. “We will focus on ourselves, building up performance and hopefully be ready when the first really competitive session starts on Saturday in Melbourne.” Wolff concluded.

 

Mercedes’ predecessor, the W09, helped Lewis Hamilton to achieve his fifth World Championship title – his fourth with the Silver Arrows, – while the Briton and team-mate Valtteri Bottas delivered the team it’s fifth Consecutive Constructors Championship, in an intense battle from arch-rivals Ferrari.

 

Can the Silver Arrows keep their 100% championship winning record running since the 1.6L V6 Turbocharged Hybrid era began in 2014?

 

Red Bull’s new Honda-powered RB15 breaks cover

 

 

It’s a new era for Aston Martin Red Bull Racing as they begin their partnership with power unit suppliers Honda. The team gave it’s new contender, the RB15 it’s first run at the Silverstone International Circuit like it’s close rivals Mercedes.

 

Once again running a special one-off livery before it returns to it’s original colours for the season, the Honda-powered RB15 was driven by Max Verstappen (while team-mate Pierre Gasly was watching in attendance), completing 38 laps and performing system and battery checks ahead of next week’s opening pre-season test at the Circuit De Barcelona-Catalunya.

 

After jumping out of the car, Verstappen was delighted with the days running.

 

 

“I was really excited to jump in the car and as soon as we got going it felt pretty normal. It felt good and we had no problems, so very happy with that,” explained Verstappen. “Also, the livery is very beautiful, even though it’s only for today,”

 

“Of course today is a filming day, so there’s a limited amount you can get out of it, but it’s really important to have a day like this, before you go to the official tests,” the Dutchman added. “You get a first impression and you see if there any little issues with the car or engine. Luckily we didn’t have any and it’s very positive that we had this opportunity,”

 

“Now we can go testing properly, we’ll see what we can get out of that and we’ll be able to understand the car and the engine a bit better. But so far, so good.” Verstappen concluded.

 

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner was happy giving the RB15 it’s first shakedown ahead of the upcoming test.

 

“It’s always great to see a new car take its first run,” Horner explained. “RB15 is our first car with a Honda power unit and it looks resplendent in its one-off livery here at Silverstone,”

 

“Of course today is all about filming, but it’s also a really valuable opportunity to check that all the systems work and that the car is fundamentally in good shape before we head to Barcelona next week where hopefully it will be a bit warmer! Now we’ve got eight days’ of testing ahead and it’s important that we maximise track time and get as much out of that process as possible prior to the first race of the new season in Melbourne.” Horner said.

 

The Milton Keynes based-outfit, winners of both Drivers and Constructors Championship titles between 2010-13, claimed four victories last season, their best campaign since the 1.6L V6 turbocharged hybrid era began in 2014.

 

On some weekends, they were the best in the field, but were unable to consistently fight for top honours and had to settle for a distant third in the Constructors Championship.

 

After an up and down relationship with power-unit suppliers Renault, that gave Red Bull success at the start but reliability issues, which caused it’s split, the Milton Keynes-squad opted for a new future with Honda, despite the Japanese engine supplier being fourth and last in the order.

 

Red Bull saw the progress Honda were making with junior outfit Toro Rosso, and were convinced that they would make the gains needed to push on to make them title contenders once more and take the fight to both Mercedes and Ferrari.

 

We’ll get to see whether Red Bull and Honda’s plans come to fruition when F1 pre-season testing gets underway Monday February 18 in Barcelona.

 

Racing Point release their 2019 challenger

 

 

Formula One’s “newest team” SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team released their new contender, the Mercedes-powered RP19, at the Canadian International Autoshow in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in-front of 200 media, special fans and guests.

 

The team formerly known as Force India, but reborn as Racing Point F1, showed off a distinctive evolution of it’s major sponsor BWT’s pink livery adding the blue from it’s newly announced title sponsor, SportPesa, a global technology and entertainment company.

 

A new ‘point’ logo in pink, blue and magenta was also introduced alongside the team’s new name SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team.

 

 

Lance Stroll, joins the Silverstone-squad now owned by his father Lawrence, after spending two seasons with Williams, and partners Mexican Sergio Perez who will begin his sixth season with the outfit.

 

“I’m really excited to stay with this team as we begin the new era,” explained Perez. “We have stability and strong leadership at the top, which is important because it means I can simply focus on the driving and performance. I want us to be the best of the rest once again. I believe in this team and I think we can achieve great things together.”

 

Stroll echoed his new team-mates’ comments and is looking forward to hitting the ground running with his new team.

 

 

“I can see how much potential we have in this team and there’s an incredible buzz in the factory and so much enthusiasm,” said Stroll. “I always aim high so I want us to be competitive right from the start,”

 

“It’s way too early to know how we compare to the other teams, but right here today I believe we should be fighting for points in every race. My goal is to get back on the podium in 2019 as well. I’ve seen what this team achieved in the past and it’s a real credit to the people involved. I’m looking forward to making our own history.” Stroll concluded.

 

Racing Point Team Principal and CEO Otmar Szafnauer spoke of his aims that he hopes to achieve in this 2019 campaign.

 

“After months of hard work behind-the-scenes it’s incredibly exciting to come to Canada and present our new identity,” Szafnauer explained. “The long-term aim is to take this team to the very top of the sport,”

 

“We are putting the building blocks in place and it’s important we take a good step forward in 2019 as we begin this new era. We want to be fighting for podiums on merit and aiming for a strong top four finish in the championship.” Szafnauer concluded.