By Steve Aibel, Senior F1 Writer
Mercedes and McLaren have debuted their 2016 challengers one day ahead of the first testing session scheduled to start tomorrow in Barcelona.
McLaren, along with Honda, have worked tirelessly throughout the off season to move the McLaren entry up the order.
2016 McLaren Honda MP4-31
Erik Boullier, Racing Director, stated that “the two Barcelona tests will merely herald the continuation of the huge collaborative task that all departments have been engaged in during the off-season. We’ll be aiming to spend the four days of the first test carefully and methodically: extracting the maximum from the time available, and concentrating our efforts on proving out our central systems, operational procedures and electronics checks. We’ll need to verify our work in the garage before we can expect any miracles on track – essentially, to ensure we walk before we can run. After all, testing is just that: testing. But be assured, we’re motivated and determined, and we’re pulling together.”
Mercedes AMG Petronas have also debuted their new challenger, the F1 W07 Hybrid. Improving on an already dominant car is tough, but Mercedes aim was to complete “minor revolutions” that make up the overall evolution of the Mercedes entry.
Mercedes F1 W07 Hybrid
Mercedes staged a promotional event at Silverstone on Friday getting the 2016 spec on track before any of their rivals and before testing begins tomorrow. The season is truly here, with Ferrari, Williams, Mercedes, McLaren and Haas already revealing their cars. Expect to finally see the rest of the field tomorrow morning at a chilly track in Barcelona, ready for the most hotly anticipated test of the motrosport year!
Images: Mercedes and McLaren
