Source: REUTERS/HAMAD I MOHAMMED
[Saba Sports News] The Mercedes F1 team has decided to break tradition by not unveiling the 2025 F1 car at the Silverstone circuit in the UK. It is reported that the brand new W16 car will make its debut on February 25 at a filming day at the Bahrain International Circuit and will be driven by George Russell and rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli for pre-season testing at the same circuit from February 26 to 28. According to FIA rules, each team can run 200 kilometers during the testing period, which means Russell and Antonelli can share 36 laps of the Sakhir circuit. Previously, the Mercedes team typically launched new cars at Silverstone since 2017, with the exception of the 2021 W12 car. In this regard, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff jokingly said that it always rains at Silverstone, so they didn’t want to stand in the cold rain waiting again. They will conduct filming on the Tuesday before testing in Bahrain, which may yield more representative photos than at Silverstone.