Lewis Hamilton will take to the wheel of his Mercedes this week with “an open mind” as he plots how to turn the team into winners.
Hamilton, along with team-mate Nico Rosberg, took the wraps off the W04 under the Spanish sunshine at the Circuito de Jerez.
The 28-year-old now faces a journey into the unknown over the next few days as they will determine whether the car has what it takes to challenge Red Bull, Ferrari, and Hamilton’s former team, McLaren.
With just one win over the past three years since Mercedes returned to Formula One, Hamilton’s high-profile capture means the pressure is on both him and the manufacturing giant to at least show significant improvement this season.
Despite undergoing simulator work over the past few days to get a feel for the car, only when Hamilton gets behind the wheel will he get a true understanding.
With Mercedes at Jerez for a filming day in which they are allowed to run for nothing more than 100km ahead of official testing, Hamilton said: “It won’t be until I drive it that I can say how it feels.
“The simulator is one thing, but correlation is always different, so it won’t be until the next couple of days that I get a feel for it and understand in which direction to push the car.
“I’m going in with an open mind, a blank sheet. I really don’t know what to expect,” before adding with a smile: “I just really hope it has lots of downforce.”
The car at least boasts design changes to the front wing and has done away with the stepped nose that was prevalent last year in favour of the ‘vanity panel’ allowed this season to cover the bump.
Assessing the scene, as he and Rosberg smiled for a myriad of camera crews and photographers, Hamilton added: “It’s amazing to see how many cameras are here.
“I don’t remember seeing so many cameras at McLaren when we had our launch, but it’s great to be here. I’d already seen the car in the wind tunnel, so I’m not surprised or anything like that, but it’s beautiful. I love the paint job.
“There are lots of details coming, more upgrades at some point, and now I’m just excited to get back in the car.”
Rosberg, who clinched Mercedes’ only victory to date in China last year, has vowed there are more to come.