Live: Mercedes F1 W13 car launch day updates

The reigning F1 world constructors' champions will become the eighth team to unveil its 2022 car while also presenting George Russell as one of its race drivers for the first time having selected the British driver to replace Valtteri Bottas.

It will also be the first F1 appearance of 2022 for Lewis Hamilton and his first time facing the media since his controversial world title defeat to Max Verstappen on the last lap of the season finale in Abu Dhabi in December. The seven-time world champion was reportedly left disillusioned by the nature of his defeat, but will continue to race in F1 this year to fight for a record-breaking eighth world title.

Hamilton and Russell will get their first chance to drive the Mercedes W13 car in a shakedown taking place at Silverstone following the initial launch of the car.

The live stream of the Mercedes W13 presentation will begin at 9am GMT on Friday which can be rewatched here.

By: Haydn Cobb

Summary

Status: Stopped

15:35 We'll wrap up this coverage of the Mercedes F1 launch for today after a very intriguing morning. Thanks for following along with us and don't forget that the first pre-season test starts next Wednesday.

Autosport will provide full and uninterrupted live coverage of the Barcelona F1 test, so join us bright and early for the opening day. Until then stay safe and have a wonderful day.

15:23

15:16

The intriguing Mercedes discrepancy keeping its F1 rivals guessing

Here's a technical dive into the W13 and what the Mercedes launch revealed (or didn't) about its new F1 car. Read the full story here.

14:53

Mercedes renders and car in launch video are different

Autosport technical editor Jake Boxall-Legge has been busy taking a closer look at the Mercedes W13 and has spotted some unusual discrepancies:

“There's a few little differences between Mercedes' released renders and the car seen in the launch video - most noticeably at the front of the sidepods, where the latter has a concave leading edge to channel airflow out.

“It's very tightly packaged as a whole, contrasting massively with Ferrari's sidepod design from yesterday. Lots of interesting little details too, particularly around the floor.”

Jake Boxall-Legge

14:46

14:13

Here's the latest from Autosport F1 reporter Luke Smith after Toto Wolff's press conference:

"We've just spoken to Toto Wolff, and naturally questions were asked about the FIA changes announced yesterday. He seemed optimistic and said they were necessary steps after some "freestyle" rule implementation. But what was also important was the call to put it in the past and to focus on the future - while Mercedes won't forget what happened in Abu Dhabi, the team is clearly ready to fight back with the W13 car as it begins a new era.

"Wolff said that Hamilton would be in "attack mode" for this season - not the Formula E type, naturally - and noted how well he thrives when facing adversity. He also said there was never any concern from Mercedes that Hamilton might call it quits over the winter as he took time away from F1."

Luke Smith

14:08

Wolff encouraged by "necessary" FIA changes after Abu Dhabi F1 investigation

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says he is optimistic about changes made to the Formula 1 race operations after its Abu Dhabi investigation - here's the full story.

13:43 As mentioned in the Mercedes launch, Russell is set to shakedown the W13 F1 car at Silverstone this morning but with Storm Eunice hitting the UK right now the team will need to be extra cautious with its run plan to avoid a costly prang.

13:37