Mercedes Formula 1 team will host an online launch event for its 2026 W17 car on February 2, featuring drivers George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli alongside team principal Toto Wolff. The event includes technical discussions on new regulations and sustainable fuels. The team recently completed private testing in Barcelona.
Mercedes unveiled the livery for its 2026 W17 Formula 1 car on social media on January 22, building anticipation for the full launch. The official event is scheduled for Monday, February 2, at 11:30 GMT (12:30 CET, 03:30 PST, 06:30 EST, 20:30 JST, 19:30 CST in China). Fans can watch the live stream on the team's official website, with additional behind-the-scenes content shared via social media channels.
The launch will feature Mercedes' drivers George Russell and rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli, joined by CEO and team principal Toto Wolff. A panel discussion will include the drivers, Wolff, and reserve driver Fred Vesti. Senior technical leaders will explain the 2026 regulation changes, while a session with title partner PETRONAS will delve into sustainable fuels.
This comes after Mercedes wrapped up three days of private testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on January 29. Trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin praised the week's progress: "From a reliability perspective, it’s been a good week for us. The car has enabled us to run the programme exactly as we wanted each of the three days and that’s what we hoped for coming here to Barcelona."
Shovlin added that the team addressed early challenges and plans setup exploration in Bahrain's warmer conditions to better assess the car's performance ahead of the 2026 season. The testing focused on reliability in cold weather, validating the hard work at Brackley and Brixworth facilities.
