Bold new Mercedes W15 hits the track for the first time

Mercedes' all-new W15 Formula 1 car has hit the track for the first time, with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell on shakedown duties at Silverstone.

Featuring a new chassis and gearbox casing, Mercedes hopes that the W15 will be the car to return it to race-winning and championship-challenging ways after two poor seasons in the ground effects era.

The car has been fully designed by Technical Director James Allison who returned to the role last spring and could not have much influence over the troubled W14, which was the first Mercedes since the W02 of 2011 not to win a Grand Prix.

12 months ago, during the first shakedown of the W14, Hamilton would later report that the team had not listened to him with regards to the zero sidepod design and that he knew immediately the team was in for a tough campaign.

In a slight tweak to the black livery that returned for 2023, the W15 also features traditional Mercedes silver to mark Mercedes' 90th anniversary.

Mercedes joins Haas, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Red Bull, RB, and Stake F1 in carrying out their shakedowns before pre-season testing begins on February 21st, with McLaren also putting the MCL38 through its first paces at Silverstone on Wednesday.

Only Alpine and Williams are yet to do so, but will before pre-season kicks off in Bahrain.

Check out the new Mercedes hitting the track for the first time below!

NOTE: The article will be updated throughout the afternoon with more videos and pictures.