Michael Schumacher puts the new Mercedes W03 through its paces at the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain. Getty photo
Mercedes AMG F1 became the last of the top four team to officially unveil its 2012 Formula One car when it gave its new W03 its official track debut at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona on Tuesday.
The new W03 was officially unveiled after candid shots of the car conducting a
private test at Silverstone were published on motorsports webiste
www.autosport.com last week. Michael Schumacher gave the car its first run at the Circuit de Catalunya as he tested the car along with the rest of the F1 field.
The car features a drastic stepped nose section in order to comply with the new safety regulations drafted for the 2012 world championship season. The car was rumored to have an 'f-duct' style front wing that would stall at high speeds to reduce drag but Mercedes' motorsports boss Norbert Haug denied that the car had any radical features that caused the team to delay its launch after using their 2011 car in Jerez.
Mercedes will now have just the final two tests at the Circuit de Catalunya (February 21-24 and March 1-4) to prepare the new car for the season opening race in Melbourne on March 18.