Mercedes F1 W07 Hybrid

Mercedes F1 W07 Hybrid is a Formula One racing car designed by Mercedes-Benz to compete during the 2016 Formula One season. The cars are driven by 2008, 2014 and 2015 World Drivers' Champion Lewis Hamilton, andNico Rosberg, who remained with the team for a fourth and a seventh season, respectively.

Design and development
The F1 W07 Hybrid is the successor to the highly successful F1 W06 Hybrid, which has been described as one of the most dominant cars in the sport's history. Mercedes declared that the new car designed in Brackley, with the engine from Brixworth, featured "mini revolutions" over its predecessor.

In-season development
The team went on improving the F1 W07 Hybrid over the course of the season. Several improvements were made during the Canadian Grand Prix, "L-shaped turning vanes" were introduced under the chassis and beside the bargeboards, front wing fins were added to better direct airflow on the outside of the car’s front wheels.

Launch, pre-season and in-season testings
The Mercedes F1 W07 Hybrid was unofficially launched at the Silverstone Circuit with Rosberg and Hamilton completing an inaugural shakedown during a promotional event on 19 February 2016.[11] The car was driven a total of 98.2 km. The F1 W07 Hybrid was officially launched online on 21 February 2016, one day before the 2016 inaugural pre-season testing. The F1 W07 Hybrid took part the pre-season testing at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on February 22–25 and March 1–4. During the eight testing days, the car completed 1294 laps; a total of 6,024 km (3,743.1 mi), equivalent to over 19 race distances. The car was also driven by 2015 GP3 Series championEsteban Ocon and Manor Racing's regular driver Pascal Wehrlein during in-season testings.

Competitiveness and performance
After eleven races, the F1 W07 Hybrid has taken ten wins (five for Hamilton and five for Rosberg), eleven pole positions (six for Hamilton and five for Rosberg), seven fastest laps (two for Hamilton and five for Rosberg), six front row lockouts and three 1–2 finishes, earning 378 constructors' points.

Season summary
Hamilton took pole position for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, ahead of team-mate Rosberg, in the first use of a new qualifying format. During the race, both Mercedes cars suffered poor starts compared to the Ferraris of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen. A violent accident resulting from a collision between Fernando Alonso and Esteban Gutiérrez on lap 19 caused a red flag. Mercedes took the opportunity to use a tyre strategy which relegated Vettel to third place, completing a 1–2 finish. Hamilton took pole position again at the Bahrain Grand Prix, ahead of Rosberg. Rosberg had a better start in the race than Hamilton and passed him into the lead, whilst Hamilton had contact with Williams' Valtteri Bottas at turn one, dropping to ninth on the opening lap. Rosberg went on to win the race, while Hamilton fought his way back to secure third.[18] Rosberg took his first pole position in the Chinese Grand Prix. Hamilton had suffered reliability issues with the Motor Generator Unit–Heat (MGU-H), making him unable to set a lap time in qualifying. Rosberg took his third consecutive win in 2016 ahead of Sebastian Vettel, with team-mate Hamilton fighting his way back from 22nd to seventh.

Rosberg claimed his first career Grand Slam (pole position, fastest lap, led every lap and win during the same race), at the Russian Grand Prix, while Hamilton again suffered reliability issues during qualifying, fighting back from 10th to secure a 1–2 finish for the team during the race. Hamilton and Rosberg locked out the front row once again at the Spanish Grand Prix, with Hamilton taking his third pole of the season. At the first lap of the race, Rosberg had a slightly better start and overtook Hamilton on the outside of Turn 1. On the run down to Turn 4, Rosberg realized he was on the wrong engine mode which caused him to slow down and he quickly corrected it, Hamilton, at the same time, seeing a gap, rapidly closed on Rosberg and made an overtaking maneuver. Rosberg immediately closed the gap but it was too late, Hamilton was pushed into the grass, spun at high speed and collided with Rosberg sending both of them into the gravel trap leading to Mercedes' first double retirement since the 2011 Australian Grand Prix, thus ending any hope of a perfect season. Mercedes lost out pole position at Monaco Grand Prixdue to technical gremlins affecting both drivers. Changeable condition from wet to dry saw Hamilton take his maiden win in 2016 by beating Daniel Ricciardo, while Rosberg struggled from start to finish due to suspected glazed brakes, finishing in 7th. At the Canadian Grand Prix, Hamilton took pole position by 61 hundredths of a second with Rosberg on the front row. During the race, Hamilton held off Vettel to claim his fifth win in Canada. Rosberg was only able to manage 5th after first-corner contact with team-mate and a late-race puncture. Having completed one-third of the season, Mercedes had a 76-point lead over Ferrari.

Coming to the newly revived European Grand Prix held at Baku City Circuit, Rosberg took his second career Grand Slam while Hamilton qualified tenth due to an error during qualifying, finishing the race in fifth with an incorrect pre-set hybrid deployment mode costing him time. At the ninth round of the season – Austrian Grand Prix, Hamilton took his 10th career hat-trick in dramatic fashion as Rosberg failed to leave 'racing room' for Hamilton, resulting contact was made between the team-mates on the final lap, limping home for fourth with a seriously damaged car. Following the collision between the team-mates on the last lap of the Austrian Grand Prix, Mercedes introduced a new driver management policy – "Rules of Engagement", dictating the terms by which Hamilton and Rosberg could race one another and promising penalties in the event of on-track altercations. Hamilton won his third consecutive British Grand Prix from pole position, a record atSilverstone Circuit, while Rosberg holding second, suffered critical gearbox problem during mid-race. Mercedes instructed him to reset the gearbox and to avoid using seventh gear or else risk a catastrophic failure, which prompted an investigation by the stewards for providing him with assistance. Rosberg was ultimately penalised for the radio call, having ten seconds added to his race time, which demoted him to third behind Max Verstappen.

Complete Formula One results
(key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap) * Season still in progress