Mercedes technical director James Allison estimates the sidepod changes between Mercedes' 2017 and 2018 cars is worth around a quarter of a second.The W09 – the first car Allison has been heavily involved in after joining Mercedes earlier last year – features tighter aerodynamic packaging around the sidepod to the...

For the fourth consecutive year, Mercedes was both the Formula 1 world champion constructor and provider of the car of the world champion driver, in this case Lewis Hamilton.But 2017 was different. Sure, the ultimate outcome was the same, but Mercedes won only through the dogged efforts of a tough,...

Toto Wolff says Mercedes has been focusing on retaining some of the aspects of last year's "diva" when developing its 2018 car.Under new aerodynamic regulations last year, Mercedes produced a quick but unstable car that was not easy to get performance out of on certain circuits. With Wolff having labeled...

When people look back at the 2017 Formula 1 season in years to come, they'll see a campaign that was wrapped up long before the final round, that delivered a fourth consecutive championship double for Mercedes, and that appears on paper to be so similar to what had gone before.That...

It's a fickle thing, this motorsports game. When we started planning our Formula 1 content for this issue of RACER, Sebastian Vettel was leading the points for Ferrari, Max Verstappen was the unluckiest man in racing, and a warring Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon looked odds-on for pink slips from...

Mercedes' performance during pre-season testing in Spain means the team is cautious ahead of this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix, according to Toto Wolff.With the two pre-season tests taking place at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya – the same venue as the race on Sunday – Ferrari topped the times as Mercedes...

Valtteri Bottas believes he is already "pretty close" to Lewis Hamilton's level after getting more comfortable with the new Mercedes during pre-season testing.Following Nico Rosberg's shock retirement at the end of 2016, Bottas was named as the world champion's replacement in mid-January. Joining Hamilton at Mercedes, Bottas admits it took...

The way to make headlines during pre-season testing is by hiding things. Sometimes the car's pace, sometimes the car itself.The latter has been a sure-fire winner for McLaren during the final week in Barcelona, as problems with the Honda power unit resulted in very little running throughout pre-season. With each...

Mercedes has set itself "aggressive targets" for the performance of its 2017 car and power unit, according to Toto Wolff.Following three years of dominance since the introduction of the turbocharged V6 power units, Mercedes acknowledges new aerodynamic regulations could leave its position under threat. Wolff says he is eager to...