Mercedes 2026 F1 car launch: W17 livery reveal set for Thursday

Mercedes has promised a first glimpse of its 2026 Formula 1 car, the W17, on Thursday, marking the start of a season in which the team aims to return to championship glory.

Digital images will reveal its 2026 livery, but we’re unlikely to see much detail of the car underneath until a second launch event at the beginning of next month.

There’s even more secrecy than usual this season, as a new set of rules have forced each team to design their cars from scratch, and none want to show any innovative aerodynamic details before they have to.

The 2025 season was another reminder of how far Mercedes has drifted from the standards it set during its era of dominance.

There were flashes of competitiveness and occasional victories, but not the sustained form required to mount a credible title challenge.

2026, however, represents something altogether different.

The incoming technical regulations represent the biggest reset in a generation, reshaping chassis concepts and power unit philosophies in a way that recalls 2014’s hybrid revolution.

Back in 2014, Mercedes arrived better prepared than anyone else and dominated for nearly a decade.

The ambition now is not to replicate that dominance overnight, but to ensure the team is once again positioned to lead rather than chase when the rules are rewritten.

George Russell stands at the centre of that ambition. Having established himself as Mercedes’ de facto lead driver over the past seasons, he enters this phase of the project with clear aspirations of fighting for a title if the machinery allows it.

Russell has already shown he can win races and carry the technical direction of the team; the next step is converting that responsibility into a sustained championship bid as the competitive landscape reshuffles.

Alongside him, Kimi Antonelli‘s second year in Formula 1 adds another layer of intrigue.

After a rookie season spent learning under intense scrutiny, Antonelli now faces the more demanding task of turning promise into performance. His development will be crucial not only to Mercedes’ short-term results, but also to the team’s long-term trajectory.

Mercedes 2026 F1 car livery reveal: live stream

While Mercedes will initially only unveil renders of its 2026 car, the German squad will also hold an official season launch on 2 February, available for fans and media to watch online. Full details of that are yet to be revealed.

Mercedes 2026 shakedown and testing schedule

Mercedes has yet to confirm whether it will run its new car in a shakedown or filming day ahead of pre-season testing, although it is likely it will carry out its usual Silverstone run.

The team is permitted two demonstration runs per year with a current car, limited to 15km, as well as up to two filming days allowing 200km of running apiece.

Mercedes will  join the rest of the grid at the opening test in Barcelona, which will run behind closed doors from January 26-30.

After that, Mercedes will officially launch its 2026 car in another event on 2 February.

Mercedes’ 2026 car

Mercedes enters the new regulatory era seeking to reclaim the dominance that defined its hybrid era supremacy, but now operating within a vastly altered competitive landscape.

The Brackley-based operation remains under the technical leadership of James Allison, with its engineering infrastructure largely unchanged and its status as a works manufacturer team giving it a potential advantage as Formula 1 pivots to new power unit regulations.

The team will continue with its own in-house developed engine programme, its power unit already rumoured to be the class of the field even before the cars hit the track.

The W17 represents Mercedes’ first full clean-sheet design under the radically overhauled technical regulations, with the team having committed significant resources to the 2026 project earlier than most rivals.

Mercedes 2026 F1 driver line-up