Mercedes W09 takes to the track with Valtteri Bottas!

Mercedes has yet to officially unveil its new W09 charger, but before the formal presentations begin Valtteri Bottas took to the track at Silverstone for a shakedown run.

Visible details are scarce for now but one notes the half-developed fin on the Merc's engine cover, a design a bit more prominent than what we've seen up to now from Williams, Haas or Renault.

At first glance, the W09 looks like a straightforward evolution of its predecessor, the championship-winning W08, an impression confirmed by team boss Toto Wolff.

• Bottas unaffected by Halo in race simulation test

"We've tried to stay true to our design philosophy and develop an already solid base," said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.

"We hope we have kept the good character traits of the diva," he said.

"We all like divas, but sometimes she was a bit difficult to understand and this is the area where we worked the most, trying to understand and preserve the speed in the car and find more driveability.

"Because the regulations have stayed stable, there is not a lot of difference. The most visible change is aerodynamic and how tight the packaging is of the car and how closed up the bodywork is."

Earlier this year, Wolff expressed his negative view on the aesthetics of the mandatory Halo cockpit safety device. He hasn't changed his mind since but does hope the protective element will evolve.

"I'm not impressed with the whole thing and if you give me a chainsaw I would take it off!' joked the Austrian.

"We need to look after driver safety but what we have implemented is aesthetically not appealing. We need to tackle that and come up with something that looks better." 

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