Mercedes reveals W07 with first studio images

©MercedesAMGPetronas

Mercedes has released the first images of its 2016 car - the W07 - 24 hours before the start of pre-season testing.

The team has been teasing aspects of the new car throughout the last week, with the exhaust configuration displayed during a video of the fire-up before releasing video of the car on track during a filming day at Silverstone on Friday.

Following drawings of the new car on the team's social media channels, Mercedes has now released the first studio shots of the W07, which features a large air intake above the driver's head.

Executive director (Technical) Paddy Lowe says he is confident Mercedes can make another clear step forward despite stability in the regulations.

"It's very tough to find performance under a stable set of regulations and we were particularly pleased with how the car turned out in 2015 when we had the same situation," Lowe said. "The team did a fantastic job - digging very deep to find all sorts of innovations in areas that might have been considered static.

"2016 is another carry-over year from a regulatory point of view and potential gains inevitably become harder to find under these circumstances. This is what tests an engineering team the most and I must say that this team has been very good at that. It's far easier to find performance when you have a new set of rules, that's for sure."

FEATURE: The delicate balance between F1 engine and chassis

GALLERY: Ferrari's new SF16-H

Check out Red Bull Racing's 2016 livery

Key dates for the 2016 F1 season

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter