Filming day Mercedes, Shovlin satisfied: “Completed the expected mileage”

67 laps at Silverstone, but there’s a ‘trick’ The 2026 season for Mercedes seems to be starting under the best auspices, which is indicated by many as the favorite to win the title following this year’s technical revolution. It is still very early to make these arguments, but what is certain is that the first day of life of the new W17 went as expected; this is no small thing when dealing with such huge upheavals from a technical point of view. Today on the home track of Silverstone George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli ‘christened’ the new single-seater in a 200 km filming day. The pair of Mercedes standard bearers completed a total of 67 laps of the historic English track, however lapping on the International layout, which measures 2.979 km and has only 10 curves inside. At the end of the working day, Andrew Shovlin, Mercedes’ on-track technical director, commented on the very first sensations in this phase of weaning the single-seater. Shovlin’s words: “We had a sensible first day of testing with the W17 at Silverstone,” said Shovlin. “As with every shakedown, the aim is to ensure everything runs safely and reliably. We managed to complete the planned mileage, with George and Kimi able to test the 2026 car on track for the first time. This is the result of everyone’s hard work at Brackley and Brixworth. Our attention now shifts to Barcelona, where We will try to improve today’s performance and deepen our knowledge of the W17.”