First Mercedes insights: Russell and Antonelli react to W17 Silverstone shakedown

George Russell gave a nod to Mercedes’ power unit after laying down the laps at Silverstone for a shakedown of the team’s all-new W17.

Mercedes held a filming day at the Silverstone circuit on Thursday to put the first miles with the new W17 machine ahead of next week’s behind-closed-doors test in Spain.

George Russell can’t wait to go ‘full gas’

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Mercedes revealed its W17 to the world on Thursday in a series of renders on social media becoming the latest of the F1 teams to shake down its new 2026 car.

The W17 was in action on a cold and wet day at the Silverstone circuit where both Russell and Antonelli laid down the laps.

Kimi and the Boss getting a good look at W17 👀 pic.twitter.com/dcFlCQa2OX

— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) January 22, 2026

The team shared a series of short videos on social media as the W17 roared out of the garage before covering a total of 67 laps between the two teammates as Mercedes was limited to 200 kilometres of running in its first of two allowed filming days with its 2026 car.

Mercedes’ head of trackside engineering, Andrew Shovlin, called it a “sensible first day of running” with the focus on “ensuring everything operates safely and reliably.”

He added: “We were able to get through our allotted mileage, with both George and Kimi getting to experience the 2026 car on track for the first time.”

In a separate clip Russell, tipped by many pundits to be amongst the favourites for this year’s title amidst reports Mercedes may have gained a march on its rivals, gave a nod to the Mercedes power unit.

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“It’s mega to see the new car, new engine on track,” he said on Mercedes’ social media feed. “It sounds amazing. It really sounds different to what I was expecting.

“It’s a really special day, getting to drive it for the first time, because this engine and power unit has been years in the works.

“The car has been over the last year, I’ve been working so hard, bringing it to life, and being at the factory the last few days, seeing everybody actually building it, the last final touches coming together, and then finally getting the chance to drive today is always a really nice time of year.

“So yeah, great to be out. Great to see it on the track, and can’t wait to drive it full gas.”

For his teammate Antonelli, it was his second first day in a new Formula 1 car and the Italian relished the moment.

“First day in the new car, super big day for the team, for everyone involved in the project,” he said. “And I have to say it was a good day. I’m super happy.

“And, you know, a massive thanks to all the people back in Brackley and Brixworth because they’ve done an incredible job on putting the car together and allowing us to do some laps today.

“So yeah, this just the beginning and really looking forward to the next few tests that we’ll have. And then, of course, to the start of the season.”

According to reports, Mercedes and Red Bull Ford may have a loophole in the wording of the engine regulations relating to compression ratios.

That is set at 16:1 but is measured at ambient temperatures. The compression ratio is not measured again during competition.

They have reportedly found a way to increase the ratio when the engine is running in competition, and a higher compression means more power and improved fuel efficiency. It’s being said that could be an increase of four-tenths per lap.

The W17 will be on the track again next week for the behind-closed-doors Barcelona outing where the teams will be restricted to a maximum of three days of running during the five-day test across January 26-30.

A further two pre-season tests will be held in Bahrain on February 11-13 and 18-20 before the F1 2026 season begins with the Australian Grand Prix on March 8.

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