Nico Rosberg took the new W04 Mercedes for a spin during a filming day in Jerez, followed by the official car launch in the afternoon. Hamilton later completed a shakedown as well.
The car was first seen as Nico Rosberg was driving on the circuit with new team-mate Lewis Hamilton taking photographs trackside as Mercedes announced a new partnership with BlackBerry. Following the morning's filming the car was officially launched by both drivers on the start/finish straight.
The new car makes use of the vanity panel to cover the stepped nose, while the team has also reverted back to Coanda-effect exhausts having ditched the system at the end of the 2012 season.
Having watched Rosberg behind the wheel all morning, Hamilton said he was looking forward to his turn driving the car in the afternoon.
"I am [excited] I could barely sleep last night!" Hamilton said. "It's quite an exciting day for us - the launch of a new car - and to be team-mates with Nico; we were just saying how crazy it is because we used to be team-mates back in 2000 when we were go-karting so it's a dream for me to be back here as his team-mate.
"It looks beautiful. It's a lovely car, I'm just excited to get in it ... I'm just really excited to get in and see what it feels like."
Toro Rosso has revealed their challenger for the 2013 Formula One season. The STR8, the team’s eighth creation, will be driven by Daniel Ricciardo and Jean Eric Vergne. Toro Rosso slipped to ninth in the championship in 2012 and recruited technical director James Key.
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