Nico Rosberg And Lewis Hamilton Take Mercedes’ 2015 F1 Car W 106 Hybrid Car For A Test Drive

Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg — Mercedes Formula One World Champion Lewis Hamilton of Britain (L) speaks to Mercedes Formula One driver Nico Rosberg of Germany during the annual 'Stars & Cars' event in Stuttgart November 29, 2014. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle REUTERS/Michaela Rehle

Mercedes teammates Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton had a first taste of the of the new Formula One, or F1, car that they will be driving in the upcoming season. Both drivers have completed their test drive of the W 106 Hybrid car during a promotional event at Silverstone.

Rosberg shared a first glimpse of his new silver arrow on his official YouTube channel on Jan. 29. He also posted a series of snaps of the car on Twitter. “Was so great to drive the new silver arrow for the first time today #cantwait4Jerez @MercedesAMGF1 #silverstone,” Rosberg tweeted.

According to an article posted on Mercedes’ Web site, Rosberg was the first to test the W 106 Hybrid car. Then, Hamilton took the over the wheel. Both drivers reportedly completed 18 laps around the Northamptonshire circuit before a snowstorm brought the event to close early.

The W 106 Hybrid car will make its public track debut in the pre-season test in Jerez circuit from Feb. 1 to 4. The season starts in Australia on March 15.

During the 2014 season, Mercedes took 16 grands prix (Australia, Malaysia, Bahrain, China, Spain, Monaco, Austria, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Singapore, Japan, Russia, U.S., Brazil, and Abu Dhabi), with Rosberg winning five and Hamilton taking 11. It is expected that Mercedes will dominate the F1 2015 season after its fruitful campaign last year.

Meanwhile, Niki Lauda, who assumed the role of non-executive chairman of Mercedes in 2012, told Autosport that Red Bull poses a threat to the team and. Red Bull, which claimed three titles last season in Canada, Hungary, and Belgium, ended the season at the second place, with 296 points behind Mercedes. Red Bull’s engine maker Renault is expected to close the gap against the reigning champion.

However, Lauda expects that Mercedes’ rival engine manufacturers Ferrari and McLaren-Honda will work hard to also try to narrow the performance gap.

“Mercedes AMG is of course in an excellent position, but we want to improve everything, and so do the others," Lauda said. “I would suggest you can only judge the quality of the field after the first three races.”