Hamilton gets to grips with Mercedes latest F1 offering - News

Lewis Hamilton has been given the first taste of the Mercedes he hopes will fire him to a fourth Formula 1 World Championship.

The 32-year-old Briton and his new team-mate Valtteri Bottas lifted the wraps off their 2017 car at Silverstone on Thursday.

And Hamilton, who missed out on the championship to Nico Rosberg by five points last season, was the first to put the car through its paces at the blustery Northamptonshire circuit.

"It felt incredible," said Hamilton who completed his running on wet tyres. "Yesterday was the first time seeing the car come together, it's the most detailed piece of machinery I've seen so far in Formula One."

The colour scheme of the new Mercedes is similar to that of previous seasons, but the car is noticeably lower, wider and heavier to reflect the radical overhaul of the sport's technical rulebook over the winter.

Hamilton has been joined at Mercedes by Bottas - formerly of Williams - this season following Rosberg's decision to retire from the sport just five days after winning the title.

The team, which is based just down the road from Silverstone in Brackley, is hoping to continue its dominant reign in the sport which has seen them win 51 of the last 59 races en route to claiming the three consecutive driver and team titles.

Hamilton will next take to his car at the opening of two pre-season Formula 1 tests in Barcelona next week.

The season starts in Melbourne on March 26.