Mercedes announces W17 livery reveal date and 2026 F1 season launch event

Mercedes has confirmed the launch date for its 2026 Formula 1 challenger, the W17. The Brackley outfit is set to unveil the W17 on 22 January 2026 before private testing takes place from 26 to 30 January. 

The team will release renders of the livery on 22 January before a season launch event on 2 February, which will be available to stream live online. Drivers George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli will be present at the 2 February launch event along with team boss Toto Wolff.

After finishing second in the 2025 constructors' championship and dominating the 2014-21 hybrid era, expectations are high for Mercedes in 2026. The upcoming season welcomes a new wave of regulations, which will include a hybrid powertrain with a 50/50 split between engine and electric power. 

While Wolff hopes to replicate the success seen in the previous hybrid era, he downplayed the hype from fans. "Well, I would very much hope so. But I'm a notorious pessimist, and the glass is always half empty rather than half full," the Mercedes team chief explained during a Mercedes debrief video after the 2025 season.

"And we've set ourselves targets on the power unit and the same on the chassis. Whether those targets were ambitious enough, whether we have missed the trick... whether our execution is going to be as faultless as it should be? I don't know.

"We're going to see some glimpses of performance balance in testing late in January and then in Bahrain. But I think the name of the game is going to be the constant development of the tools throughout the season."

The 2026 season will kick off on 6-8 March with the Australian Grand Prix after testing on 11-13 and 18-20 February.