Lewis Hamilton feels Formula 1’s become “outdated”

But Mercedes confirmed to Press Association Sport on Wednesday that Hamilton will have the same crew for the season which gets under way in Melbourne on March 26.

Three-time champion Hamilton gave the auto a spin amid blustery conditions at Silverstone, 80 miles (129 kilometres) northwest of London, before posing for pictures alongside Bottas.

Asked if he is happy to have Hakkinen in his corner, Bottas said: “Mika’s experience will definitely be useful to me”.

Valtteri Bottas followed in the afternoon but his new team-mate Hamilton admitted that the weather meant it wasn’t easy for him to judge where the team are.

Powering the W08 is the new M08 engine, that has been redesigned for 2017. Despite a significant shake up of the technical regulations to try and even up the field, the Silver Arrows look to maintain their momentum in the New Year with the team’s W08 entry for 2017. Teams are only allowed to carry out 65 runs per week in the wind tunnel.

It features an elegant design, in contrast to some rivals, and a notably narrow rear.

EQ – electric intelligence – is the electric mobility brand the German manufacturer debuted at the 2016 Paris Motor Show.

The new regulations are created to increase the downforce and cornering speed of cars. “It’s up to us to make the most out of the time together”. “Formula 1 is really catching up and they have a lot of catching up to do”, Motorsport weekly quoted Hamilton as saying. Then I’ve visited the factory and that has been super encouraging to see the way in which everybody is working.

“They’re both very good lads and I think hopefully we won’t get into the kind of difficulties the team faced when Sebastian and Mark started falling out”.

“But if I thought that I couldn’t compare or be quicker than Lewis, I would rather stay at home”.

Valtteri Bottas is relishing the chance to prove his long-term title-chasing credentials at Mercedes, as he settles into life at the Formula One world champions.

“This is not a test, really the laps I did today were behind a vehicle to get filming in and just a shakedown”.