Mercedes drivers unveil their new look ahead of F1 season opener

Lewis Hamilton will start the defence of his F1 world championship this weekend when the 2020 season finally gets underway in Austria.

The teams were ready and just two hours away from getting the first free practice session underway in Melbourne in March before teams followed McLaren’s lead to withdraw, cancelling the event at the 11th hour.

But with back-to-back races at the Red Bull Ring, Mercedes and their competitors will be in for a hectic schedule in the next few weeks to make up for lost time.

Racing with a new black livery and with black overalls to support diversity in F1, Hamilton and team-mate Valtteri Bottas will be aiming to put an end to a two-race winning streak for Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen in the Austrian hills. Since the return of the circuit to the F1 calendar in 2014, Mercedes have won four of the six races but Hamilton has won just once, coming in 2016, while Bottas claimed the win a year later.

Mercedes looked in supreme form during pre-season testing in Barcelona in February and were heading into the new campaign as favourites to win a seventh consecutive constructor's championship, with Hamilton aiming for a record-equalling seventh driver's title too.

Bottas meanwhile needs a strong season. After finishing as runner-up to Hamilton in 2019, the Finn's future has been subject to speculation, with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, a four-time champion, available for the 2021 season as well as the growing reputation of Williams ace George Russell, who is a part of the Mercedes driver academy.

The first free practice session for the Austrian Grand Prix gets underway on Friday at 10am.