The MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team unveiled its 2015 Formula One World Championship challenger, the F1 W06 Hybrid, before the first day of pre-season testing at the Circuito de Jerez in Spain. Drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg revealed the seventh Silver Arrow to compete in the Formula One World Championship to the assembled international media.Nico then took the wheel of the new car for the opening test session of the 2015 season at the Spanish circuit. 2015 marks the beginning of an evolutionary process for the cutting-edge Hybrid racing formula introduced the previous year. However, the word evolution shouldn’t mask the scale of the change this represents. The regulatory requirements and opportunities, coupled with ambitious internal performance targets, mean that the last winter was as challenging as ever. The more stable the rules, the more innovative a team must become to deliver ever-increasing performance from each consecutive generation of racing machines.

"From outside, winter might look like a time of rest in Formula One. But this couldn’t be further from the truth", explains Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport. "Long before the end of last season, development work on our 2015 car became the main priority. The winter months are the most intense, with everybody at Brackley and Brixworth working around the clock to prepare for the season ahead. Their dedication is inspiring. It would be very dangerous to rest on our laurels after 2014 – none of us feels that things will be easier now. Quite on the contrary: Our motivation is as high as ever.There’s a famous Babe Ruth quote I always say to people: "Yesterday's home runs don't win today's games." We are fully aware that success is not only hard-won but can also be short-lived without the right approach."

"A lot of things have been put in place – not by one individual but by many individuals working as a team. And this has been about taking the right decisions at the right time, trying to avoid mistakes and, if they do happen, quickly analysing why. Even if, on paper, things are looking good, we will not fall into the trap of being overly optimistic or trying to make crystal ball predictions. This is not how the sport works . In fact, this is possibly the most brutally honest sport because the stopwatch never lies."

"The launch of a new car is an exciting moment for everybody involved.To see the product of all that hard work turn a wheel for the first time is a great source of pride – and rightly so. However, there is still a long road ahead before we reach the first race. We must build a fast, reliable racing car to be able to compete with rivals whose ability and competitiveness should never be underestimated. At the moment, every team is on zero points. Only one thing is for sure: We have consistency in our driver line-up for the third year running. Both drivers know what’s expected of them, just as we know what they expect from us. We’re looking forward to seeing them push each other and the team forward. There will be another fascinating duel between the two. However, we must wait until Melbourne until we know if we have provided them with a car that allows them to fight each other for wins."

As the age of Hybrid power evolves, so the requirements for improved safety, reliability, efficiency and performance increase.An intensive design phase combining incremental gains and targeted innovation has produced the F1 W06 Hybrid.This car delivers mechanical, structural, aerodynamic and weight-saving improvements over its predecessor, the F1 W05 Hybrid.

"The key factor from our perspective is avoiding complacency", says Executive Director (Technical), Paddy Lowe. "Expectations are high . A lot of assumptions are being made about our potential this season. Internally, however, we are fully aware that you can never afford to stand still in any sport – particularly Formula One. We are up against competitors with a great history of success. Like us, they will not be content until they win. As the old motor racing adage goes: You are only as good as your last race. A year ago, the new Hybrid technology was yet to hit the track.This time last year, with the new Hybrid technology yet to hit the track, we went to Silverstone for a filming day and were genuinely surprised to see the car drive out of the garage!Second time around we may be over the initial hurdles of the new formula. But we keep them fresh in our minds, as it demonstrates that nothing can be taken for granted. The only thing that is in our control is the ability to do the very best we can in every area."

"Of course, like every other team on the grid, we have been pushing harder than ever to find areas for performance gains. But at the same time, we must ensure we are moving in the correct direction. One of the risks with car development is that attempting to go forward can easily lead to backward steps. You have to take risks to progress. However, those risks must be carefully managed.That's the only way to produce a car that is better than the preceding model. This was one of the main themes for the team over the winter."

"It is an evolutionary process and this also includes the regulations themselves.Relative to last winter, these have remained reasonably stable into 2015. But this certainly does not mean that the cars we see take to the track in Jerez will be near-replicas of their predecessors. Some changes will be more visible than others, of course, but the devil is in the detail. Under the bonnet a series of developments in terms of chassis and Power Unit have been made. The objective was to create a car that is safer, more efficient, more reliable and ultimately faster. With the Hybrid era still very much in its infancy, there is plenty of scope for innovation. The challenge at this stage is to find the key areas for performance gain, based not only on what we learned the previous year, but also on where there is room for exploring new and innovative sources of competitive advantage."

For the second consecutive season, MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS will be the only front-running team on the grid to field an unchanged driver line-up. After a titanic battle between the pair throughout the 2014 season, both Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg have been hard at work in preparation for the season ahead and are relishing the challenge of 2015. "The winter break was a good chance to relax. I was working right up until mid-December and had been in the factory earlier that day.Then I had a couple of weeks away skiing. Shortly after Christmas I went straight back to training.", says Lewis. "It’s never great to get back into that routine but it has to be done and my motivation was not lacking in any way. That is a really positive sign."

"You hear about people who achieve a lot but then lose their focus. So you wonder: at what point does it fade off? I’m grateful that the fire is still there in me. I think subconsciously the taste of success spurs me on – I like that feeling and I want to feel it again and again. I’m not going to say I don’t feel like I’ve won two World Championships. But I'm a racer. I’m glad Nico and I fought the duel we had last year. I love winning races but it just feels so much better when you have to fight for it. Now I just want to get back out there, race hard, be the best I can be and hopefully win some more."

"Just because you’ve been successful in the past, doesn't mean it’s easy to just carry on. With last year's results we have probably made it even harder for ourselves. It isn’t easy to improve on something that was already so strong when the rules haven’t changed so much. But we know there is room for improvement. I know everyone wants to come back even stronger. I’ve seen the guys at the factory pushing like crazy to put everything together. That just goes to prove that you mustn’t ever really rest on your laurels. Hopefully we’re on the right path. It’s not until the end of the last test that you start to get a feeling for how good the car really might be, and even then you don’t know for sure.You can never rule anybody out and we’ll be keeping an eye on the others as always. Unfortunately for them we have an amazing team.It will be tough to match the work these guys do – but not impossible. We have to take things one step at a time. Hopefully we will be ahead at the end of those 20 big steps in the season."

"It’s been a great winter, although it has actually seemed very long to me", says Nico."The great thing about this sport as a driver is that you get a lot of rest time between seasons.One can rest, recharge one's batteries, spend time with the family and then really hit the training hard. So now I am eager to get back to work and go maximum attack for another season. I know the feeling of winning and of fighting for a Championship after last year.However, sadly, I also know the feeling of not winning in the end.Not wanting to repeat that gives me an extra boost and lots of motivation for the coming year."

"I’m so proud that I am able to share this moment with the team.We had a fantastic year; we put the Silver Arrows right back where they belong – at the front. It will be incredibly tough to repeat what we achieved in 2014. But we all want to keep that momentum going and to dominate the sport for many years to come. We are aware the opposition is not going to take things "sitting down". That means we will have to keep pushing flat out to have any chance of keeping ahead. Nothing is for certain but, whatever happens, I know it will be another great duel with Lewis. This year is the rematch for me and I’m massively motivated for it."

"The time around the launch is always really exciting. I get to drive the car for the first time, learn what’s new about it, how it feels, how hard I can push straight away.Then we get into the set-up parameters: What we can do with them, we make the first changes, get a feel for how the car behaves. I know a lot about the new car from my time at the factory – but only on paper.Getting out there and driving it properly for the first time and really testing it thoroughly will be an awesome feeling. This is where we build our experience and knowledge for the first race. That's why it’s so important to get that baseline right. Melbourne is still a long way off, but I feel confident in this team and in myself because they’re simply a wonderful group of people to work with."