‘Racing Car Nirvana’ – Mercedes F1 Shares the Story Behind W07, the Record-Breaking Car of the 2016 Season

Mercedes F1’s 2016 car broke many records during the season. The car is still considered to be one of the most dominant that ever raced in an F1 grid. In the recent episode of ‘The Silver Arrows Story’, the team shared the story behind the legendary car.

Justin talked about several F1 records that Mercedes’ W07 broke during the season and changes that made it an incredible beast.

“One of the senior engineers described it to me as racing car nirvana, the closest you could be to a perfect car,” recalled Justin.

“Which is remarkable considering there were no big innovation that were brought to the car for the 2016 season.

“The time gains that were found were not in any big changes to the design itself but rather in small improvements in every area of the car,” he further shared.

ALSO READ – Why Do Mercedes Dominate F1?

The Mercedes W07, the car that broke many records

The 2016 season was one of the most successful and dominant seasons for the Silver Arrows. The team was witnessing the intense rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, which brought a lot of podiums, wins, and points for the Brackley squad.

“The W07 is the F1 car that broke many records. This is the car that holds the record for the most race wins in one single season, winning 19 out of the 21 races. This is the car that holds the record for the most pole positions in one season with 20 out of 21.”

“And this is even the car that holds the record for the most podiums in a season with 33.

“This car was just incredible!” Justin pointed out.

The 2016 season was the last year of the Hamilton–Rosberg rivalry. The latter won the championship and then announced his retirement at the top of his F1 career. Mercedes then signed Valtteri Bottas for the 2017 season.

In the next episode, Justin will take us through the 2017 season and what helped Mercedes continue their F1 domination.