Mercedes' W11 makes track debut at Silverstone

The Mercedes W11 has made its on-track debut, as Valtteri Bottas took part in the initial shakedown of the car at Silverstone.

The car was unveiled via online renders on Friday morning before it was presented in a live stream by the Silver Arrows.

Bottas then took the car out onto the circuit to gather initial data for the team, with Lewis Hamilton getting behind the wheel of the 2020 challenger later today.

Shakedown events are limited to 100km of running and teams are restricted to use special tyres.

Red Bull completed a similar event earlier this week when it unveiled its new car for the 2020 season, the RB16.

Mercedes enters the upcoming championship on the back of six consecutive double titles, making it the formidable favourite heading into the new campaign.

However, with stabilisation in the regulations, it should be expected that rivals Ferrari and Red Bull close up to Mercedes and provide a closer championship challenge compared to 2019.

Should Mercedes win the constructors' championship this year, it will set a new record for the most consecutive titles won, as it is currently joined with Ferrari on six.

Lewis Hamilton would also claim his seventh drivers' title should he top the standings at the end of the year, which will level him with Micahel Schumacher on the all-time title tally list. 

Pre-season kicks off next week in Barcelona, with the first and second week having three days of running each.