The Mercedes AMG F1 W10 EQ Power+ is a championship-winning Formula One racing car designed and developed by Mercedes-Benz under the direction of James Allison, John Owen, Mike Elliott, Loïc Serra, Ashley Way, Emiliano Giangiulio, Jarrod Murphy, Eric Blandin and Aldo Costa, to compete during the 2019 Formula One World Championship. The car was driven by Lewis Hamilton, and Valtteri Bottas, both of whom remained with the team for a seventh and a third season, respectively. The team's reserve driver was Esteban Ocon, coming from Force India.
The car is the successor of the Mercedes AMG F1 W09 EQ Power+, continuing the approach with increasing the exposure of Mercedes's electric road car models, whilst AMG was included to reflect the relationship between Mercedes-AMG and Mercedes-Benz. The chassis also continued its numbering as F1 W10 to represent the tenth Formula One car that Mercedes had constructed since 2010. The car made its competitive début at the 2019 Australian Grand Prix, the opening round of the 2019 season.
The F1 W10 EQ Power+ took 15 wins (eleven for Hamilton and four for Bottas), ten pole positions (five for Hamilton and five for Bottas), nine fastest laps (six for Hamilton and three for Bottas), seven front-row lockouts and nine 1–2 finishes. The car also took Mercedes to a record-equalling sixth consecutive Constructors' Championship, a feat only previously achieved by Scuderia Ferrari between 1999 and 2004, and Hamilton to his sixth Drivers' Championship.
Launch and pre-season testing
The Mercedes AMG F1 W10 EQ Power+ was unofficially unveiled at the Silverstone Circuit with Hamilton and Bottas completing an inaugural shakedown on 13 February 2019. The car took part the pre-season testing at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on 18 February – 21 February and 26 February – 1 March. During the eight testing days, the car completed 1189 laps; a total of , equivalent to over 18 race distances. The car was also driven by Williams's regular driver George Russell and 2018 GP3 Series Drivers' Champion runner up - Nikita Mazepin during in-season testing.
Design and development
As Mercedes's first attempt at the new 2019-20 regulations, the team ran two distinct aerodynamic packages during pre-season testing: one each with 'inboard' and 'outboard' front wing philosophy. The latter also received significantly revised nose, bargeboards, floor, and engine cover, before being chosen as the package the team would race in the 2019 season. Both were informally referred to as the 'A'-spec and 'B'-spec W10 in the media and among the teams, respectively.
The car performed well in the first five rounds of the season, where it was renowned for its newly acquired slow- and medium-speed corner strength, in contrast to its predecessor. Often compared to Ferrari, whose car featured straight-line speed, low drag, and high-speed prowess, its victories were often attributed to the ease in working the new Pirelli tire concept with its overwhelming downforce. The Mercedes car received its first major upgrade in Spain, where it followed up a front wing update in China with a redesign of the bargeboards "boomerang".
A major weakness was first observed and uncovered in Austria, when team members remarked on the inability of the car's deliberately tight cooling to operate optimally under high-altitude and hot temperature conditions. It received another major upgrade in Germany, where the team revised the car's rear-facing cooling outlets, sidepod vanes, bargeboards, and a new rear wing endplate design, (among other changes). Mercedes continued to race this package in the following rounds, with appropriate low-drag modifications in Belgium and Italy.
The new-for-2019 power unit, Mercedes-AMG F1 M10 EQ Power+, was said to be less powerful than Ferrari's (the Ferrari 064) - specifically in terms of outright qualifying power modes, straight line speed, and electrical power development. Despite this, it was still considered the most fuel-efficient power unit in the field, although there were, however, some reliability concerns when the third iteration of the engine (Phase 3) experienced significant failures in the 2019 Belgian and Italian Grands Prix.
Mercedes introduced a raft of updates in Japan for the front wing, sidepod deflectors, and floor, aimed to increase efficiency against Ferrari's straight-line speed and Red Bull's overall downforce balance. This was noted to be the final updates of the season as Mercedes shifted focus to 2020, and while it did improve their competitiveness in the final rounds of the year, it was not a substantial increase in speed and its impact was masked by the extreme natures of the tracks and races in that part of the year. Mercedes took pole in only 2 races (United States and Abu Dhabi) after this upgrade's introduction, and won 4 races (Japan, United States, Mexico, and Abu Dhabi), two of which after starting from behind their rivals.
Season summary
Opening rounds Ahead of the , Ferrari - which shone during pre-season testing - were considered as the favourites for the first race of the season. However, Mercedes had a strong start and Hamilton topped the time sheets in all free practice sessions. During qualifying, Mercedes struck the first major blow in 2019. Hamilton took pole from Bottas and was a full 0.7s up from the third-placed Ferrari of Vettel. Hamilton clocked a new lap record of Albert Park with a 1m 20.486s and achieved his sixth consecutive pole at the circuit, and a record-equalling eighth at the Australian Grand Prix. On Sunday, the team converted their front-row lockout into a 1–2. Bottas enjoyed a sensational start to his year. The Finn passed Hamilton at the start and went on to score a dominant win, leading home his teammate and Verstappen with a lead of over 20 seconds. Bottas also claimed a bonus point for the fastest lap of the race, giving him a full 26 points.
At the next round in Bahrain, Mercedes did not top any of the timing sheets in the free practice sessions and both cars qualified on the second row behind both Ferraris, with Hamilton in third and Bottas in fourth. On race day, Vettel won the start ahead of Bottas who got past the struggling polesitter Leclerc and Hamilton. However, Bottas made a mistake on his second lap which dropped him behind Leclerc and Hamilton once more. During the first round of pitstops, Hamilton got the jump on Vettel after a well executed undercut. Yet, the German managed to overtake Hamilton soon after due to suffering from a lack of grip on his soft tyres. Hamilton became much more competitive after fitting on the medium tyres during his second stop. Subsequently, the Briton overtook Vettel on the outside of turn 4 on lap 38. Meanwhile, Vettel got caught out by the overtake and spun on his own. He was forced to pit which allowed Bottas into P3. More misfortune hit Ferrari a couple of laps later as Leclerc reported an engine issue with his car. Both Mercedes drivers overtook his wounded Ferrari and Hamilton led home a surprising second consecutive 1–2 finish for Mercedes.
Arriving at the 1000th Formula 1 Grand Prix in China, Mercedes proved to be the team to beat. On Saturday, the Silver Arrows achieved their second front-row lockout of the season. Bottas managed to take pole, edging his teammate by just 0.023s, with the Ferraris of Vettel and Leclerc around three tenths adrift. At the start of the race, Hamilton managed to overtake Bottas. He went on to lead every lap and won the race in a convincing fashion. Bottas finished in second place and helped Mercedes secure a third consecutive 1–2. The result gave Mercedes a perfect start to the season. The last team to score three one-two finishes at the start of a season was Williams in 1992.
At the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Ferrari set a blistering pace during the free practice sessions which Mercedes seemed unable to match. Therefore, Leclerc was considered as a strong favourite for pole. However, a big crash for Leclerc in Q2 saw him ruled out of contention and Mercedes took advantage of the situation. A drop in temperatures - due to a delay of the session from Kubica's and Leclerc's crashes at the castle section - and good tows during the final run in Q3 allowed Mercedes to grab an unlikely front-row lockout, their third of the season. Bottas claimed his second consecutive pole, edging out Hamilton by just 0.059s. On Sunday, Bottas was able to keep his lead at the start and went on to enjoy a lights-to-flag victory. Hamilton put him under pressure during the race but he was unable to make a move on the Finn. His P2 finish gave the team a fourth consecutive one-two of the season. Once again, Mercedes defeated Ferrari at a track where, up until Leclerc's crash in Q2, pole and victory for the Scuderia had seemed assured. Furthermore, the result gave Mercedes a new record for most one-two finishes at the start of a season, beating Williams' record of three from 1992.
European and Canadian rounds
During qualifying of the Spanish Grand Prix, Mercedes achieved their fourth front-row lockout of the season. Bottas secured his third consecutive pole. He set a new track record at Catalunya of a 1:15.406, beating his teammate by over six tenths. Vettel in P3 was a further 2 tenths behind. On race day, Hamilton won the start and went on to win his third consecutive Spanish Grand Prix while leading every lap of the race. He also won the additional point for the fastest lap of the race, giving him a full 26 points. Bottas in P2 completed a fifth consecutive 1-2 finish for the team, a feat the team hadn't achieved since having five 1-2 finishes between the 2015 United States Grand Prix and the 2016 Australian Grand Prix.
With the W10 being very strong in the slow corners, Mercedes came to Monaco as favourites. During qualifying, Mercedes justified their status as the team to beat. Hamilton took pole position in a last lap effort while setting a new track record of 1:10.166 s, beating Bottas by less than a tenth of a second. It was the fifth front-row lockout of the season. Hamilton and Bottas led from the start until debris from Leclerc's car brought out an early safety car on lap 11. Hamilton pitted for medium tyres and managed to stay ahead. However, Bottas collided with Max Verstappen in the pit lane after an unsafe release from Red Bull. This caused a slow puncture meaning that Bottas had to pit for a second time which left him in fourth position. Of the front runners, only Hamilton was on the mediums while Verstappen, Vettel and Bottas who were directly behind him were on the hard compound. A 5-second penalty for his unsafe release made Verstappen push for the lead. In contrast, Hamilton needed to preserve the tyre life of his mediums. As the race came toward the end, Hamilton held onto a narrow lead with a "dead" front left tyre. On lap 76, Verstappen made his one serious move on the Briton, launching himself down the inside of Hamilton into the Nouvelle Chicane. Hamilton shut the door, with Verstappen's front right making light contact with Hamilton's rear left. After that tense move, Hamilton went on to win the race which he later described as "probably the hardest race" he'd had. Verstappen was relegated to fourth position due to his penalty, moving Bottas into third. While Mercedes failed to score a sixth consecutive 1–2, the team still managed to score another double-podium finish.