MERCEDES has blown away fans after unveiling a brand new steering wheel addition that has never been seen before in Formula One.
Teams are prepping their new cars in testing sessions for the upcoming season which gets started in Bahrain on March 9.
Mercedes are in an attempt to bounce back this season after back-to-back Red Bull domination in both the driver’s and constructors’ championships.
Lewis Hamilton is entering his final year with Mercedes and hopes to make a recording-breaking eighth world championship victory.
And the German garage are always finding new ways to gain an advantage over their opponents and to allow their sponsors to get more air time.
Toto Wolff’s team signed a sponsorship deal with Whatsapp and have been very creative in promoting their recent partnership.
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The Whatsapp iconic green logo will replace the former yellow communications button that allows drivers to speak to staff on the pit wall to get information throughout the race.
To announce the new design Mercedes posted an image of the Whatsapp button on their X account.
And fans are windblown by the marketing move from Mercedes.
As one F1 follower said: “Admin is this real?”
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While another added: “WhatsApp button looks so cool.”
A third then put: “Ok, this is brilliant marketing.”
An F1 car’s steering wheel consists of 25 individual buttons and switches with each feature having to be easily accessible to drivers on the circuit.
The Mercedes wheel will now have the green logo designed as a phone with a speech bubble around it and it is an excellent addition to the Mercedes-AMG F1 W14 E Performance.
This could see other teams make similar sponsorship deals in the future.
The F1 Bahrain Grand Prix is scheduled to take place on Saturday, March 2.
And 2023 champion Max Verstappen is certainly looking to ruin the party by continuing his incredible hot streak.
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
