Paris (AFP)

Mercedes presented on Tuesday a new single-seater very similar to that of 2020, regulatory freeze requires, and with Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas is aiming for an eighth consecutive driver-constructor double, before an expected revolution in F1 in 2022.

If we listen to the boss of Mercedes, the German team does not necessarily attack the year as a favorite: "it is better to be more skeptical than optimistic", explained Toto Wolff at a press conference after the presentation of the new single-seater.

But, without major regulatory change, it will be difficult to thwart the dominance of Mercedes, which has been driving Formula 1 since the introduction of hybrid engines.

She's won it all since 2014 with Hamilton at the wheel, only beaten in 2016 by then-teammate Nico Rosberg.

In 2021, the Briton, who will always have Valtteri Bottas as his teammate, dreams of an eighth record title that would place him alone at the top of F1.

In front of the seven coronations of Michael Schumacher at the turn of the 2000s and the five of Juan Manuel Fangio in the 1950s.

- Secret development -

To achieve this, he will be aboard the W12 single-seater, presented on Tuesday, which remains largely based on that of 2020 as most developments have been frozen, apart from a new mandatory regulation concerning aerodynamics.

"The part that we do not show you is the one low to the ground", explains with mischief the technical director of Mercedes James Allison in the video presentation of the single-seater which sports, like last year, a mainly black livery, in tribute to the fight against racial discrimination dear to Hamilton.

"This area is the one that has been the most affected by the new regulations. There are a lot of aerodynamic details that we are not quite ready to reveal."

What "to gain a few more weeks" before the pre-season tests from March 12 to 14 in Bahrain then the first Grand Prix, still in Bahrain, on March 28.

In addition to these changes, the room for maneuver seems meager for the other teams, which are betting more on 2022, the year of a revolution announced with many changes supposed to restore the balance of power between the teams.

In the meantime, Mercedes is still the team to beat and Bottas, the reigning double vice-world champion, is hoping to finally pass N.1: "absolutely, I think I can fight for the title".

"This year I'm going to be more demanding of myself than ever," said the Finn, pointing to "consistency" and "communication" as areas for improvement.

- Verstappen on radars -

"With Valtteri, we know exactly what we have and we appreciate it," Wolff said.

Does this mean that Mercedes is satisfied to have a real hierarchy between its drivers in order to avoid a head-on battle?

"That doesn't mean he doesn't have what it takes to win the world championship," Wolff corrects.

For 2022, the Austrian boss has confirmed that Mercedes will first speak with its current drivers to discuss an extension.

If they don't get renewed, for one reason or another, Red Bull driver Max Verstappen appears, with his ten Grand Prix wins from 119 starts at just 23, as one of the contenders.

"Max is certainly an exceptional young rider who will be on all radar in the future, but we will not be flirting outside until we have agreed with our two riders," Wolff said.

For the Briton of Williams George Russell, 23, who had wonderfully replaced Hamilton affected by the Covid-19 at the Sakhir Grand Prix at the end of 2020, "the future is promising in all cases", assures Wolff.

"It depends on how the situation of the drivers within Mercedes will turn out."

© 2021 AFP