It may sound like a cliche, but in the case of F1’s biggest squads, the car you see launched at the start of the year is often very different to the one that turns up at the first race. And at no team has the rate of development been as swift as at world champions Mercedes...

This was highlighted by the sheer number of changes seen on the Silver Arrows’ W08 car over the course of the two pre-season tests. The team introduced a new aero package at the second test, including the rear diffuser shown below. As can be seen from the drawings, the outer section is completely different to the original design, highlighted by the red arrows.