Mercedes is going to test at Silverstone for two days next week

The season won't start until July 5th and that's the first time since the winter tests that the brand new cars will be in action. In the run-up to this start of the season Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas will however get into a car earlier, Mercedes announces. Both drivers will test at Silverstone next week, albeit in the 2018 car.

On Tuesday, 9 June, Valtteri Bottas will be in action and on Wednesday, 10 June, Lewis Hamilton will be in the W09. By testing on the circuit the team can prepare for the start of the season in a couple of weeks. Whether other teams will test before the start of the season is not (yet) known.

The regulations state that older Formula 1 cars can be used for unlimited testing purposes, but the requirement is that they are built in a maximum of three calendar years for the current calendar year. This makes the 2018 car usable for a test, because it is classified as an 'old car' within the time frame mentioned.

Incidentally, Mercedes is obliged to follow the normal test procedures and inform the FIA about which cars they are using, which drivers are boarding, the purpose of the test and its duration.