For reasons best known to itself, ahead of the much publicised unveiling of its 2017 contender at Silverstone, the car carefully hidden from prying eyes and cameras, Mercedes sent Lewis Hamilton out for a few laps as part of the team's 'filming day'.

After a few runs, the car was wheeled back into its garage - thoughtfully located underneath the media room - where it was covered before being unveiled.

Playing his part in the pantomime, having just driven the car, Lewis Hamilton did his best to look genuinely surprised, as, along with new teammate Valtteri Bottas, he pulled back the covers to reveal the W08 in all its glory.

"It felt incredible," he said of those opening few laps in the car. "Yesterday was the first time, seeing the car come together. It's the most detailed piece of machinery I've seen so far in Formula One.

"From working in the wind tunnel, they have this jig which is real carbon fibre, you see it all come together, do the seat fitting over the winter and in the last few days seeing it all appearing, somehow they all just slot in perfectly.

"Driving today, naturally the car feels wider," he continued, "which it is, and the front tyres feel huge. There is quite a lot of grip already even in the cold conditions here.

"This is not a test, the laps I did today were behind a vehicle to get filming in and just a shakedown. I got to go a little bit faster but it's so gusty and it's wet."

Check out our Mercedes W08 gallery, here.