page_title: Mercedes F1 W07 Hybrid
section_title: European rounds
hierarchical_section_title: Mercedes F1 W07 Hybrid / Season summary / European rounds
caption_attribution_description: English: Lewis Hamilton at the 2016 Austrian Grand Prix
context_page_description: The Mercedes F1 W07 Hybrid was one of the most successful Mercedes-Benz Formula One racing car designs of all-time, designed and developed under the direction of Aldo Costa, Paddy Lowe, Geoff Willis, John Owen and Mike Elliott to compete in the 2016 FIA Formula One World Championship. The cars were driven by three-time World Drivers' Champion Lewis Hamilton, and Nico Rosberg, both of whom remained with the team for a fourth and a seventh season, respectively. In addition, it was the last Formula One car driven by Rosberg, following his announcement on his retirement from the sport after clinching his first World Drivers' Championship title.
  The chassis was named "F1 W07 Hybrid" to represent the seventh Formula One car that Mercedes had constructed since 2010, while the hybrid was marked to recognize the utilization of fully integrated hybrid power units. The car made its competitive debut at the 2016 Australian Grand Prix, the opening round of the 2016 season. After participating 20 rounds of grand prix racing, the car made its final competition appearance at the season finale race – 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, before retirement.
context_section_description: Coming to the newly revived European Grand Prix held at Baku City Circuit, Rosberg took his second career Grand Slam while Hamilton qualified tenth due to an error during qualifying, finishing the race in fifth with an incorrect pre-set hybrid deployment mode costing him time.
  At the ninth round of the season – Austrian Grand Prix, Hamilton took his 10th career hat-trick as the Mercedes pair collided during the last lap, with Rosberg limping home for fourth with a seriously damaged car. Following the collision, Mercedes introduced a new driver management policy – "Rules of Engagement", dictating the terms by which Hamilton and Rosberg could race one another and promising penalties in the event of on-track altercations. Hamilton won his third consecutive British Grand Prix from pole position, a record at the Silverstone Circuit, while Rosberg holding second, suffered a critical gearbox problem during mid-race. Mercedes instructed him to reset the gearbox and to avoid using seventh gear or else risk a catastrophic failure, which prompted an investigation by the stewards for providing him with assistance. Rosberg was ultimately penalised for the radio call, having ten seconds added to his race time, which demoted him to third behind Max Verstappen.
  Hamilton took over the lead in the Drivers' Championship after the Hungarian Grand Prix as he led Rosberg to complete a 1–2 finish, thus in succession setting a new record for the most wins in Hungary, surpassing Michael Schumacher. Hamilton took his fourth consecutive victory within a month at the German Grand Prix, heading into the summer break with a 19-point lead over his teammate. At the Belgian Grand Prix, Hamilton took 60 grid penalties for exceeding his season allocation of engine components, therefore starting at the back of the grid, whilst Rosberg took pole position. Eventually, Rosberg won his first Belgian Grand Prix by leading from start to finish, while Hamilton fought his way up to claim 3rd – thereby making him the first driver to start 20th or lower and finish on the podium on three occasions. At the Italian Grand Prix, Rosberg claimed his seventh win of the season after Hamilton lost the lead due to a poor start but recovered to finish second, thus making it the fourth 1-2 finish for the team in the season. As a result, Rosberg narrowed Hamilton's lead in the driver's championship to only 2 points. Having completed two-thirds of the season, Mercedes had a 208-point lead over their nearest competitors - Red Bull Racing.
caption: Lewis Hamilton won the Austrian Grand Prix following a collision with Nico Rosberg on the race's last lap.
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