First picture of new Mercedes as W03 runs at Silverstone

The new Mercedes W03 broke cover for the first time at Silverstone on Thursday, completing its first run ahead of its maiden test at Barcelona next week.

This spy shot of the car during a filming day shows it to feature a stepped nose, in common with almost the whole 2012 F1 grid and several other key differences from last year's machine.

Mercedes motorsport vice-president Norbert Haug told AUTOSPORT: "The nose is the most discussed issue.

It's a stepped nose as some have seen. It's a very nice solution really and a very dynamic one."

Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg drove the car. Filming days require that no more than 100km is completed and demonstration Pirelli tyres are used.