Mercedes finally took the covers off their 2012 car on the first day of Barcelona's pre-season test at the Circuit de Catalunya.
Having elected to run the 2011 car at Jerez earlier this month in order to fine tune development work on the W03 and to gain data on this year's Pirelli tyres, Mercedes became the last of the front running teams to officially unveil its 2012 challenger shortly before Tuesday's session got underway.
As expected the W03 does not feature any radical changes apart from the stepped nose, but team principal Ross Brawn believes the car could help the outfit move up the grid, something he believes is a must, after finishing fourth for two consecutive seasons.
"We have to go forward. None of us are happy with a recurring fourth place," Brawn said.
"That is not why any of us are here. We have to go forward, but I am quietly confident with the strength we have got, the resources we have got and the team we are building that we can do that."
Mercedes have moved to strengthen their technical department - former Renault man Bob Bell, ex-Ferrari design chief Aldo Costa, and Geoff Willis have all joined the squad - and Brawn believes the team is now ready to challenge their three biggest rivals, Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari, for podium finishes.
"We are definitely ready to go for podiums. Any team that has not won the world championship has to look at how it can improve, how it can strengthen and how it can achieve better results. Even if you win the world championship you still look at that," he added.
"And if you are not winning races and not winning a championship then perhaps you have to look at even stronger improvements. But the key is not to ruin what you already have to build something stronger, and that is what we have been very focused on.
"We have some great people in the team already and I was comfortable in adding Geoff, Aldo and Bob because they are people I know would fit in with the existing structure, but also enhance the structure and make it stronger."