The chassis was originally named the "Mercedes F1 W08" to represent the eighth Formula One car that Mercedes had constructed since 2010. The "EQ Power+" was added to increase exposure of Mercedes' electric road car models, whilst AMG was included to reflect the relationship between Mercedes-AMG and Mercedes-Benz. The car was designed and developed under the direction of Paddy Lowe, Aldo Costa, Geoff Willis, Loïc Serra, Russell Cooley, John Owen, Mike Elliott and Jarrod Murphy.
In order to improve airflow for better aerodynamics purposes, Mercedes changed the front suspension by having the top wishbone attach directly to an extension before connecting to an upright. The increment in height of the top wishbone is to prevent the disturbance of airflow travelling from the front of the car, to the side-pods and towards the rear suspension, which may affect the stability of the entire car. Coincidentally, Scuderia Toro Rosso also has this aerodynamic design on its 2017 car, the Toro Rosso STR12. Mercedes adopted a "T-wing" device on the rear of the car to generate better rear down-force. The "T-wing" device was seen as an external design mounted on the engine cover rather than shark fin like other 2017 cars. Bowl-shaped rear wing design brought from its predecessors remains on F1 W08 EQ Power+ to create higher down-force and reducing drag.
Mercedes brought its first major aerodynamic upgrade at the Spanish Grand Prix, changing the car from the front to the rear. The most obvious change was the introduction of a new, narrower nose which included a never-seen-before under-nose turning vane to help create a type of skirt underneath the car. Furthermore, Mercedes redesigned the area of the bargeboards which subsequently sported three R-shaped upstands. They also revised the winglet on the wishbone extension and introduced new camera mounts, a revised floor ahead of the rear tyre, a revised rear wing, and a new two-tier monkey seat. During the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Mercedes experimented with asymmetric brake set-up during both practice sessions for running greater cooling capacity on one side of the car. However, to speed up getting heat into the front tyres, the team decided to revert to symmetric layout during Saturday final practice, qualifying and Sunday race.
Mercedes brought a package of upgrades to the Malaysian Grand Prix. They made a change to the front wing design, with the leading edge of the mainplane swept upward to encourage airflow under the wing, guided by the now-pronounced strakes that reside beneath. The under-nose ‘cape’ which Mercedes introduced in Spain and revised in Austria got altered again, with the leading edge of the device widened. The highly complex area of the bargeboards - which includes 20 different surfaces working together - was also changed. The vertical cascades mounted on the edge of the serrated floor strakes got modified, reducing their height while also being angled more aggressively. The axehead, which was normally split into four serrated surfaces, got reduced to three, with outermost two surfaces combined. They also modified the diffusor by including innermost strakes.
The Mercedes AMG F1 W08 EQ Power+ was unofficially launched at the Silverstone Circuit with Hamilton and Bottas completing an inaugural shakedown on 23 February 2017. The car took part in the pre-season testing at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on February 27–March 2 and March 7–10. During the eight testing days, the car completed 1,096 laps; a total of 5,102 km (3,170.2 mi), equivalent to over 16 race distances. The car was also driven by 2017 GP3 Series champion George Russell during in-season testing.
The car made its competitive début at the 2017 Australian Grand Prix, the opening round of the 2017 season. Hamilton took pole position but finished second, while Bottas started third and secured a podium. In China, Hamilton claimed his third career grand slam, while Bottas recovered to sixth. At the Bahrain Grand Prix, Bottas took his maiden Formula One pole position, locking out the front row with Hamilton.
At the Russian Grand Prix, Bottas secured his maiden victory in Formula 1, holding off Sebastian Vettel by six tenths of a second, while Hamilton finished fourth. In Spain, Hamilton took pole position by a narrow margin and went on to win the race. Bottas retired from the race due to an engine failure while running third. The Monaco Grand Prix saw both Mercedes drivers struggle for pace, with Bottas qualifying third and Hamilton fourteenth. Neither driver finished on the podium for the first time since the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix.
At the Canadian Grand Prix, Hamilton matched Ayrton Senna's second-place record of 65 pole positions and set the fastest lap ever at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve with a time of 1m 11.459s. Mercedes achieved their first 1-2 finish of the season with Hamilton winning and Bottas taking second. The Azerbaijan Grand Prix saw Mercedes achieve a front-row lockout in qualifying. Hamilton led the race but a loose headrest issue forced him to pit, and he finished fifth behind Vettel. Bottas recovered from an early collision to finish second. Bottas secured his second career pole position at the Austrian Grand Prix and took his second career victory. Hamilton fought back from eighth to fourth.
During qualifying for the British Grand Prix, Hamilton matched Jim Clark's record of five British Grand Prix pole positions. He went on to win the race, achieving his fifth career grand slam. Bottas recovered from a grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change to finish third. In Hungary, Mercedes finished third and fourth, with Bottas ahead of Hamilton. At the Belgian Grand Prix, Hamilton scored his 68th career pole position and won the race, holding off Vettel. Bottas finished fifth. At the Italian Grand Prix, Hamilton secured his 69th pole position, surpassing Michael Schumacher for the all-time record. Mercedes achieved their third one-two finish of the season, with Bottas finishing second.
In Singapore, Hamilton benefited from a start-line crash involving other drivers to take the lead and win the race. Bottas recovered to third place for an unlikely double-podium finish. Mercedes struggled with setup difficulties at the Malaysian Grand Prix, but Hamilton secured his 70th career pole position. He finished second in the race, while Bottas finished fifth. At the Japanese Grand Prix, Hamilton took pole position and won the race, holding off Max Verstappen. Bottas finished just off the podium in fourth.
Lewis Hamilton claimed his 72nd pole position at the United States Grand Prix, setting a new record for all-time front-row starts. Mercedes clinched their fourth consecutive World Constructors' Championship. Hamilton won the race, extending his lead in the Drivers' Championship. Bottas finished fifth. At the Mexican Grand Prix, Hamilton and Vettel made contact on the opening lap, forcing both into the pits. Hamilton finished ninth, securing his fourth World Drivers' Championship. Bottas finished second. In Brazil, Bottas won a thrilling battle for pole position with Vettel, but finished second in the race. Hamilton recovered from a pitlane start to finish fourth. Mercedes dominated qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with Bottas achieving back-to-back pole positions. The team capped off the season with their fourth 1-2 finish, Bottas winning from pole with Hamilton second.
The Mercedes AMG F1 W08 EQ Power+ recorded twelve wins and finished the season with 668 Constructors' Championship points, clinching the fourth consecutive World Constructors' Championship with a healthy advantage of 146 points over their nearest rivals Ferrari. However, Mercedes gained their lowest Constructors' Championship points total since the start of the hybrid turbo era in 2014 and for the first time their drivers didn't finish the season in P1 and P2 with Bottas being third behind Vettel. The car also showcased near-perfect reliability, recording only 1 retirement all season. Mercedes thus completed 98.6% of all laps run in 2017 (2,392), running 11,997 race kilometers. They led the statistic and were ahead of their customer teams Force India (11,660 race kilometers) and Williams (11,029 race kilometers).
On 10 December 2019, nine-time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi drove the W08 in W10 livery at the Ricardo Tormo circuit.
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