The F1 W06 Hybrid was an evolutionary successor to the highly successful F1 W05 Hybrid. Lewis Hamilton stated that "it is difficult to pick up any differences" between the two cars. Differences in design, apart from regulated changes for noses and front wings, were minimal, such as changes to the upper part of the suspension. 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.
The F1 W06 Hybrid was officially unveiled on 1 February 2015 at the opening day of pre-season testing held at Circuito de Jerez. On the basis of 12 days of pre-season testing conducted at Jerez and Barcelona, the car completed 1,340 laps, covering a total of 6,121 km (3,803.4 mi). Hamilton said during pre-season testing that the F1 W06 Hybrid felt equivalent to its predecessor. The car was also driven by 2015 DTM Champion Pascal Wehrlein during in-season testing.
The car underwent several changes over the course of the season. The first came at the Chinese Grand Prix, where Mercedes introduced new, square-shaped arches next to the front wing endplates as well as cuts near the rear wing endplates, aiming at a higher top speed. In Spain, the team arrived with narrower sidepods, including a small air duct at the bottom, either to aid cooling or to influence aerodynamics at the diffuser. At the following race in Monte Carlo, in order to improve downforce for the twisty nature of the Monaco circuit, Mercedes increased the size of the so-called "monkey seat", a smaller wing below the main rear wing.
Another change was made for the next event in Canada: the car received a larger radiator to improve the cooling of the power unit at a track where Mercedes had suffered failures of their ERS unit the year before. The larger part necessitated a bulge on the engine cover. The most obvious aerodynamic change was the curved rear wing which was introduced during the Belgian Grand Prix, the introduction of which was to allow for a decrease in drag without the associated loss of downforce. The curved rear wing was again used at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, hosting the Italian Grand Prix.
The performance of the F1 W06 Hybrid was dominant in the 2015 season, earning 703 constructor's points out of a possible 817. Both cars finished on the podium for 9 consecutive races, matching the record held by Ferrari. The team clinched their second consecutive Constructors' Championship at the Russian Grand Prix, the 15th race of the season. Hamilton clinched his third Driver's championship one race later at the United States Grand Prix after gaining his tenth win of the season. In the nineteen races, the F1 W06 Hybrid took sixteen wins, eighteen pole positions, thirteen fastest laps, fifteen front row lockouts and twelve 1–2 finishes.
The season began strongly, with Lewis Hamilton taking pole position and a 1–2 finish at the Australian Grand Prix. At the Chinese Grand Prix, Hamilton achieved his second hat-trick of pole position, fastest lap, and race win. By the Bahrain Grand Prix, Mercedes held a 52-point lead over Ferrari. Rosberg took his first pole position and win of the season at the Spanish Grand Prix, completing a 1–2 finish for Mercedes.
At the Monaco Grand Prix, a crash between Max Verstappen and Romain Grosjean caused a Virtual Safety Car period. A miscalculation during this period led to Rosberg taking the lead and the win, while Hamilton finished third. The team's run of 28 consecutive races with a podium finish ended at the Hungarian Grand Prix, where both drivers had poor starts and finished sixth and eighth. Rosberg suffered a late puncture from contact with Daniel Ricciardo. During this event, the team displayed "#JB17" on the nosecone as a tribute to Jules Bianchi. Rosberg also experienced a failure of a component which contaminated his new specification engine before qualifying at the Italian Grand Prix, forcing him to use an older power unit and leading to his retirement from the race.
As of December 2024, the F1 W06 Hybrid holds the following Formula One records:
Highest percentage of points in a season: 86.04% (703 Championship Points out of 817 Championship Points)
Highest percentage of podiums in a season: 84.21% (32 podiums out of 38 entries)
Most 1–2 finishes in a season with highest percentage: 12 1–2 finishes (63.15%)
Most front-row lockouts in a season with highest percentage: 15 front-row lockouts (78.94%)
Most consecutive races with both cars on the podium in a season: 9 consecutive races (2015 Australian Grand Prix – 2015 British Grand Prix)
The car initially also held the record for most championship points in a season (703 points), most wins in a season (16 wins), most pole positions in a season with highest percentage (18 pole positions, 94.7%) and most podiums in a season (32 podiums). However, those records were all broken the following year by its successor, the Mercedes F1 W07 Hybrid. The team finished the 2015 season with 703 points, breaking their own record of 701 points set the previous season for most constructor points in a single season.
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