The W11 was designed under the direction of James Allison, John Owen, Mike Elliott, Loïc Serra, and several other engineers, building on the foundation laid by the already formidable W10 of 2019. One of the most distinctive technical features was a system Mercedes called Dual-Axis Steering (DAS), which allowed the driver to adjust the toe angle of the front wheels by pushing or pulling on the steering column. This let drivers warm tyres more efficiently using zero toe on straights, then switch to negative toe for improved cornering. DAS was banned by the FIA from 2021 onward. The rear suspension geometry was also revised from the previous car to reduce understeer.
The 2020 season was delayed significantly by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Australian Grand Prix, which was to have been the championship opener, was cancelled. At least seven additional rounds were postponed. The enforced break gave Mercedes extra time to address reliability concerns before the car made its competitive debut at the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix.
Following the postponement of the season and growing worldwide attention on the Black Lives Matter movement, Mercedes announced in late June 2020 that the W11 would adopt black as its primary colour, replacing the silver livery that had defined the team's cars since its return to Formula One in 2010. Lewis Hamilton was the driving force behind the change, arguing that social media statements alone were insufficient and that the team should make a visible commitment. The team simultaneously launched an internal diversity drive.
The W11 was dominant across the shortened 17-race calendar. Hamilton and Bottas locked out the front row at the season-opening Austrian Grand Prix, and Bottas took the win. Hamilton received a five-second penalty for a collision with Alexander Albon but recovered to finish fourth. Hamilton then won the Styrian Grand Prix by over 1.2 seconds clear of Verstappen in qualifying.
The car's pace was apparent throughout the year. At the Belgian Grand Prix, Hamilton set a new outright track record at Spa-Francorchamps with a lap of 1:41.252, qualifying half a second clear of Bottas. Mercedes took a 1-2 finish there and at multiple other rounds. By the Bahrain Grand Prix, Hamilton had wrapped up his seventh World Drivers' Championship, equalling Michael Schumacher's record for most titles.
George Russell replaced the COVID-positive Hamilton at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, qualifying second and leading most of the race before a pit-stop error by Mercedes — fitting Bottas's tyres to Russell's car — and a late puncture dropped him to ninth. Hamilton returned for the Abu Dhabi season finale.
Across 17 races, the W11 took thirteen victories (eleven for Hamilton, two for Bottas), fifteen pole positions (ten for Hamilton, five for Bottas), nine fastest laps, twelve front-row lockouts, and five 1-2 finishes. Mercedes secured their seventh consecutive Constructors' Championship, surpassing Ferrari's record for consecutive titles.
The W11 is considered by many analysts to be among the greatest Formula One cars ever built. Its record of thirteen wins from seventeen races, combined with its outright circuit records at several venues, placed it in a category alongside the 1988 McLaren MP4/4 and the 2023 Red Bull RB19 as the most statistically dominant cars in the sport's history. The DAS system, while short-lived competitively, was regarded as an exceptional piece of engineering ingenuity. The car's black livery, adopted for 2020, was carried forward by Mercedes in subsequent seasons.