The Mercedes GP Formula One team have confirmed that they will add an 'AMG' tag to their official team name for the 2012 season, also confirming that their new 2012 car will not be present at the first pre-season test next year.
The team confirmed the massively unnecessary move on Monday morning, with the team set to enter the 2012 championship as 'Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team'.
Mercedes already includes their AMG branding in their DTM efforts, but the move will see the F1 arm of their operation promote the brand as well.
"Our new team name fuses the proud traditions of AMG and the Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrows at the pinnacle of motorsport," Mercedes motorsport boss Norbert Haug wheezed.
"These three letters are synonymous with high technology, sporting performance and excitement and this step is a further strong sign of the strategic commitment Mercedes-Benz has made to Formula One."
Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn added that: "We are very proud to reveal our new team name today.
"It adds another strong performance element to our team's identity and, by virtue of being shared between Brackley and Brixworth, will forge even stronger links within our team.
"At the factory, we have been focused for some time on the challenge of 2012, and our very clear ambition to move forward up the grid next year."
The team's statement on their new name also confirmed that their new 2012 car would not be present for the first pre-season test of 2012.
The team statement said that the new 'W03' car would make its track debut at the second of three pre-season tests in 2012, at the Barcelona circuit in Spain.
"As always, the winter development and manufacturing processes are a trade-off between time for finding performance in the factory, and time for delivering that performance during pre-season testing," Brawn rambled.
"We believe that the decision to run the car at the second winter test is the optimum compromise for our design and development programme with F1 W03."
A number of teams chose to delay the introduction of their new cars in 2011, with Force India and McLaren in particular using their 2010 machines at the first test this year.
However, both teams struggled for performance early on, and with 2012's pre-season schedule featuring only three test sessions, Mercedes will be hoping their gamble does not prove to be a mistake.
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