Black beauty for the Mercedes W14

Back in black! The Mercedes team have gone back to the black livery in a bid to save weight with the W14.

In a digital launch broadcast online, Mercedes revealed the updated W14 Formula 1 car alongside drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, team principal Toto Wolff and new reserve driver Mick Schumacher.

The W14 features a striking black livery, used by Mercedes through 2020 and 2021 as part of its anti-racism messaging. The team returned to its traditional silver last year but has now reverted to black as part what the team called a “significant project” to reduce overall weight.

Following the launch, both Hamilton and Russell are set to get a first taste of the Mercedes W14 car during a shakedown at Silverstone later.

“Our hopes and expectations are always to be capable of fighting for a world championship,” said Wolff.

“However, our competitors were very strong last year, and we are playing catch-up. Racing at the front requires resilience, teamwork, and determination.

“We face up to every challenge, we put the team first, and we will leave no stone unturned in the chase for every millisecond. This year, we are going all in to get back in front.”

Mercedes enters the 2023 season looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2022 that saw its eight-season streak of constructors’ championships come to an abrupt end.

The team struggled to get to grips with the new technical regulations as both Hamilton and Russell were left facing a recurring porpoising issue through the early part of the season.

Although an update at the Spanish Grand Prix helped combat the issue, Mercedes continued to find deeper issues with the W13 car that technical director Mike Elliott said were “baked in” to its design.

It ultimately ended the year with just a single victory in Brazil thanks to Russell, as it finished third in the constructors’ championship.

“Last year was difficult but it came with lots of learnings,” said Wolff. “I hope 2023 will be proof that we have understood how to unravel the problems and improve the package of the car.”

Mercedes has retained its slim sidepod concept from 2022, but has made noticeable tweaks to design such as around the gulley bodywork on the engine cover. The team also said it has chased areas including a “significantly lighter chassis, revised front suspension geometry, cooling system adjustments and a refined aerodynamic concept based on last year’s learning” to improve performance.

“Last year, once we had figured out what we needed to do, it took a huge amount of work to get ourselves moving forward,” said Elliott.

“Towards the end of the season, you could see the performance improving and the winter has been a reset. We have done all the things that we wanted to do with the W13 last year but weren’t able to because of resource constraints or because our focus was elsewhere fixing other issues.”

Hopefully this new Mercedes will return the team back to competitiveness and the black livery certainly looks great. Best wishes to the season ahead.