2023 Season Mercedes-AMG W14 Formula 1 Car Unveiled

Back in Black

Formula One's most dominant team of the previous decade has unveiled its 2023 competitor. The W14 varies from its predecessor in virtually every imaginable way, including the primary livery color. For the upcoming season, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team is going with black once again. And the reasoning behind it is rather interesting. 

Catching Up

There's no denying that the 2022 season was an underwhelming campaign for the Brackley, UK-based team by their lofty standards. Being the first year of new regulations, the engineers didn't quite manage to adapt to the evolving rule set as well as they'd expected. The car suffered from porpoising throughout the season and they had to play catch-up in terms of performance.

Hopes and Expectations

Team principal Toto Wolff admitted as much. "Our hopes and expectations are always to be capable of fighting for a World Championship," he remarked. "However, our competitors were very strong last year, and we are playing catch-up."

Why Black?

Back in 2020 when the team decided to switch from their classic silver to black, it was in support of diversity and social justice. They reverted back to silver for 2022 with the W13. Addressing the change to black this time Wolff brought up the subject of weight saving!

Saving the Grams

The black hue of the W14 is mostly exposed carbon fiber. According to Wolff, the car was overweight last year. So in an effort to reduce every last gram, they decided to leave the car without its famous silver paint. 

History Repeats Itself

An argument could be made that going with a black livery shows a lack of respect for the team's 'Silver Arrow' heritage. But what gives the W14's black look even more authenticity is its connection to the story of how the Silver Arrows came to be! The moniker was given to the Mercedes after the team had to strip off the car's white paint to reduce weight! Now, several decades later, the team has seemingly resorted to the same tactic to help make it's machine as light as possible!

Starting Fresh

Direct comparisons between the W14 and W13 show tons of variance in terms of aerodynamic elements. The team has taken their learnings from the previous season and hopes to give George Russell and Lewis Hamilton a more competitive car for this year. The absence of the great James Vowles will surely be felt, as the master engineer will be heading the Williams team this year.

Watch the W14 leaving the garage for a shakedown lap here.

>>Join the conversation about the 2023 Mercedes-AMG W14 F1 car right here on MBWorld.org

For help with your maintenance and repair projects, please visit our How-to section in the forum.