There is a reason why Mercedes has the most fan base. There is indeed something special about the Silver Arrows that makes them the best and the finest team in Formula One. Mercedes AMG Petronas is the team that “never copies other people.” Even if it takes risking another year, Mercedes will not copy Red Bull’s design.
On February 15, team Mercedes launched their 2023 F1 season car named W14. After what happened to them last year, the one thing that fans and the drivers expected from the team were a changed car. The Silver Arrows, however, changed the underneath parts and changed the livery too! But did not change their concept of ‘zero-pods’.
The situation is such that after facing defeat in 21 out of the 22 races in which Red Bull took 17, if Mercedes and other teams tended to take cues from Red Bull’s 2022 championship-winning car, then it would have been justified; no one would call them copycats. The rest of the teams, like Aston Martin, Williams, and McLaren, adopted Red Bull’s idea following the team’s great victory in 2022. But Mercedes stuck to their own, despite having the worst outcome with the same design last year.
“Mercedes Is Not A Team That Copy Others”
Now, all ten cars that will shine on the grid of the 2023 F1 championship have been launched. You can easily count who has copied others’ concepts and who brought something new on their own, as Ferrari did. Mclaren unveiled their MCL60, which has the sameesque side pods and elongated undercut as Red Bull. Meanwhile, speaking of Mercedes following the side pod concept again in 2023, its ace driver Lewis Hamilton reflected on his views. It is no shock for the Briton to see some of the teams approaching Red Bull’s design. But Mercedes and Ferrari are the exceptions.
Talking with PlanetF1.com, Hamilton said, “Perhaps with the exception of Ferrari.” And about his team, he said, “We have never been a team that copied other people.” Hamilton believes that the Milton Keynes-Based team always had its own mind and has always been a team that is incredibly creative and innovative and likes to do its way. And according to Lewis Hamilton, “it had worked in the past.“
Lewis Hamilton Has Faith That The W14 Black Livery Will Bring Victory
Does not matter if Mercedes had to bring evolution in the car in order to win a championship; they will never go with another’s idea. Innovating and discovering things is what Mercedes is famous for. In 2022, the Silver schemed W13 took all the peace from Mercedes with its bouncing problems. The car was dangerous too, as in Azerbaijan, Lewis Hamilton had to face severe neck and head pain due to the porpoising issues. The seven-time world champion, who was driving with hopes to claim his ultimate goal, the eighth world title, had to go winless last year. At the end of the season, frustrated Lewis Hamilton denied driving for Mercedes if he’d be given the same car like W13 ever again.
Although the W14 is black, signifying Mercedes winning era is back, it is not entirely different from the W13. It is basically an evolved version and a successor of the 2022 F1 car. But Lewis Hamilton holds the faith tight. He believes in his engineers, who promised a better car to him. Hamilton said, “The W14 black livery Mercedes car looks similar in many ways because some of the parts were difficult to change. But this is when you have to have faith in it that the engineers have, and I have.”
