Mercedes W14 is finally out in the world. And it is precisely what fans have been wanting and imagining for the last two months. Ever since the change in livery discussion for the new Mercedes F1 car rose, every fan wished to the Silver Arrows to bring the black livery back. And it looks like the team has listened to their fans’ demands and brought in exactly what they wished for. It’s the BLACK LIVERY for Mercedes for the 2023 F1 season.
But despite the new look and the livery, what are the technical changes Mercedes brought this year? Keep reading further to find out.
Mercedes Ready To Dive In With BOLD BLACK W14
This year, the Silver Arrows and its set team of excellent drivers are ready to provide “bold solutions” to all last year’s problems. This new W14 is set to bring Mercedes back into title contention along with Red Bull & Ferrari. Last year, the then Mercedes’ challenger, W13, demanded weekend-to-weekend pace variance and also suffered from debilitating porpoising. And by the time the team worked on the issues affecting the drivers’ performances & the game, the season came to a willful end with Max Verstappen claimed as the champion.
However, this time, Mercedes is sure that they have curbed all the distractions caused last year. The team claims they had covered the single design mistake that doomed its 2022 season. Although, they are still determined to use the unique “sidepod” concept this year, just like in 2022. The new W14 is more up-to-date with the new regulations. Moreover, the narrow sidepods have been retained, among other eye-catching features like the inlets and a brand new profiling at the lid of the engine cover.
On top of that, fans would be thinking that the W14 has been painted all black. But that is not the case. Because this year, the majority of the car is unpainted and run as raw carbon fiber. Only the upper section of the nose and the engine lid features matte black paint. Otherwise, almost every lower element of the car, including the wings, are unpainted. This decision has been included to reduce the fraction of the mass, which is making the car heavy.
Boss Toto Wolff has pointed out the reason for keeping the car black. According to him, back in 2022, the main driving factor was to support the diversity and equality causes that are always close to our hearts. But this time, the reason is technical. However, the Boss pointed out that the color black became part of our DNA at that point. Therefore, this is now crystal clear that the new W14 features a significantly lighter chassis. Other changes include revised front suspension geometry, refined aerodynamics, and cooling system adjustments.
But the question arises: Will the new Mercedes F1 Challenger be fast enough to challenge Red Bull & Ferrari in the 2023 season? Only time will tell.