Can the W14 take Mercedes back to the top of F1?

By:

Jake Boxall-Legge

Feb 15, 2023, 12:02 PM

Mercedes will hope its return to a black livery will be a signifier for a successful resurgence with the W14 Formula 1 car. The German manufacturer has made numerous changes after the difficult 2022 car, but has not entirely ripped up the existing concept, in its bid to rejoin the title fight

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The ‘back in black’ jokes have already been done to death. After one season of its traditional silver livery, Mercedes has switched back to the paint scheme that served it so well in 2020 and 2021. Not that there’s much paint to speak of; switching to a black car has been predominantly an exercise in weight-saving.

Objectively, 2022 wasn’t all that miserable given Mercedes still claimed a race win, multiple podiums, and third in the championship. Not that the team sees it that way because anything less than a clinical display of domination in both championships does not sit particularly well in the Mercedes camp. The W13 represented something of a problem child and, although it managed to fly right by the end of the season, it was still a bump back to earth after years of championship glory.

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Jake Boxall-Legge

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Jake studied engineering at university, as his original ambition was to design racing cars. He was bad at that, and thus decided to write about them instead with an equally limited skillset. The above article is a demonstration of that. In his spare time, Jake enjoys people, places, and things.