Formula 1

The new Mercedes W14 F1 2023

Published

2 months ago

14/02/2023

The 2023 Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One team car, known as the F1 W14.

The eagerly awaited W14 Formula 1 car from Mercedes for 2023 has been unveiled, featuring a black color scheme, and the team has pledged to introduce innovative strategies to recover from a lackluster performance in 2022.

With the objective of re-establishing Mercedes as a top contender, the W14 assumes the mantle from the W13, which was able to achieve race victories but was relatively less competitive compared to the rest of the hybrid era that Mercedes has been dominating.

The W13 exhibited significant fluctuations in its performance from one weekend to the next and initially struggled with destabilizing oscillations, but did experience some progress over the duration of the season.

Mercedes has hinted that it has identified the particular design flaw that was responsible for its disappointing 2022 season, which is believed to be linked to the floor design, and has strongly suggested that it will maintain its distinctive sidepod concept going forward.

Recently, the W14 has been unveiled, featuring computer-generated images of an “early version” of the design and a more recent physical car. The renders demonstrate that Mercedes has retained the slender sidepods, as well as other notable features such as the inlets and a fresh contour at the apex of the engine cover.

*First image of the physical car, featuring the drivers, Wolff, plus Mike Elliott (left) and Hywel Thomas (right).*

According to the technical director, Mike Elliott, “We have accomplished all of the objectives that we aimed for with the W13 during the previous year but were unable to achieve due to resource limitations or because we were occupied addressing other concerns.”

The completely black livery signifies a return to the design that Mercedes employed in 2020 and 2021 to communicate an anti-racism message. This year, the livery serves as part of a major project aimed at decreasing the overall weight of the car. By leaving much of the car’s body in exposed carbon, Mercedes hopes to achieve weight reduction, following struggles they encountered last year with the weight limit.

As per team principal Toto Wolff, “We had issues with weight last year. This year, we have focused on discovering ways to shed every possible gram.”

“Therefore, history is repeating itself. You will notice that the car features a combination of unpainted raw carbon components and parts painted in a matte black finish.”

“Of course, when we altered the livery in 2020, our primary motivation was to demonstrate our support for diversity and equality, which are issues that we hold dear.”