Motor racing: Mercedes back to black and ready to reclaim Formula One titles

LONDON – Mercedes went back to black on Wednesday with a sleek new Formula One car they hope will allow Lewis Hamilton and George Russell to fight for wins and titles after a difficult 2022 season.

The team ended an unprecedented run of eight successive constructors’ titles with third place overall in 2022 after wrestling with a bouncing car whose performance was hard to extract.

While Russell celebrated his first Formula One victory in Brazil, seven-time world champion Hamilton failed to win a race all season for the first time in a career that started in 2007.

“It looks good. Is she going to be as fast as she looks? I hope so,” commented team boss Toto Wolff at a digital launch from Silverstone where both drivers will give the W14 some first shakedown laps.

“We’ve seen the car now and we’re contemplating, is she fast or not?

“Have we cured some of the problems? What are going to be the challenges that we spot on track? And that is a big unknown.

“But we are positive, there’s excitement. We have the tools to understand, to grow and develop the car and hopefully give George and Lewis something that works.”

Wolff added that the team would be going “all in” to get back in front and beat champions Red Bull, who have Max Verstappen chasing a third successive drivers’ title, and runners-up Ferrari.

Mercedes ran a silver liveried car in 2022 and the return to the black of 2020 and 2021, tying in with the team’s push for greater diversity, has the additional benefit of saving weight by removing paint and leaving raw carbon fibre.

“It looks great in black,” said Hamilton, now 38 and winner of a record 103 grands prix.

The Briton, starting his 11th season with the team and “planning to stay a little bit longer” amid negotiations for a new contract, said he always believed he could get better.

“I’m excited to go racing again. I feel calm, energised, and have my focus sharpened.

“I’m ready to do what’s necessary to win,” he said.

Russell said the team had learnt a lot in 2022 “and hopefully we’ve taken a step up”.

“We’re all here to win, it’s as simple as that,” he added.

“We need to see what challenges we are facing but the team have put so much hard work into this car, the motivation and the fire within the factory is just immense because people don’t want a repeat of what happened in 2022.”

Germany’s Mick Schumacher has joined the team from Haas as reserve while Mercedes also have some new sponsors with Qualcomm Technologies signing a multi-year deal with its Snapdragon brand, previously at Ferrari.

The season starts in Bahrain on March 5, with testing at the Sakhir circuit next week. REUTERS