Lewis Hamilton Comments On W14 Paintjob: "All Out For Performance"

Hamilton doubles down on the unpainted carbon fibre

The unveiling of new F1 cars is always a highly anticipated event, with fans finally able to get an idea of what their favourite team will look like. And this year was no exception. Among the teams that revealed their new cars for the 2023 season, Mercedes stood out with a striking new look. The team has opted to go back to an all-black livery, much to the delight of driver Lewis Hamilton.

During the 2020 and 2021 seasons, Lewis Hamilton and his then-teammate Valtteri Bottas raced in a black Mercedes to make a statement against racism and to promote diversity in the sport - something that Mercedes has made several steps in promoting and helping.

However, in the 2022 season, the team went back to their traditional "silver arrows" livery, while still featuring black prominently in their team clothing. This car, the W13, didn't yield amazing results, so not the silver of this car has become a bit of a superstition. 

Mercedes has, once again, elected to embrace a black livery for their latest race car. Unlike previous seasons, however, the decision to do so was not borne out of a desire to promote inclusivity or to make a political statement but, rather, was driven by weight-saving measures. 

In fact, multiple teams have recently resorted to the process of paint removal from their cars in an attempt to make them as lightweight as possible, and Mercedes has taken this practice to an extreme extent, leaving significant portions of the carbon unpainted.

This choice was met with the approval of Hamilton, who expressed his delight at the return of the black livery. "Everyone in the team, pretty much or in the garage at least, preferred the black car from before. Everyone is with it and likes it within the team," he admitted to GPBlog. 

He continued:

"Weight is a key goal for us, we were carrying a weight penalty all year, even the last race. We have been working hard to make sure that's not the case this year. We will find out later on or next week whether or not we have hit that mark," Hamilton assures us. 

"Even last year, we thought we were going to be on weight and we weren't, we were way over. I am glad that has been taken serious. Not too much paint on the car, the minimum. It's all out for performance, it's not how it looks it's how quick it goes."