Mercedes mocked for embarrassing W14 blunder

Mercedes have gone back to black in 2023 after sporting a silver livery last season.

The W14 reveal was one of the most anticipated car launches this pre-season, as fans patiently wait to see how Mercedes have improved on the failures of the W13.

Last season’s car struggled from the start with a major porpoising issue, however after upgrades were applied to the car late in the season, the team became much more competitive.

The W14 launch did not disappoint, with Mercedes technical director Mike Elliott explaining that while elements of the car look the same as last year, the car has changed significantly for the better.

The Silver Arrows have kept the zero sidepod model, clearly keeping faith in their bold development pathway despite different approaches by Red Bull and Ferrari.

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Mercedes have also returned to a black livery after a season in silver but while fans were pleased with the stunning new livery, one comical error was spotted.

After zooming in on the images of the front wing, some eagle-eyed fans managed to discover that the Mercedes logo at the very front of the wing was slightly off-centre.

This is an error that is almost impossible to be seen by the naked eye, but it is very difficult to pull the wool over the eyes of F1 fans.

Some fans have taken to Reddit to mock the unfortunate error, joking that the off-centre logo could have a significant impact on the performance of the W14.

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“Literally undrivable, that’s going to cost them at least two tenths,” joked one fan.

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“This will create a huge lateral weight imbalance. Car will understeer catastrophically when turning left and will oversteer uncontrollably when turning left. Goodbye, WDC and CDC,” wrote another.

With last season’s car struggling with a poisoning issue and a lack of performance compared to the other top teams, Mercedes will most likely be over the moon if the biggest problem that the W14 features is an off-centre Mercedes logo.

The Silver Arrows are expected to join the title fight between Ferrari and Red Bull this year, meaning that fans may be treated to the first three-way title fight in a number of seasons in 2023.