The W14 was unveiled for the world to see this week and much to the surprise of some fans, Mercedes have returned to their black livery.
The car is expected to be a lot more competitive than the W13, as the Silver Arrows build on what was a strong finish to the 2022 season, which even saw George Russell pick up the first win of his F1 career.
Before the teams jet off to Bahrain for pre-season testing later this month, many have been taking part in shakedowns at various circuits to give their drivers some time behind the wheel of their new cars.
Mercedes have joined teams such as Red Bull and Haas in taking part in a shakedown at Silverstone during a filming day, giving Lewis Hamilton and George Russell as much time as possible to understand the W14.
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According to reports however, this shakedown did not go anywhere near as well as the team would have hoped, as the W14 experienced a number of power unit issues on the day.
“The premiere of the Mercedes W14 hasn’t been the dream,” tweeted Virutas de Goma.
“After the presentation, it has been out to run at Silverstone and given engine problems.
“They have sent the unit in for repair. It had ignition problems, rattling and misfiring. They are afraid it will happen again.”
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Mercedes will really hope that power unit issues do not plague their 2023, as this was one of the only areas in which they looked strong last season.
Lewis Hamilton’s retirement from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix due to a hydraulic problem was the only mechanical failure that Mercedes experienced all season, keeping both of their drivers on the track for the majority of the season.
With the start of the 2023 season only weeks away, the Silver Arrows will be praying that they can resolve whatever issues they have experienced this week, hoping that the engine struggles during the shakedown are a one-off.