30/12/2021
NEWS STORY
Mercedes is likely to return to its iconic Silver Arrows livery for the 2022 season.
With the start of the 2020 season delayed due to the pandemic, Mercedes announced that when racing finally got underway in Austria in July, its cars would be running a new black-based livery.
"When Formula One returns to racing this weekend, it will do so in a world that has changed profoundly since the teams last gathered in Melbourne in early March," said the German team. "Our sport's united response to the global Covid-19 pandemic, in the form of Project Pitlane, showcased the very best capability that Formula One has to offer.
"However, in the past five weeks, the Black Lives Matter movement has shone a searching light on how much we need new measures and actions in the fight against racism and all forms of discrimination," it added. "As a team, we have used the past weeks to listen to the perspectives of our team members, to learn and to reflect on our team as it is today and how we want it to be in the future.
"We are proud of our culture and our values," declared the German team. "We prize the contribution of every individual, and our team members tell us that the experience within our team is an inclusive one. But in our organisation, just three per cent of our workforce identify as belonging to minority ethnic groups and only 12% of our employees are women. This lack of diversity shows that we need to find new approaches to attract talent from many areas of society we do not currently reach. We know that our team will be stronger if we can attract talents from the broadest possible pool and we are committed to achieving this through positive action.
"For 2020, we have chosen to race in an all-black base livery as a public pledge to improve the diversity of our team - and a clear statement that we stand against racism and all forms of discrimination. The call to 'End Racism' will feature on the halo of both cars, and the united F1 initiative #WeRaceAsOne will be featured on the mirrors of the W11."
While the team continued with the black livery in 2021 also, for 2022 it appears to be reverting to its original silver livery, though the Brackley-based outfit has yet to officially confirm this.
When rumours of the switch first began to surface, Lewis Hamilton when asked his feelings, replied: "I don't have a particular feeling towards it. I'm not involved in that for next year... and it is originally a Silver Arrows.
"When I asked if we could go to make the car black last year, in terms of the symbolism, and what we intend to do moving forward in terms of support, I wasn't expecting it to last particularly long, and we carried it into a second season, which is awesome," he added.
"If it goes back, it will be a nice change. It doesn't deter us from the changes that we are making internally, as we continue to truly push for diversity, even working with all of our partners. We've got a good programme going, so it doesn't make a difference."
Last week the German team became the first to fire up its 2022 contender.