ANOTHER W14 TWEAK REVEALED AT SPANISH GP AS MERCEDES CONFIRM CHANGE

Mercedes have announced that the three-pointed star emblem on the nosecone of the W14 car will be painted in the colours of the rainbow from this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix to mark the beginning of Pride Month. 

The month of June is dedicated to the celebration and commemoration of members of the LGBT+ community in the western world, with organisations in sport and beyond keen to promote diversity and inclusion.

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton is a passionate supporter of the LGBT+ community and has competed with a rainbow flag on the top surface of his crash helmet at every race so far in 2023.

Mercedes incorporated the ‘Pride Star’ on their nose for each race held in June last season and ahead of the Spanish GP confirmed the return of the badge on Twitter.

“The Pride Star is back,” the team stated alongside an accompanying image of the new look. “Raising awareness and supporting the LGBT+ community.”

Seven-time World Champion Hamilton spoke of his pride at the initiative when it was originally launched at the 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

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He said: “I’m really proud of what we’re doing with Mercedes with our Pride Month star, or ‘Pride Star’ on the car, which is the first time I’ve seen that in my time at Mercedes. It’s just amazing.

“We have more than 100,000 people at Mercedes-Benz and creating a more inclusive environment is so important, and focusing on creating better diversity within your organisation is also so important within the sport.”

The return of the ‘Pride Star’ is the latest tweak to the 2023 Mercedes car after the team introduced a long-awaited upgrade package to the W14 at last weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix.

After being restricted to just a single victory in 2022 as they struggled to adapt to F1’s new ground effect regulations, Mercedes had targeted a return to title-winning contention in 2023 but were shocked to qualify six tenths of pole position at the season opener in Bahrain.

That forced team boss Toto Wolff to confess the team had pursued the wrong development path for the new season, with sweeping changes promised following a technical restructure that saw the highly regarded James Allison return to the front line.

The Monaco upgrade saw Mercedes move away from the divisive slim-sidepod design in favour of a more conventional layout, with the team also incorporating anti-dive technology – said to be one of the keys to Red Bull’s recent success – into the suspension.

The revisions failed to make an immediate impact in Monte Carlo as Hamilton and team-mate George Russell qualified sixth and eighth respectively, but a clearer indication of Mercedes’ progress is likely to come at a more traditional circuit in Barcelona this weekend.

2023-06-01T10:07:39Z dg43tfdfdgfd