When Mercedes ditched its traditional silver colour scheme for a black paint job in 2020, the team made a powerful, visual statement about its commitment to promoting diversity and tackling racism.
However Austrian and German media reports have claimed the team will revert to its heritage silver paintwork for the 2022 F1 season.
Making a sudden change in livery one season only to drop it again two years later might seem an unusual move. But the first reports indicating this was Mercedes’ plan emerged back October 2020, when team principal Toto Wolff was quoted by Austrian motoring magazine Auto Revue as saying they would keep their new look for one more season, then change the year after.
The team batted away questions about its livery plans last year, pointing out – not unreasonably – that the championship fight against Red Bull was their priority. Shortly before the new year German newspaper Bild restated the claims a change was coming, telling its readers “the silver arrows…