From now on the Mercedes AMG W11 F1 car will have a different 2020 livery. In an official press release the Mercedes team says:

When Formula One returns to racing this weekend in Austria, it will do so in a world that has changed profoundly since the teams last gathered in Melbourne in early March. 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. 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. 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.

Before the end of this season, we will announce a Diversity and Inclusion programme that will include but not be limited to: continuing to listen to and raise the awareness of our team members; forensic analysis of our recruitment and development processes; collaboration with the sport’s key stakeholders to improve accessibility to our sport; and targeted education initiatives to encourage and support talented people from under-represented backgrounds who aspire to reach F1. We know that it will take time to build the right strategy, and consistent effort and investment year on year, and decade on decade, to make a measurable difference; our commitment to doing this is irreversible.

Mercedes changes car 2020 livery after changed world

The new Mercedes W11 2020 car livery

Markus Schaefer, Member of the Board of Management Daimler AG, Responsible for Group Research and Non-Executive Chairman of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team said: “In recent weeks, events around the world have reinforced the importance of continuing to fight against racism and all forms of discrimination. At Mercedes, we know that the strength of our organisation lies in the diversity of our people, and we are proud to be able to use one of our most prominent global platforms to signal our commitment to this fundamental principle of our society and our business.”

Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team commented: “Racism and discrimination have no place in our society, our sport or our team: this is a core belief at Mercedes. But having the right beliefs and the right mindset isn’t enough if we remain silent. We wish to use our voice and our global platform to speak up for respect and equality, and the Silver Arrow will race in black for the entire 2020 F1 season to show our commitment to greater diversity within our team and our sport. We will not shy away from our weaknesses in this area, nor from the progress we must still make; our livery is our public pledge to take positive action. We intend to find and attract the very best talents from the broadest possible range of backgrounds, and to create credible pathways for them to reach our sport, in order to build a stronger and more diverse team in the future. I would also like to use this opportunity to thank our parent company Mercedes-Benz and our family of team partners who have supported and encouraged this initiative.”

At the heart of our commitment to fighting racism and discrimination are our drivers, and most prominently six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. Lewis recently announced the formation of the Hamilton Commission, a research partnership with the Royal Academy of Engineering dedicated to exploring how motorsport can be used to engage more young people from Black backgrounds with STEM subjects and ultimately employ them on our teams or in other engineering sectors. Lewis and Valtteri will race in black overalls for the 2020 season, with both drivers also adapting their helmet designs.

Lewis Hamilton said: “It’s so important that we seize this moment and use it to educate ourselves whether you are an individual, brand or company to make real meaningful changes when it comes to ensuring equality and inclusivity. I have personally experienced racism in my life and seen my family and friends experience racism, and I am speaking from the heart when I appeal for change. When I spoke to Toto about my hopes for what we could achieve as a team, I said it was so important that we stand united. I would like to say a huge thank you to Toto and the Mercedes Board for taking the time to listen, to talk, and to really understand my experiences and passion, and for making this important statement that we are willing to change and improve as a business. We want to build a legacy that goes beyond sport, and if we can be the leaders and can start building more diversity within our own business, it will send such a strong message and give others the confidence to begin a dialogue about how they can implement change.”

Valtteri Bottas concluded: “Formula One is a world that is defined by performance, but it still contains many barriers for people who come from backgrounds that haven’t traditionally been part of the sport. We know that our teams are stronger when they are more representative of the society we are part of, and it is important for us to be united and show our commitment to change. Racism and discrimination have no place in our sport or in our society and I am proud to stand with the team, with Lewis and with Mercedes-Benz in making this important statement.”


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17 F1 Fan comments on “Mercedes changes 2020 W11 car livery to improve diversity

  1. Swede

    Careful Merc... Its only been, 70 years since all of your vehicles were built by slaves. Think Mercedes Benz Stadium will need to go, don't you?

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  2. David Gladwin

    I would have thought they need pink stripes to truly represent diversity, and the cars need to be able to kneel when Hamilton appears.

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  3. ReallyOldRacer

    Black base coats, rainbows, pink ribbons? I don't care, paint them any damned color you want, but can we please just stfu and go racing??? Nine articles today and four of them have little to do with racing...it's like I'm watching cable news.

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  4. djole

    Cmon Merc, you can do better than this
    This is total bs, they should sack Toto and replace him with pan sexual queer trans mixed race dissabled person, then ill take them for serious
    and also they should add antifa logo, blm logo and rainbow to their car to show full support to diversity

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    • Alexander Key

      History is as well. The racists will die, Formula 1 will be women and "minorities". The world will be a better place.

      #BLM
      #LewisIsGOAT

      Reply
  5. Keep PC Culture Out Of F1

    Stopped reading at "just three per cent of our workforce identify as belonging to minority ethnic groups and only 12% of our employees are women."

    Stop pissing in the glass and calling it champagne. Time for some FACTS.

    African population 1.216 billion (2016)
    Indian population 1.353 billion (2018)
    Chinese population 1.393 billion (2018)
    Middle Eastern / Arab population 411 million (2016)

    German population 83.02 million (2019) of which (((officially))) 20.8 million are immigrants (2020).
    Italian population of 60.36 million (2019) of which (((officially))) 5.3 million are immigrants (2019).
    UK population of 66.65 million (2019) of which (((officially))) 9.3 million are immigrants (2018).

    I have read multiple credible reports that the (((official))) numbers are far too low. And all that doesn't include illegal nor 1st generation immigrants, like the ones born after WW2. You know, when so many of the good strong men in the prime of their child rearing lives originating from those countries went the way of the dodo.

    So my question to all you enlightened readers and anyone capable of logical thought is this. WHO IS THE REAL MINORITY???

    Here's more food for thought.

    German population 86.7 million (1939)
    Italian population of 56.5 million (1939)
    Chinese population 267.5 million (1939)
    African population 124.69 million (1913)
    Middle Eastern / Arab population 75.1 million (1950)

    What? Why are Native European population's decreasing when everyone else's has gone through the roof? It's almost as if they're still fighting a war and just don't realize it!!!!!!

    Reply
    • djole

      well in eastern europe our leaders at least tell us how it is and they speak about population decline and dying of our countries, then they say that they need to do smth about it and how they will adress this issue, but then they do nothing to little, like making tv shows abot families with lots of children and stuff and then they say how it didnt had any effect and that they will come up with new strategie...
      and they are repeating stupid strategies and for exaple trying strategies of other ee countries that failed in country that first tryed it xD
      and its constant repeat, how they tried, but couldnt do anything, so they look for new strategie in future and maybe invest millions of benefits for every child one day when economy gets to some decent lvl, and that will never happen of cours xD
      and for exaple last year pm of my country said how things are improving and that we had like 800 or 900 new babies in 2019 compared to 2018 and that thats positive change, but she didnt mention that that is nothing bcs natural increas is - 39k yearly xd so they went form -39 to -38k and they are like you see how our government is good xD

      Reply
  6. Bill Connolly

    Don't look away, don't ignore what's wrong.
    Diversity of people encourages diversity of thought, which will continue to bring better ways to do things. No one should be treated poorly or discriminated against because they are different than you. As a six time world champion, Lewis is in a powerful and influential position to help bring change on this worthy issue.. I applaud Lewis and Mercedes for taking a stand on the world stage. Like it or not, you'll be reminded every time you see the black cars go by.

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  7. Pan5er

    When I first saw the “black arrow” I thought it is a joke. Than I looked again, and than again - and still cannot believe they did that. This is such a populist garbage.

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  8. Dave Lee

    How many years has Hamilton been racing? And now all of a sudden he's jumping on the band wagon and getting his butt ugly face everywhere. How much did it cost then to respray everything? That cash could have gone to better use in what they're preaching about.

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  9. Rich

    Hamilton is a black racist FACT and going to cause even more problems for F1 STFUAD or go home wherever that is There is no longer a place for you in F1.

    Reply

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