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A Minor Mercedes Botch-Up Stirs the Pot as Fans on Internet Cook Up Crazy Theories: “That’s Gonna Cost Em…”

Published 02/16/2023, 5:00 AM EST

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After 8 teams on the current grid, Mercedes has finally unveiled its 2023 challenger. That’s right, the W14 is here and is ready to fight its rivals once again. After a season full of struggles in 2022, which marked the end of the Silver Arrows’ era of dominance, the team needs to come out all guns blazing. However, it seems like the pre-season nervousness has already started to kick in. As the Brackley-based outfit revealed its new car yesterday, some fans noticed an irregularity, one which was minor. However, it has caused a major stir among fans on the internet.

After first sporting the all-black livery in 2020, Mercedes has gone back to the same design theory that fans adored. While the reason for the same last time around was to display the team’s solidarity with the racial equality movement, this time, it’s purely technical. Given how crucial the weight of the car is in influencing the overall pace, the black livery with extensive areas of exposed carbon fiber gives an extra bit of an advantage in getting the weight down.

The little Mercedes snafu that evoked hilariously wild theories

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Mercedes revealed their new car in the presence of Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, reserve driver Mick Schumacher, and team principal Toto Wolff. Also present were a number of interns who got to witness the car from close. During the grand unveiling, a little irregularity crept in.

They placed the Mercedes badge on the front of the nose of the car, a little off from the center. And as we know well by now, nothing escapes the eyes of the ever-so-vigilant F1 fans.

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Have a look at some hilariously sarcastic reactions on the Reddit post.

One fan sarcastically pointed out the reason why this was not a mess-up, but a genius move to give the team an advantage over their rivals.

Some felt that the mistake was grave and could have dire consequences for the Silver Arrows at the season opener in Bahrain next month.

Then there were the fans who predicted the harsh consequences for the person responsible was about to go through.

And obviously, a grave mistake like this pours all the hard work of all the factory workers down the drain.

The post really is a testimony to the attention to detail Redditors have.

One user had a hilarious take on last year’s George Russell-Carlos Sainz crash at the US GP.

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Some believed it was going to help Mercedes pull in some extra bit of downforce.

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Watch This Story: Mercedes React to FIA’s admission of “Human Error” in the Verstappen-Hamilton Scandal

Now it is just Alpine that is yet to reveal its new car. Surely they will learn from Mercedes’ mistakes to make sure their prospects of improving don’t take a hit with a mess up like this.

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Written by:

Nischay Rathore

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Nischay Rathore is a Formula 1 Author at EssentiallySports. Being a law graduate, he has worked at the Supreme Court of India as well as the High Court of Delhi. However, due to his adherent love for sports, he has now set out to start his journey into the world of Sports Journalism.
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Edited by:

Akash Pandhare