The Mercedes team switched to a black livery in 2020 in response to the black lives matters movement and Lewis Hamilton’s pursuit of diversity. In doing so, they tossed out their iconic silver livery, giving them the nickname silver arrows. It has been decided that the team will revert to its iconic livery in 2022 to defend its constructors’ championship. George Russell will drive a silver Mercedes when he joins Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton said last year that it would be okay to go back to the original livery.
In 2020, Mercedes switched to a black livery.
“The car was originally silver arrows, but when I requested last year that it be black, as a symbol of what we intend to do in terms of support, I didn’t expect it to last that long, but we extended it into the second season, which was really awesome. It doesn’t deter us from the changes we are making internally as we continue to push for diversity, even collaborating with all of our partners. We have a good program in place, so it doesn’t matter,” Hamilton previously said..
According to reports, the change was made at the 2021 season finale in Abu Dhabi, where Daimler boss Ola Kallenious was present before the race. The Hamilton Commission published findings that could improve diversity in motorsport, while Hamilton launched Mission 44 to empower underrepresented groups in the UK.
Hamilton won five of his six titles with Mercedes in silver livery, while Mercedes won five of its eight constructor’s titles in the silver livery.