Mercedes unveils W17 livery as new stripes draw mixed reaction ahead of 2026 F1 Season

The Mercedes Formula 1 team unveiled its W17 livery on 22 January, and the black and silver design has caught the attention of fans ahead of the 2026 season. 

The livery features a predominantly black design with the usual silver and Petronas turquoise accents. However, the Toto Wolff-led team has this time opted for a striped detail on the top of the sidepods.

"Looks sleek, and the nose on this generation of cars looks so much better as well," one fan commented on Reddit, while another added: "I love it, but I wish it was more silver. Audi are the new silver arrows lol."

Someone else commented: "This car literally looks like a silver arrow tho, especially from the top."

Another fan agreed: "I kinda like how the silver nose and black sides really emphasizes the 'Silver Arrows' nickname."

"That's a real mean looking car. Best they've looked since the W11," another approving fan said.

Others linked the stripes to the adidas stripes, a major partner of the Brackley outfit. "Looks like an adidas shoe," one wrote, and someone else added: "Adidas tracksuit livery."

"Ngl, I love the stripes on the sidepods! Nice upgrade on their classic livery overall," one fan said.

The livery reveal came alongside the announcement that Mercedes had partnered with Microsoft. The technology giant's logo is now placed on the front wing.

"The Microsoft logo and weird stripes ruin it for me. It’s HP 2025 all over again. I’d rather some Adidas stripes the whole length of the car than this too. Weird," wrote one commenter.

While Mercedes has unveiled its livery, it will hold an official launch event on 2 February with drivers George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, team chief Wolff and senior personnel.

The 2026 F1 season will kick off with the Australian Grand Prix on 6-8 March, followed by the Chinese Grand Prix the week after.