With Mercedes dominating the current F1 scene, the Brackley-based outfit has decided to bring a special livery for the upcoming Japanese GP. Perhaps the Silver Arrows should’ve given it a second thought before deciding on the special livery, given their past performance record from whenever they’ve brought a one-off livery.
Every time in the last seven years that Mercedes has brought a special one-off livery to a race, starting with the Hockenheim livery in 2019 to the British GP sunset orange accent livery from 2025, the Brackley-based outfit has failed to win that race, even during 2019 & 2020, when they dominated the sport.
Now, with the 2026 regulations overhaul, the Brackley-based outfit has once again come out on top, with an advantage similar to 2014, when they were seconds ahead of the competition. George Russell and Kimi Antonelli finished the Australian and Chinese GP 15 & 25 seconds ahead of their next rival car, respectively.
With Mercedes bringing the special Wolf-themed livery for the 2026 Japanese GP, the records suggest that they won’t be winning this weekend’s race in Suzuka. However, a special Silver Arrows livery has been a good omen for Max Verstappen, who’s had a disastrous start to the 2026 campaign.
Every time Mercedes brought a special livery since the 2019 German GP, the Dutchman has finished on the podium. They’ve brought five special liveries in the last seven years, and Verstappen has ended up winning three of those weekends and finishing P2 once.
Let’s have a look at the last five occasions when Mercedes has brought a special livery.
2019 German GP – Special Mercedes Heritage livery celebrating 125 years of motorsport
The special livery featured a unique white-to-silver fade symbolising the original of the “Silver Arrows”. Lewis Hamilton took the pole position for Mercedes with Valtteri Bottas starting P3. Both got a good launch as the race began in damp conditions, and ran 1-2 for 29 laps, when disaster struck.
The lap after pitting for slick tires, Hamilton went into the barrier on the exit of the penultimate corner, lost his front wing, and was followed by chaos at the pitbox. Just 7 laps from the finish, Valtteri Bottas, whilst running P4, lost the rear of the car into the first corner, smashed into the barrier, and retired. Certainly a weekend for the Silver Arrows to forget.
2020 Abu Dhabi GP – Names of all Mercedes members on engine cover
The livery featured the names of all the team members on the engine cover to celebrate the Silver Arrows winning seven consecutive F1 titles, along with seven Petronas stars.
Max Verstappen started on pole position with the two Mercedes behind him. It was a pretty uneventful race with the Top 3 finishing in the same order in which they started the race. The Brackley-based outfit again failed to win and didn’t have an answer to the Dutchman’s dominance, who finished 15 seconds ahead.
2022 Belgium GP – AMG 55th Anniversary Livery
Mercedes planned on bringing the “Red Pig” livery to celebrate 55 years of AMG, but put the idea on the back burner due to weight concerns. The team introduced white vintage racing numbers inside a red circle on the sidepods.
The two Mercedes started the race inside the Top 5 as Lewis Hamilton battled Fernando Alonso for P2, going down the Kemmel straight on Lap 1. Going into Les Combes, the two collided with Hamilton airborne for a split second, and retiring from the race. George Russell finished in P4 with Max Verstappen again winning the race.
2024 Singapore GP – Special emerald green livery to celebrate Petronas’ 50th Anniversary
Mercedes usually just has hints of emerald green on its livery for its title sponsor, Petronas. However, to celebrate the Malaysian energy brand’s 50th anniversary, an emerald green livery was brought to the 2024 Singapore GP.
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell locked out the second row for the start, with Max Verstappen and Lando Norris starting on the front row. The two drivers finished P4 and P6, with Oscar Piastri taking the final podium start. Norris won the race with Verstappen finishing P2.
2025 British GP – Sunset beam orange accents to celebrate past, present, and future
The Silver Arrows celebrated the past, present, and future of the team at the 2025 British GP. The past and present were taken care of by the W196, the first Mercedes F1 car, on display, and the appearance of the AMG ONE. For the future, the Brackley-based outfit added Sunset beam orange accents, inspired by the C111 vehicles, and featured on the CONCEPT AMG GT XX.
George Russell started in P4 and Kimi Antonelli in P10 after the grid drop penalty. Rain hit the circuit before the start, and a fast-drying track made Russell pit after the formation lap for slick tires. The Briton never got on top of the ever-changing British weather and finished P10.
Kimi Antonelli, in the end, had to retire after Isack Hadjar rear-ended the Italian, who eventually retired the car in the pits after severe damage to the diffuser. Max Verstappen was in P2 when a spin at the safety car restart diminished his chances of winning.
Edited by Pranay Bhagi
