I’m not as into helmet liveries as I am those of the cars, but nevertheless, I think there’s a fair amount of interest to be found in paying attention to the changing trends, and to the habits that some drivers have of switching designs frequently, or using one-off paint jobs, and so on. Personally, I think helmet designs were at their best between around the 1980s and late 1990s – during that time, just about every driver had a distinctive yet usually simple design. The patterns would be large, and easily reproducible – in comparison to helmet designs in other sports (such as superbikes), they were never needlessly complex or detailed. This meant that there were a wealth of classic and memorable designs (and at some point, I’ll get around to doing another feature on some of my favourites from this era and beyond).

Since the turn of the century, however, there’s been more of a shift in fashion towards more elaborate and complex designs – helmets that look terrific in close-up, but from a distance are far less distinguishable against the backdrop of a car. There’s also tended to be a bit less reliance on national identity (in the past, an especially high percentage of drivers’ helmets would be based around their national flag), and a lot of drivers are far less concerned about having a single branded image following them through their career – instead changing their design at the drop of a hat, to please either the demands of teams/sponsors or simply their own whims. It’s an idea that surely seems anathema to fans of the likes of Senna, Hill or Mansell.

Among the 2011 helmets, there are a number of these more “modern” designs – but pleasingly, a number of drivers do still have what I’d call “classic”-style paint jobs, some of them among the more recent additions to the sport. So let’s have a closer look at them all…

Red Bull

Of course, Seb Vettel has been the king of ever-changing designs during his short time in F1. The driver most closely identified with the blue and silver “can” design that Red Bull seem to force upon most of their pilots, Vettel has instead frequently taken the opportunity to  experiment with the area around the upper and lower rings of the helmet. Happily, however, he appears to have settled – for the moment – on this shiny, swirling design, as seen towards the end of last season, and throughout pre-season testing and in Australia. It’s probably one of the better designs he’s employed, too. Meanwhile, Mark Webber sticks with a variation on his signature design – I like this look, although I’m not sure about the needless jagged edges that were introduced more recently to it.

McLaren

It’s difficult to fault Lewis Hamilton‘s design – it’s a good tribute to one of the greatest without being a direct lift, it adds (in the form of the red line) a flash that sets it apart as his own, and upon his arrival in the sport it immediately marked him out from a distance in the silver of his McLaren – just like the similar design used to do for Senna. As for Jenson Button, I liked this design when it was a clever twist on the Union Jack (in fact, when he first arrived in F1, it was just a wraparound Union flag design), turning the lines into the letters “JB” – but I’m not as keen on it now that it’s become more pointed and angular, as I think it’s moved away from its original intent. That said, it’s better than the fluorescent variant he used in his title-winning year…

Ferrari

I’m disappointed in Fernando Alonso‘s recent helmet choices, as I think he had a brilliant, consistent design for his first few years in F1. The mixture of the Spanish flag and the light blue (switched to for the sake of Mild Seven sponsorship, but kept even after they left Renault) worked really well, but after moving to McLaren he ditched the design for one that matched the car – and although he’s gone back to assorted variants on it since, none have really worked. His current Ferrari version is at least significantly better than the mostly-red 2009 effort, but it still doesn’t really seem sure what it wants to be any more – there’s too much going on. Felipe Massa, by contrast, has stuck pretty rigidly to a two-colour scheme for his entire F1 career – it’s evolved, but not hugely, and is still recognisably his. Even though the more curved current version does look a bit like he’s being attacked by a radioactive octopus. Incidentally, it’s interesting to note that for this year, Ferrari have finally dropped the white stripe around the top that previously signified the Marlboro sponsorship – it makes the team’s lids look somewhat less distinctively “theirs”.

Mercedes

I can understand why a superstitious Michael Schumacher would favour using a red helmet – he didn’t start winning titles for Ferrari until he changed the white portion to red in 2000 – but I still greatly prefer the old design, with the German flag and the white upper and lower rings. Even the version that was red, but still had the flag in it, was better than this all-red thing – which just looks odd in the silver Mercedes, and even worse with the black “Monster” panels on it. Nico Rosberg, meanwhile, has a nice, straightforward and distinctive design – although I’m not sure I didn’t prefer it when the grey section was blue, as in his Williams days. That said, one thing you can say in Mercedes’ favour is that it’s impossible to get the two drivers mixed up when looking at the car from a distance!

Renault

I’m pretty sure Nick Heidfeld changes his helmet design more frequently than I change my socks. Anyway, for his fill-in stint at Renault, he’s team-matched – a practice I don’t really approve of, but it does make for a nice-looking design in this instance (and fortuitously gives him a somewhat German colour scheme). Though I think it’d be better if his “Q” design was gold on both sides, rather than red on one. Meanwhile, Vitaly Petrov has a nice, clean and simple design – and it’s flag-based, to boot. Excellent work.

Williams

In a way, it’s almost good that Rubens Barrichello is at a team who won’t sully his helmet with colourful sponsor logos – it is, after all, the longest-serving design in the sport (and in terms of race starts, in the sport’s history), and although it’s a little dull, it’s a pleasing reminder of a simpler time. Pastor Maldonado, meanwhile, earns points for using his country’s flag – but otherwise his design is somewhat forgettable.

Force India

I like Adrian Sutil‘s design quite a lot – although it could stand to have a bit more of the burgundy in place of some of the silver. What’s odd is that it looks like it’s been designed to go with his team’s test livery from 2007 – something they’ve long since dropped in favour of white, orange and green. Nevertheless, it’s a pretty smart job – unlike Paul di Resta, whose design isn’t really one thing or another, simply a mess of clashing bright colours in a nondescript pattern. Poor.

Sauber

I do like the colour scheme of Kamui Kobayashi‘s helmet a lot, even though I think the design itself is a little busy. The pattern in the main red circle is smart, though. It’s good to see Sergio Perez employing the Mexican flag colours in his design – although the chosen shades are a little bright for me. It’ll at least make him stand out of that dull car, but I think it could be a bit smarter.

Toro Rosso

Another driver who’s had to defer heavily to the Red Bull “can” design, Sebastien Buemi has at least managed to give it a bit of individuality with the Swiss flag red section on the top – even though it does make it look a little like he should be driving the medical car instead! Meanwhile, Jaime Alguersuari has a slightly nondescript design, but the Spanish colours fit in well with Red Bull’s own look – and I like the way the pattern implies an extension of the “sun” design. Not bad, but not hugely memorable.

Lotus

I preferred Heikki Kovalainen‘s design when it was red, rather than this bright green – his having switched to that colour upon joining Lotus doesn’t even really make sense when you consider how different a shade it is from that of the car. It’s also one of those modern, slightly random designs that isn’t really very memorable or iconic. Jarno Trulli, meanwhile, is on his third major helmet design – having started with a very ’90s-style white helmet that featured red and green strips, he then switched to a mostly-chrome design at Toyota, before settling on a shiny red effort that evoked his original design while updating it. This design did look better in his late Toyota years, though – at Lotus it’s a more orangey-red, and doesn’t really look as classic. He’s also another driver, along with Jenson Button, employing a stylised version of his initials on the side – but which is only legible as such on the left-hand side!

Hispania

An underwhelming set of designs at HRT – Narain Karthikeyan has a simple and straightforward Indian flag design, but it’s a little dull (and seems like it’d be better suited to racing in the Force India livery) – while Vitantonio Liuzzi has inexplicably made a flat grey the background colour of his otherwise pretty cool asymmetrical red/green helmet. It looked significantly better in both the blue of Toro Rosso and the white of Force India, and I’ve got no idea why he’s changed it now – it simply doesn’t work.

Virgin

A pretty nondescript design for Timo Glock – orange, white and black go nicely together as a colour scheme, but the jagged and unfocused lines of it means it feels like a couple of different designs splattered together, while the German flag has no real reason to be there and feels slapped on. But top, top marks for Jerome d’Ambrosio – a terrific design that manages to look really smart, make use of his country’s flag colours, be instantly recognisable, and feel like a classic ’80s/’90s-style design (in fact, it looked so familiar I had to check it hadn’t already been used by another driver in the past). The only real criticism is that these two drivers, employing similar colour schemes, will be quite difficult to tell apart – but that’s still a lovely design no matter which way you look at it.

So those are my thoughts – what do you folks reckon? Which are your favourites? And which are the duds?

Red Bull: Same as it ever was. I’ve never been that keen on the nose design, but the car does look good in profile. The smaller “can” design on the rear endplate is an improvement on last year, as is the stretched out bull on the engine cover. Small improvements, but I still wish they’d try something a bit different one year. 7/10

McLaren: Same as it ever (recently) was. Again, it’s in the engine cover that this has improved – losing the orange from the tip (as with the Red Bull, the change is a result of there being no more “shark fin”) is significantly smarter. But I think we are all starting to get bored of this one now. 6/10

Ferrari: The new logo is nice, and the Italian flag on the rear-wing is a good (if slightly odd) touch. But once again, I curse one of the big teams for giving me so little to talk about. At least Ferrari have a bit more of an excuse, mind. 7/10

Mercedes: This is more like it – both in terms of actually being different from last year, and because it’s a major improvement on 2010. Bolder employment of the Petronas turquoise works a treat – although the way the white text overlaps the two colours on the sidepod troubles me. But in the head-on view in particular, this is a lovely car. 9/10

Renault: Okay, look, I promise I won’t judge this car any more on the external context, or on the fact that it isn’t the wonderful 2010 design. But even aside from all of that – well, it still doesn’t entirely work. The red endplates still feel like a major mistake, and with so many lines and sponsors, the gold looks messy rather than smart. But the benefit of a black car is that even if poorly-designed it’ll look decent, and this will at least be a distinctive on-track presence. Grr at it in general, though. 8/10

Williams: I do like the idea behind calling back to the Rothmans livery (even though it makes no actual sense whatsoever), but the execution could perhaps be better. Parts of it are excellent – aside from inexplicably using silver rather than gold, the section from the cockpit to the rear wing is a proper updating of the design, looking like you suspect a Rothmans car would look if it existed in 2011 (darker blue notwithstanding). But I’m really not at all keen on the nose section, the additional colour stripes simply look too squeezed in alongside last year’s configuration, and a bit more white on there would have gone a long way. Nevertheless, after a few years of samey designs, it’s something with a bit of character to it. 8/10

Force India: I’m getting a little bored of FI’s colour scheme now, although it’s hardly their fault that there are so many other white cars on the grid. The orange and green still look bold, but I don’t think this is a particularly modern application of them – the car looks like, by turns, an early-2000s Toyota and a mid-90s Footwork/Arrows. Something a bit more swooping and curvy would be more in line with current F1 fashion. I won’t mind if Force India keep turning out in these colours, but let’s hope the pattern is a bit more cutting-edge next year. 6/10

Sauber: Well, if they can’t be bothered to design a proper livery, I can’t be bothered to comment on it in detail. BOOOOOOO. 2/10

Toro Rosso: Could they just once, just one year, consider using this car to advertise sugar-free Red Bull instead? No? Well, alright then, I suppose we’re stuck with this. And there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with it, it’s just incredibly boring by now. Five years Toro Rosso have been in the sport. That’s as long as McLaren have had the chrome for. 4/10

Lotus: Well, the only way it could be as good as last year is if it were exactly the same. But this is nevertheless another very strong effort. The shade of green chosen is just lovely, and the racing stripe along the back of the engine cover – spilling onto the wing endplate – is an interesting touch. In profile, this is 10/10, but it’s let down badly by a nose stripe that’s disappointing in the way it blends – or rather doesn’t blend – with the sponsors this time out. 9/10.

HRT: A really rather brilliant livery, let down by two pretty major flaws – firstly, there are already a couple of white cars (and another that uses the three colours of red/white/black), and secondly, it’s got no sponsors. Seriously. The small “Panda” logo is the only thing that hasn’t been brought by hiring Narain Karthikeyan. Yet nevertheless – it’s distinctive (in pattern if not choice of colours), it’s coming from an entirely fresh angle, and it’s got massive lovely race numbers on it. Although, you know, the last two occurrences I can think of of a team having race numbers on the engine cover were the ’98 Tyrrell and the 2005 Jordan. Both of which were those teams’ last years in the sport (and one of which also featured Karthikeyan). Something to think about. Anyway, it’s got imagination, even though I’m yet to be convinced we’ll actually see it race. 8/10.

Virgin: A slight let down after last year’s superb effort. Decreasing the prominence of the black makes it look that bit less imposing/menacing, as does adding grey into the mix (and, as discussed, that addition simply makes one think of Midland), and the whole thing has more of an air of CART than of F1. But it’s still a strong colour scheme on the whole, and the shape of the red pattern over the engine cover has a bit more thought in it than last year’s. I’d like the nose tip a lot more if it weren’t for the blue, though. Oh, and kudos for the pleasingly old-school stylings of D’Ambrosio’s helmet design, but more on that at a later point!  8/10

So that’s my take on them all. How about yours?

For a kickoff, there’s something fairly clever about the way the car’s been presented, at the launch itself and in these shots. Because, from the lighting, and at an initial glance, the second trim colour on the car, along with the red, appears to be gold – successfully calling to mind the Rothmans livery of the 1990s that the car is intended to evoke. But in fact, when you look closer up – and I’m sure this will become more apparent when we get either a studio launch, or some shots of the car on track – those stripes aren’t gold. They’re silver.

So in other words, should someone in authority accuse the team of advertising cigarettes, they can turn around and say “No, we’ve just put red and silver on the car in honour of our new sponsor PDVSA, I don’t know where you’ve got the fag packet idea from”.

Anyway. Just in case you don’t know what this car is supposed to remind you of, it’s one of these – or see here for a pic of your beloved site author with one. Rothmans sponsored Williams between 1994 and 1997 (before switching to their Winfield brand for 98-99), and the car was hence associated with Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve’s back-to-back titles, although also with the disappointment/defeats/tragedy of ’94-’95 (as it happens, I actually think the paint job looked best on the ’94 car, but more on that when we get to the Williams Livery History article in a short while). It’s still a slightly odd choice, mind – it’s a memorable design, but perhaps not as quintessentially “Williamsish” as, say, the Canon/Camel cars of the late ’80s/early ’90s.

The line of thinking here is clearly that, as red is being added to the car anyway in the form of PDVSA’s logo, the team might as well use its introduction to go back to a fondly-remembered colour scheme – but it’s still slightly odd, as unlike Ferrari they’re not covertly advertising cigarettes (unless a deal has gone on in secret, Rothmans – now owned by British American Tobacco – have nothing to do with the team), and unlike Renaultus they’re not trying to convince people they have anything to do with a classic team (they are the classic team the livery calls to mind).

As for the success of the application of it – well, it’s mixed, I’d say. The nose section doesn’t work for me at all – I wasn’t hugely convinced by the way the white bordering worked on the 2010 car (I’d prefer either the same colour on the top as on the sides without borders, or two contrasting colours – but not the same colour with a white line sandwiched between), so I don’t really like it here, and the way the coloured lines tail off just makes it feel confused. I think they’d have been better served having white run to about halfway down the nose, then have the rest be solid blue.

But from the cockpit rearwards, it significantly improves. The profile view looks great – even though the way it’s a bit like the Rothmans livery but in a different stripe configuration calls to mind what Sauber have done with the old BMW design – and I especially like the way “randstad” occupies the space that would have been “Rothmans” (that is, on the 1997 car – which swapped the patterns of blue and white on the engine cover from the way they’d been for the previous three years). Viewed from behind through the rear wing, too, the effect is really good. Some of the white space, though – especially on the airbox – could really do with another sponsor.

As a Williams fan, it’s nice to see a bit of discussion/excitement about the team’s livery – and after testing there seems to be a good level of optimism about their chances in 2011 (although “this could be the year we get back towards the top” is the mantra of the Williams fan). But it has to be said that the livery isn’t that different from those of previous years, and after making such a big deal of launching the livery when the car itself had already been seen in testing, we might have felt entitled to expect something a bit more radical and different. And I simply can’t get over the idea that, for reasons apparently based in nothing other than nostalgia, we now have three cars on the grid that look like they have tobacco advertising on them. Something about that just doesn’t feel right.

Oh, and now that we have all the new cars: yes, I’ll be doing my customary run-down of what I think about each in comparison to one-another. Look out for that before the season starts, along with – yes, and I know I promise this every year and never get around to it, but this time I absolutely will – a look at each of the drivers’ helmet designs!

Meanwhile, from the side, the effect is more reminiscent of a mid-90s Footwork than anything. It’s an interesting design, although I don’t think the blockiness of it really conveys “speed” in the same way as the curving, swooping lines of its two precedessors. The trailing blocks along the side are evidently meant to suggest that, but I’m not sure it entirely comes off. And I like a bit of asymmetry on a car – but “a bit” is about as much as this one has got: it’s only the nose pattern that differs from side to side, with the paint job evening out by the time it reaches the sidepods. Still, it’s a bold new effort from the team, and they should be applauded for finding new ways to apply a colour scheme that remains unique to them among the history of F1 liveries as a whole.

Another thing that amuses me about the car is its method of making it look like it has more sponsors than it actually does – almost every logo on the car is a subsidiary of Vijay Mallya’s United Breweries Group, but the casual onlooker might not necessarily be aware of that, and so would assume that the team are in better commercial health than they are (although they evidently don’t have much of a problem with being bankrolled almost entirely by Mallya). And while it’s amusing to see another example of a car featuring three different brands of a particular product type (to go alongside the Lotus Renault also having Lada on it), I can’t help but wonder if the team are perhaps over-strengthening the link between cars and alcohol…?

So given that they were the team with comfortably the worst livery on the grid last season, it would have been difficult for HRT to go downwards this year. As it is, with the hiring of a Hollywood design consultant in the shape of Daniel Simon, we knew something a bit exciting would be afoot. And so it’s proved.

First things first – the car in and of itself: it’s great. I worry it might get “old” quickly (and there’s something quite mid-to-late ’90s about it, don’t you think?) but at the moment it’s a breath of fresh air, something genuinely distinctive and interesting. It’s perhaps a little too self-consciously “race”-y, but you can’t deny that the fading chequered flag motif and nose-tip racing stripe are fun, quirky features. The colour scheme is great, too – you can’t go wrong with a white/red car accented by black, it instantly calls to mind certain Marlboro cars. And, of course – it’s got GREAT BIG RACE NUMBERS on it. I don’t have to tell regular readers just how much I love seeing GREAT BIG RACE NUMBERS on a car.

As with the Marussia-Virgin revealed yesterday, it’s perhaps a touch American-looking – but that’s not necessarily a bad thing (in fact, how good would this have looked as the USF1 livery instead? Try imagining the black bits as blue, instead…). Interesting to note, too, that the colour scheme’s not entirely dissimilar to the cover art of Daniel’s book Cosmic Motors. So are the colours his choice, or Hispania’s?

Now, though, to the downsides. First of all, it has to be said – we’re going worryingly back towards 2009 levels when it comes to the number of predominantly white cars on the grid. Two – in the shape of Sauber and Force India – is just about acceptable (and this is assuming FI do stick with their usual design – we’ll find out in about twenty minutes), but three (a quarter of the cars on the grid) is starting to push it. It’s at least a distinctive look (despite using the same primary colours as Virgin), but let’s hope it can stand out on the track.

Secondly, the sponsorship situation is undoubtedly worrying for anyone interested in the team. The car wasn’t exactly awash with logos last year – but this time out, everyone who sponsored the team has disappeared (presumably most departed with Senna), and there’s not even a “Hispania” logo on it. Instead, there’s just one sponsor – Tata, meaning Narain Karthikeyan’s likely in a very strong position regarding the retention of his seat – and the usual prime sponsor spaces are given over to phrases like “This could be you” and “This is a cool spot”. Are these placeholders for an upcoming deal(s)? A bit of witty self-commentary on the lack of sponsorship? Evidence of a new marketing scheme involving the general public getting their names on the car? Or really just a simple, desperate plea for new sponsors? Time will tell.

Despite these concerns, it’s undoubtedly a cool-looking car – I do wonder about Hispania’s own role in all of this (it seems their identity’s been pushed right back into the background, which leads me to wonder whether they’ll be in charge of the team for much longer or if someone new’s waiting in the wings), but it’s undeniable they’ve made an immeasurable improvement over last year. Whoever ends up joining Karthikeyan in car #23 this year is going to have one of the most camera-friendly cars out there.

I think the main problem with it is that the sleek matte black of last year’s car is no longer the dominant theme – the subtle shifts here and there (from the way the black section on the sides now starts further back along the sidepod and loops up at a sharper angle, to the increased amounts of white, to the fact that it just looks downright shinier) detract from it somewhat. The most notable change, of course, is the white section on the nose – where the blue in Marussia’s logo throws the whole thing off to a significant extent – along with the addition of grey to the white lines that separate the red and black. These additions, along with an increased number of smaller sponsor logos, make the whole thing somewhat reminiscent of the short-lived Midland team’s 2006 car – strangely, the last time a Russian company whose name begins with “M” bought into a small team with an established amount of character and spirit.

It’s certainly not a terrible car, by any means – and I quite like the driver’s uniforms, even though it’s a disappointment to see yet more drivers wearing white, particularly as there was nothing wrong with last year’s black-and-red suits – but after the gorgeous, simple effort last year that projected a clear, stark, unified team identity, this one already feels like it’s throwing too many different elements into the mix.

Above anything else, frankly, I think it looks more like a ChampCar racer than an F1 car…

Having now seen it in full, it has to be said – it’s a sterling example of how just a few changes can make a huge difference to the quality of a livery. This is a great looking car, and will in all likelihood be one of the best on the grid this year. The turquoise works so well alongside the silver in this new, increased quantity that I’m amazed they were so scared of it last year; this makes the 2010 car look like a wishy-washy, test prototype, while this is The Real Thing. Dropping the black “carbon” sections from the engine cover and nose has worked superbly, too – it gives the car a much more dynamic feel now that, down to the tip of the nose, it’s just one shard-like piece of silver.

There are quibbles: it’s a shame there’s been nothing done with the airbox area (how nice would a huge, three-point-star Merc logo look there?); I’m not sure the red sponsor detail works as well on the rear wing as it does on the nose (where the classic-style race numbers allow them to get away with it); I still don’t know what’s up with those black-and-yellow wing mirrors, which date back to the 2009 Brawn; and there’s something up with the way the PETRONAS on the sidepod partially creeps out into the silver. Really, though, these are minor issues. All in all, Mercedes have done a terrific job this time out.

Elsewhere, the two Red Bull-owned teams launched new cars as well. For both, it was a case of “more of the same”, although moreso in Toro Rosso’s case; I really can’t see any difference between this livery and last year’s, aside from the new sponsor added to the cockpit sides:

Meanwhile, the Red Bull is at least a little different – and I don’t just mean for the (disappointingly small) #1 that now adorns the nose. It’s the wing endplates that draw the focus – perhaps to make up for the Total logo on the front wing sides being smaller this year, there’s now a red-backed logo on the rear wing, as well – replacing the Red Bull/Red Bull Cola drinks can that was on it last year. It’s interesting how much sway Total seem to have over the teams they supply – they’ve now forced a red logo on both Red Bull and Renault, although at least in this case it’s more complementary to the overall colour scheme.

But aside from that, it’s same-old for Red Bull. It’s a design I’m definitely starting to get a bit tired of, myself; it’s always looked a bit too busy (ironically, for a car with so few sponsors) with the red, light blue and silver stripes, particularly the ones on the nose. I think the team would be better-served reverting to a simpler, classier-looking design. The yellow nose and airbox, with the red bulls on either side, are undoubtedly an unchangeable part of the team’s look, but the car could still keep them and yet be tidied up somewhat – I mean, take the Petronas turquoise off this, make the RB logo a bit bigger, and you’ve got a definite winner…

Oh, and in case you were wondering – yes, I will be talking about Williams’ interim livery at some point, but as it wasn’t a full-on new season design launch, I’ve held off for now. More to come!

All opinions on the naming situation and their right to even appropriate this livery aside, the car itself is interesting. It does look pretty nice in places (especially in close-up) – although I still think their 2010 car was much more interesting. And the uniforms are good, to boot. But they just seem intent on ruining a good concept with poor application; we’ve discussed the red endplates (does anyone think they work? No, really, comment if you do), but there’s also the surplus of sponsors clustering the sidepod (yet none on the airbox – just a team URL), or the big yellow Lotus logo on the nose (and how funny is it that Lotus have a car with a big Renault logo on the nose, and Renault have a car with a big Lotus logo on the nose?)

When all’s said and done, it’s a pretty nice-looking car – flaws and all – but man, if it isn’t the most elaborate act of “making a point” I’ve seen in a long time.

Instead… it’s last year’s car with a couple of Telmex logos on it.

Alright, so they’ve changed the nose pattern a bit. But come on. It’s still rubbish. It still looks like an early-90s back-of-the-grid outfit. None of the sponsor logos are in any way integrated with the livery – they’re just there, in whatever original colours they happen to be. The livery doesn’t give any sort of comprehensive team identity – it’s just a hangover from the BMW days, altered slightly. You have to wonder whether anyone at the team actually cares about what their car looks like. Terribly shoddy effort.

It’s certainly nice to see the green/white/yellow design making a comeback; but it’s also not as immediately, strikingly brilliant as the 2010 design. I like the flash of the yellow stripe that comes across the back of the engine cover and onto the rear wing, but that’s about the only alteration that feels like an improvement. The nose, in particular, is a major disappointment – with sponsor logos looking like they’re stuck on in differently-coloured boxes, rather than being “cut out” of the nose stripe. It makes it look a bit cheap. And I’m not keen on the new style of number-housing circle, either.

The configuration of sponsors is interesting to note: it’s quite impressive in this climate that the team have managed to pick up a new sponsor entirely, in the shape of EQ8 energy drink (although it’s entirely feasible that, as with other such drinks in the past, EQ8 is in fact a Fernandes-owned brand); and it’s notable that AirAisa now receives increased prominence on the car. Of course, as rumours persist that the team might not actually go into the season named Lotus (despite using the classic Lotus shield for their “Team Lotus” mark – meaning that unless Renault change it, it’s going to be on two different cars this year), the good money would seem to be on them becoming “Team AirAsia”, instead…