But what it omits, of course, are the liveries that have been designed since F1C launched. And so I thought it was about time to take stock of the last eight years of liveries, and come up with a list of my favourite ten since the site began. Once again, this is a strictly personal choice, and shouldn’t be taken as an attempt to come up with an authoritative “best” – and I welcome any and all debate in the comments!

10. Ferrari Marlboro (2007)

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F1 Colours began just as the era of tobacco sponsorship in F1 was finally coming to an end – and some would say that this could be considered a contributing factor in the often unimaginative use of livery design in those years since. It’s hardly coincidence, either, that what I think is the best Ferrari of these years is indeed the last one to feature the Marlboro logo – although it only did so for a handful of races, as most circuits were in countries that had already banned cigarette advertising. While I still think Ferraris look best in a darker red and with black wings, I did prefer this striking all-red effort to the white-winged cars that have dominated in the years since.

9. Mercedes Petronas (2011)

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Mercedes have never quite hit on a perfect version of their livery – every time they improve it in one area, it seems they mess up somewhere else – but I think the best attempt was their second one. Removing the black accents of the 2010 car in favour of increased turquoise for Petronas, it made the best of a combination of colours that shouldn’t really work, but somehow does. I still wish the turqoise patch covered the entire sidepod, but it’s a minor complaint. This, too, was a car that still had the classic ’50s-style white circles on which to put the race numbers – a baffling omission on the most recent cars.

8. Super Aguri (2008)

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Ah, loveable Super Aguri. Their red and white colour schemes were functional throughout their short life, but they got better with each successive year – and their last car was definitely the best, introducing black as a strong third colour. It’s only a shame that it was only actually ever seen at four races, before the team’s sudden winding-up.

7. AT&T Williams (2007)

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I was a big fan of the 2006 Williams – what can I say, I just like that blue-and-turquoise combo – and while the next year’s car wasn’t as good, it was still a lovely, neat and smart effort, and among the very best of the team’s post-BMW blue-and-white era. Although I’m still baffled as to why AT&T were kept on as title sponsor with such a small presence on the actual car itself…

6. Lotus Renault (2011)

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Look, let’s not go into the politics of it all for now. I still think it’s mad that Renault chose to rebrand themselves in this way, particularly when there was another team using the Lotus name on the grid. And it still would have been a heck of a lot better without the red wing endplates. But there’s no denying that this car looked absolutely terrific on the track – which makes it all the more baffling that they continued to tinker with it in successive years, until by 2013 it barely resembled any kind of JPS homage.

5. HRT (2011)

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Yes, it would have been much better if they’d actually managed to find sponsors to fill those “YOUR LOGO HERE” boxes. Running the whole season without doing so did make them look rather sad and pathetic. But with or without that unique marketing angle (truth be told, more with it than without it) this was a striking and memorable livery for a team that were badly in need of the kind of attention such a good design brings.

4. Virgin Racing (2010)

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In any other year, the first Virgin (pre-Marussia) car would have been easily the best-looking on the grid. An excellent combination of red and black, with white trim, it looked like something Dennis the Menace would drive – well, with the exception of that floral pattern (maybe Walter the Softy got his hands on it). Successive Marussia cars weakened the overall look of the livery, but could never quite shake off the brilliance of the colour combination.

3. Martini Williams (2014)

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I know that a lot of the love for the Martini Williams is more about what it represents than what it actually is. And I know that there are at least ten concept liveries made by fans that would have looked even better. But this is still a phenomenal livery, from a time when the sport really needed one. It’s a long time since Williams did anything that could be remotely construed as “flashy” – and this managed to do that while also showing an admirable amount of simple class and restraint. At the end of the day, it’s a car with proper racing stripes on it – how can you not love that?

2. Renault (2010)

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Renault were a running joke on this site for the first few years I was running it, thanks to the spectacular awfulness of their ING-based liveries. So it was refreshing to see that not only did they pull an absolute humdinger out of the bag for 2010 – but that also, with the exception of those blasted Total wing bits, it was exactly the design everyone wanted them to. The effect was muted a little bit once HP were added to the engine cover and the bumblebee-esque stripes were hence phased out, but this was still an absolutely superb car. Indeed, I think a lot of my hostility towards the 2011 Renaultus is as much based on losing this after just one season as anything else.

1. Lotus Racing (2010)

Well, this can’t really be any kind of surprise to anyone who’s been reading the site for any length of time (and certainly not to those who saw my reaction to it when it first came out). Ignore the fact that they shouldn’t really have had the name. Ignore the fact that it now represents a rather sad, short-lived, ill-fated F1 enterprise that symbolised bad management and ended in ignominy. Ignore the fact that the car itself is a boxy, ugly shitbox that looks as slow as it actually turned out to be. And instead simply rejoice in the fact that it’s a metallic green car with a big yellow racing stripe down the nose. It’s not just the best livery that’s been announced since I was running the site – it’s one of the best since I’ve been watching F1 full stop.

The post The 10 Best Liveries Since F1 Colours Began appeared first on F1 Colours.

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?

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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…

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McLaren: Can’t really be blamed for sticking with the colour scheme that’s served them well over the past few years, nor for the clash with Mercedes (since they were doing silver first). I think the orange-red on the engine cover flowing into the rear wing is a bit overcooked, but the shade of chrome/silver looks really good on the lines of the car. 7/10

Mercedes: Can’t fault the desire to do something that harkens back to the glory years, but this only partly succeeds – lovely choice of silver (if too similar to the McLaren) and the race numbers look brilliantly retro. The black, though, works well on the nose but less so on the engine cover – and the turquoise is just a mistake, there should either be much more or much less of it. 5/10

Red Bull: Elements of this, notably the engine cover and nose tip, still work really well, and it’s a strong shade of blue. But other parts are perhaps a little too busy, and if I were in charge of it I’d maybe look to clean up and simplify it a bit. It’s also looking a bit tired after a few years in use. 6/10

Ferrari: A Ferrari is a Ferrari is a Ferrari, really. Aside from the additional white bits, not a huge amount to distinguish it from previous years; though compared with the rather menacing all-red job of the Raikkonen years, it calls back the late ’90s cars a bit more. 7/10

Williams: Loses points for being exactly the same as last year (even moreso than the McLaren, though slightly less so than the Red Bull) and although I liked it then, I’m starting to get quite bored of it now. Lovely shade of blue, and it’s smart and functional, but it’s really rather dull, and rolling it out again shows a singular lack of imagination. 6/10

Renault: Storming. I still can’t quite decide how well the red bits work (red and yellow looked good on a ’90s Jordan, but they’re quite un-Renault-ish, and the third colour on this car should clearly be white), but at least they add a sponsor to an otherwise blank car. Odd that they should play up the Renault connection now they’re not actually owned by the French marque, but it’s the livery many of us have wanted ever since they bought out Benetton, and done in quite daring fashion, so I can’t complain. 8/10

Force India: On the one hand, a bit more of a change from last year would be nice; on the other hand, it’s fair to say no F1 car has ever looked like Force India’s current livery, and that’s to be applauded. Perhaps a little bit wishy-washy, but orange is always good to see. 7/10

Toro Rosso: Nothing here really changes my usual opinion that the Toro Rossos are the Red Bulls’ uglier cousins – and the new red patch on the nose only really adds to that. And while the bull painting has become their distinctive identity, it’s another thing that has simply stuck around too long (remember when Jordan changed their nose animal every year?), and despite its existence these cars somehow blend into the background, perhaps due to the too-dark blue. Even moreso than the parent team, it’s time for a change. 4/10

Lotus: It’s just perfect, isn’t it? Alright, not quite – it could have some more exciting sponsors on there. But the shade of green (already, as long-time readers know, my favourite colour on an F1 car) is beautiful, the golden yellow offsets it beautifully, it’s got a terrifically retro look, it’s just… perfect. Shame about the shape of the chassis – blocky and outdated where others look sleek and modern – but this is still the best-looking F1 car in many a year. 10/10

HRT: By comparison, ugly and boring to a spectacular degree. Might look good with some sponsors on it, but I can’t fathom why anyone would paint a car in such a way that it’ll actually blend into the track. Just you wait for the first time someone blames a crash on not being able to see it. 1/10

Sauber: Some will find this boring, yes – but there’s a clean smartness to it (despite being, like most of this year’s cars, badly in need of sponsors) and I find the substitution of blue for black a quite clever twist on the way BMW have become Sauber (who, lest we forget, first ran in all-black livery) again. The nose thing is a little odd, though. 7/10

Virgin Racing: Another top job. Almost exactly the colour scheme we expected, this is nevertheless a lovely combination of three colours that simply work superbly together – and in a smart, “swooping” fashion that enhances the lines of the car. Not really sure about the point of the grey pattern at the back of the engine cover, but it’s a small quibble. 9/10

So that’s what I think – what about you? Agree? Disagree? Do you love the HRT, and hate the Lotus? Feel free to debate your favourite and least favourite cars (even add your own ratings, if you want!) in the comments below, and let’s see what the consensus is among you, the readers…!

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Adorning a chassis that’s quite conservative by (so-far) 2010 standards, it’s nevertheless a lovely-looking livery. The engine cover layout calls to mind the ill-fated Midland team, with the side of the nose reminiscent of a mid-2000s Minardi; and the combination of red and black is basically exactly what you’d have expected from the team from day one. But nevertheless, it’s all come out rather classy-looking. Not sure what that grey pattern at the rear (also in red on the uniform legs) is all about, mind; but it’s also nice to see a new car that’s actually got a fair few sponsors on it (although it seems strange that a brand new team, even with Branson behind them, can attract sponsors where the likes of Renault and Sauber can’t). Still not entirely convinced about the team’s ability to compete this season – but the car’s there, it looks good, and it’s got a number 24 on it (which is pleasing for those of us looking forward to there being more than ten teams on the grid!) Top stuff. Just sort your website out next time, boys!

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Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
It must be hard for McLaren not to feel like every aspect of their corporate identity is being shared out – with Mercedes now having formed their own team, and Santander (probably their second main sponsor after Vodafone) shuffling over to Ferrari. But Vodafone are still present, which means that a healthy dose of orange-red will still adorn the car. And despite the Merc split, I’d expect the chrome to remain, too – it’ll still be a different sort of silver from whatever we see at the Brackley-based team, and it’s become a distinct part of the McLaren identity since its introduction in 2006. So I can’t imagine the 2010 model looking too different from 2009, but I would expect more changes if and when they switch engine supplier in the future.

Mercedes Petronas
The team have already offered us hints of what their 2010 car might look like, with some quick photoshop jobs knocked up on their website – first to show a Brawn chassis in silver, then to add a hint of turquoise courtesy of new title sponsors Petronas. The details will change, I’m sure – and I doubt there’ll be much of the turquoise – but it’s a fairly safe bet that we’ll see the Silver Arrows in a somewhat darker shade than during the McLaren years.

Red Bull Racing
It’d be nice to see Red Bull change their livery to a greater extent than the little tweaks they’ve made since entering the sport in 2005, but I can’t really see it happening. More of the same here, particularly after the team’s current image was associated with so much success last year. I bet we’ll get new driver uniforms, though.

Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
I think this might be red. And it’ll have Santander on it.

Williams F1
Williams seem to have settled into a colour scheme of blue and white since the BMW split, and I can’t see that changing this year. Little is known about what their sponsor portfolio will look like (RBS are supposed to be leaving at the end of 2010, while I don’t know whether Philips will have the same prominence as in 2009), but unless they sign a major deal who wants to entirely rebrand the car, look for another smart and simple livery this time out.

Renault F1
Unless Renault manage to sign a new major sponsor, then I can see them going one of two ways. The obvious, and preferred, option would be to revert to classic corporate black and yellow (possibly with white in there too). It’d be distinctive, and can’t fail to look great. However, there’s also a chance that they might stick with mainly white and yellow, with hints of red due to fuel sponsor Total – basically the 2009 design, but with the orange of ING removed. It wouldn’t be amazing, but it’d certainly look better than the four-colour mess of recent years. Personally, I’d say it’s about a 50/50 call as to the likelihood of those two styles. But I’m still hoping for yellow and black.

Force India Formula One Team
Having hit on an impressive and distinctive livery for 2009 (after the disappointing 2008 effort), I can’t see the Team Formerly Known As Jordan And Midland And Spyker making too many changes in 2010. And the fact that we’ve already lost three predominantly white cars from the grid – Toyota, BMW and Brawn – might even make them stand out a bit more.

Scuderia Toro Rosso
See Red Bull Racing. It doesn’t matter that the big red bull has already become a bit tiresome – it’ll be on there again in 2010. A bit more imagination, including possibly promoting other Red Bull brands, might be nice one day, though.

Lotus F1 Racing
Now that the logo has been unveiled, a matter upon which I’d previously been speculating becomes clear – it looks a fairly safe bet that the 2010 Lotus (or, if you like, “Lotus”) will be green, with white and yellow trim. Right? Well, probably. You can’t take anything for granted with a startup team that’ll probably kick off the season short of funds (should a new sponsorship opportunity present itself, I’m sure they’d happily paint the car whatever colour they wanted – and that goes for all the new teams, in fact), but the logo seems like a massive clue. Which is nice – my fondness for green cars is well-documented, so let’s hope this one’s another cracker.

Campos Meta 1
Not a huge amount to go on here, as we know little about potential sponsorship. Still, it’s a Spanish team, so don’t be surprised to see a liberal amount of red and yellow. And indeed, looking at Adrian Campos’ F3 team, we can see a mainly white car, with very early-mid-90s style black wings, and a touch of Spanish-flag trim. Don’t be surprised, therefore, to see something similar on the F1 car – especially if the team are having to paint it on the cheap!

US F1
Well, it’s probably not going to look like this, although they’d become everyone‘s favourite team if it did. Is it too predictable to say – particularly given rumours that Youtube branding will be prominent on the car – that it’ll probably be mostly white, with red and blue trim? Failing that, I’d expect something in red and blue, in similar fashion to a 1996 Footwork – or, if you want to be a bit more geographically topical, a 1985 Lola-Hass?

Virgin Racing
I’d have expected a red and white car from the newly rebranded Manor outfit, but at their “team launch” (a weird concept in itself) the clear indication is that Virgin Racing will be predominantly black, red and white and/or grey. Which, y’know, would have been my second guess. The team have also recently linked up with Lloyds Banking Group, although whether its distinctive not-quite-prancing horse (and associated green colour scheme) will make it onto the car remains to be seen.

(BMW?) Sauber
While this team works out what it’s called, the rest of us will simply be hoping for a return to that lovely all-black colour scheme that adorned Peter Sauber’s cars before Red Bull and Petronas showed up in the mid-’90s. Even if technicalities do mean they end up having to be called “BMW Sauber” rather than simply “Sauber”, you can bet it’ll be a cold day in hell before the left-in-the-lurch team feature a Beemer logo – or the old white/blue/red colour scheme – on their cars. I’m expecting something akin to the Stoddart-era Minardis, as the team, so late to the grid, struggles for sponsorship with an ever-changing roster of small decals on a black car. But hopefully they’ll get something proper sorted out before too long.

So there we go, those are my rough guesses for how the grid will look next year. I still haven’t seen any firm dates for any team’s actual car launch, but I’ll stick ’em up in the sidebar once I do – and keep checking the site for updates as each new livery gets launched. Also in the meantime, before the launch season properly gets underway, I’ll have that first guest article – on the fascinating subject of rarely seen liveries – ready to post as well.

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