She rated the Williams a what now?
With the 2021 season well and truly upon us, we’ve finally seen all the cars in action on track. Caitlin took the time to look at the best and the worst liveries in a year.
In Caitlin’s words, here’s a rundown of all the cars hitting the track this season, from worst to best.
Image credit: F1 Fansite - https://www.extreme-e.com/en/broadcast-information
10th: Ferrari = 3.5/10
Ferrari didn’t have the best of seasons back in 2020, and fans are eager to see how this year pans out for them. If it’s anything like the livery…it won’t be great.
The red transition into burgundy is blocky, stark, and not very streamlined. The sponsor logos resemble children stickers all in a row, as if it was put together after a long night in the design office.
The green section has also raised eyebrows, cutting across the red with no clear reason. The whole design looks incoherent and ill thought out. For this reason Ferrari is at the bottom of the list.
Score: 3.5/10
9th: Mercedes = 4/10
This is by far one of the most questionable liveries, dividing fans. I’m a big fan of the colour scheme and love that they have continued the black design into this year, looking far sleeker and sexier than the silver. It gives the red of INEOS and the turquoise of Petronas the chance to stand out more.
That said, the AMG logo isn’t great. It may be part of a bigger plan to blend the silver back in, but having it repeatedly posted on the rear of the car ruins what in my opinion is a very clean, punchy car.
8th: McLaren = 5/10
The McLaren colour scheme is hard to miss on track. Loud, obvious and garish; it is a standout favourite of many on the grid.
Controversially, I was never a major fan of the 2019 livery, I found the triangles all quite busy so the change in 2020 was nice to see. This year however, there isn’t much of an alteration to the design. The rainbow colouration at the sides may be a reference to the #WeRaceAsOne promotion we saw take over F1 last year but there is no clear statement.
As far as car launches go, McLaren always do well and their communications department are always ahead of the game. Yet the launch event for the car in reality wasn’t too different from last year. Nevertheless, the papaya and blue design will never go unnoticed and remains a strong favourite for many F1 fans.
7th: Red Bull = 5/10
There is nothing necessarily wrong with this livery. It is a firm favourite and no one can imagine Red Bull changing in any way. Similar to McLaren, it just isn’t a stand out shock or surprise this year. In a year we have had SO much change, the Red Bull remains a classic F1 livery, and for that, we respect it.
6th: Haas = 5.5/10
Politics aside (and there sure is a lot of it), the Haas car came as a big shock this year. It is a huge change from what we have seen before, switching up the usual black, gold and red. It is certainly not safe and not what anyone would have expected from the only American based F1 team.
To me, it is very obvious what it represents. The national flag image is not as clean or ‘put together’ as the Alpine livery this year. But, it is very fresh and new, creating a new look for the team with a whole new driver line-up. It will be interesting to see how it pans out this weekend and into the rest of this year.
5th: Alpine = 6.5/10
The change from Renault to Alpine was one of the biggest stories of the 2020 season. It piqued excitement amongst the fans and followers of the sport. This increased with the winter testing livery, which, as soon as it was released, I had high hopes the next design would be good.
It doesn’t disappoint. Like the Haas car, you can see it takes inspiration from a national flag (in this case the French), but, unlike the Haas, it is far more polished.
Granted, it is predictable for a French team to have a French coloured car, but the mixture of the blue, white and red goes well together and gives a refreshing change to the black and yellow of the Renault that people perhaps grew tired of.
4th: Alpha Tauri = 7/10
Taking inspiration from Alpha Tauri Fashion, the Alpha Tauri builds on the same colour scheme as last year and also follows the trend of matte effect that has been very popular in recent years, including in their “mother team,” RedBull.
The red Honda logo cutting against the dark toned navy and white, and the incorporation of more navy, bringing it down the nose of the car, is nice to see and makes the whole livery look balanced.
3rd: Alfa Romeo = 7.5/10
The red & white livery of the Alfa is always appreciated and a standard sight on track. Whilst many have suggested that this livery disappoints, I disagree.
The very obvious dragon on the side comes with a pop of green, elevating the design. Although there is a lot of white, it is done in a very balanced way;nothing feels out of place on the and sticking to two main colours enables the design to flow very nicely.
2nd: Williams = 8/10
No one really expected this from Williams and I think I speak for a lot of people when I say I would’ve never had this car change on the cards.
But, I really love it. The addition of the orange/golden-yellow stripes is new and exciting, offsetting the two different tones of blue. The wavy lines no doubt looked interesting on track and with a change of management structure this year, it’ll be interesting to see if the car will get any further up the grid.
1st: Aston Martin = 8.5/10
The addition of Aston Martin to the F1 grid this year comes as a very exciting opportunity. As a major fan of the bright pink of the Racing Point, I was sad to see it go, but, the AMR21 did not disappoint.
With a very strange livery reveal which saw Daniel Craig and Tom Brady pitch in alongside a very Santa-esque looking Lawrence Stroll, the car design is my personal favourite from this year.
Many predicted there would be more of the classic lime green, as seen in the Le Mans car. Yet, I think the F1 design is interesting and the lack of lime green enables proper differentiation between the two. The BWT hot pink works well with the dark green in a way that no one may have expected.
Having such a classic name in the season with such a different colour scheme is certainly a very welcome addition and that is why,the Aston Martin livery is my absolute favourite for the 2021 F1 Season!
So there you have it: Caitlin’s official rundown of the 2021 liveries. Controversial no? Or do you think she’s hit the nail on the head?
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