F1 2021 Liveries: Ranked

There’s an expected feeling of excitement when it comes to the start of an F1 season, particularly this year, with driver changes and even new team names and colours popping up on the timing sheets. How many shades of blue are we looking at on the timing sheets this year?

Since the ten liveries were revealed at team car launches throughout February and into March, Twitter has been consumed with reactions and rankings of each one. Some teams have gone down a similar route, but then there’s others who totally took us by surprise with their choice of colours, particularly Ferrari, who decided to add a bit of green onto their engine cover. I really don’t understand that one, it’s like we’ve got a Christmas tree on track this year.

Nevertheless, I thought about my ranking of each livery and why I like (or dislike) them. It was quite easy to pick my top three, but some designs surprised me, and I totally wasn’t expecting some of the liveries which teams revealed and are now sporting on track at Pre-Season Testing in Bahrain.

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1. ASTON MARTIN COGNIZANT F1 TEAM | AMR21

I really didn’t know what to expect when it came to the Aston Martin livery, considering they would be changing quite a lot when it came to their car. I absolutely loved the pink vibe we saw with the Force India and Racing Point livery, so I was pleased when they announced their relationship with BWT would continue - for BWT’s ideology and also because the pink would remain.

Before the livery was released at the highly anticipated car launch, I had high hopes. I was never expecting to love the livery as much as I do. The shades of green and pink really do compliment each other and the glossy-like finish looks great. It just adds that little bit more to the design of the livery. I also love how Stroll’s helmet is the same shade of green with the same finish - it really does fit together is perfectly. It’s hard to ignore the addition to Vettel’s helmet with the pink of BWT, plus his goal to raise awareness of sustainability with the message ‘Change the world, sip by sip’. I think that’s extremely powerful.

I’ve got such high hopes for Aston Martin this year and their stunning livery makes me love them even more. Despite having some issues across the pre-season test, I’m positive that they will shock us even more, and not just with their livery, at the first race of the season in Bahrain.

RATING: 10/10

[ Photo Credit: AstonMartinF1 on Twitter ]

2. ALPINE F1 TEAM | A521

Love, love, love. Are people still comparing the livery to toothpaste? I absolutely love it, and after seeing it on track during testing, I love it even more.

For obvious reasons, it’s very different to the black and yellow livery of Renault, but in a good way. Of course, like with Aston Martin, I was expecting a big change compared to their previous livery when they were under the name of Renault, and Alpine most definitely did not disappoint. I didn’t know what to expect really, not sure if they would maybe have a little bit of yellow on the car to pay homage to Renault, but they’ve gone with a completely new look, and it’s beautiful.

The colours look great together, and they have a potent meaning under it all - the link to France and Alpine’s history by using the traditional French flag colours of red, white and blue. The colour placement is just perfect, with the majority of the car being blue with that chrome-like finish. I think going with more blue than white and red was a good choice. The finish looks AMAZING - I’m no colour connoisseur so I have no idea what it can actually be referred to, but that chrome, glossy finish looks great with the colour scheme. So perfect. If Aston Martin were Racing Point for one more year, Alpine would definitely be at the top of my list. (If that makes any sense whatsoever).

RATING: 9/10

[ Photo Credit: AlpineF1Team on Twitter ]

3. MERCEDES-AMG PETRONAS F1 TEAM | W12

I can’t express how happy I was when I saw the Mercedes livery, and I am so pleased they’re continuing with the black livery this year. I know the silver is iconic, but I think the black just remains so prominent in regard to the message and meaning it brings. We can all agree how important the End Racism message is in not just Formula 1, but society as a whole, and I absolutely love seeing it printed on the halo of the Mercedes. Rumour has it that Hamilton is focusing more on his other projects, but the continuation of ending racism and discrimination as a whole within F1 continues to be so powerful. And I love it.

The colours go so well together, with the black, teal (would you call it teal? Like I said, I’m not a colour connoisseur) and the red Ineos logo. I am so pleased PETRONAS brings the really nice teal/green/whatever it is colour to the team’s livery because it looks SO good with the black. Goodness, I really do love the Mercedes livery so much.

Initially, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the AMG stamp on the back of the car - and I think a lot of people agree with that - but it’s growing on me, if I’m honest. It’s not too much, and I think it looks cool with the black and grey vibes going on there. Including the driver numbers at the back, over the AMG stamp, looks good too. It’s unique, and Mercedes are all about that. I really do love it so much.

RATING: 8/10

[ Photo Credit: MercedesAMGF1 on Twitter ]

4. MCLAREN F1 TEAM | MCL35M

Okay, if I could have two teams in third, I would be putting McLaren there with Mercedes. Essentially, I could do that, but for the sake of aesthetic, I won’t, and McLaren will remain in fourth (also known as joint third). I am also really excited to see McLaren back with the Mercedes power unit - I’m biased, but I’ve got such high hopes for this season!

I loved the livery last year. I know some people don’t like papaya as much, but I think it looked great, especially with the rainbow halo. I’m sad to see it go, but delighted to see that McLaren are continuing to incorporate some rainbow into their livery. Again, it just reinforces the ‘We Race As One’ message, albeit subtly.

However, I did expect some sort of homage to Mercedes. Maybe a little bit of silver would return to reflect the previous partnership between McLaren and Mercedes, but I don’t mind that it’s not there. It doesn’t make any difference to how much I like the livery, or the colours they use together.

I really hope McLaren do well this year.

RATING: 8/10

[ Photo Credit: McLarenF1 on Twitter ]

5. WILLIAMS F1 TEAM | FW43B

Controversial? Maybe. I love the Williams livery this year. It’s so different, but it looks great. There’s so much change, but in a good way. There appears to be a few mixed opinions online, which is totally fair since it’s different to the previous few years. I really hope this year is a turning point for Williams, and it seems like it could be with the upgrades they have planned for the near future.

Simple but effective. That’s how I would describe the 2021 Williams livery. I love the different shades of blue, especially with the white ‘W’ over the engine cover. It just all comes together so well and the yellow stands out for that little ‘pop’ of colour. It is really different, but I think it could be a sign of an even bigger change about to come for the team.

Hopefully, we’ll see Williams battling in the midfield sooner than we think!

RATING: 7/10

[ Photo Credit: WilliamsRacing on Twitter ]

6. SCUDERIA FERRARI | SF21

I’ve always loved the Ferrari livery. It’s just so iconic and representative of the team and the brand as a whole. It’s almost like the colour red was made for Ferrari. As always, it looks great this year, but there’s something that I think we’ve all picked up on which is slightly confusing.

Honestly, the green Mission Winnow logo over the engine cover gives off serious Christmas vibes. What happened to the saying ‘red and green should never be seen’...? Not that there’s anything wrong with Christmas, but I just wasn’t expecting Ferrari to go with such a striking shade of what seems like neon green. It’s literally the only thing I have to criticise about it. At least we’ll always see them coming, I suppose…

RATING: 7/10

[ Photo Credit: ScuderiaFerrari on Twitter ]

7. RED BULL RACING | RB16B

It looks so strange to see the RB16B without the Aston Martin logo - it’ll probably take me a while to get used to that!

Of course, that’s pretty much the only difference livery-wise compared to last year. I’ve always quite liked Red Bull’s livery, particularly the choice of colours as they work so well together. The branding is on point at Red Bull. There’s nothing to criticise about the livery, either, but it’s quite far down in my ranking simply because I prefer the others, you know?

I just love the yellow and red. It’s striking, and that’s everything the colours need to be. It looks like a worthy Championship winning car, too, which is very exciting. Maybe it’ll really spice things up this year…

RATING: 6/10

[ Photo Credit: redbullracing on Twitter ]

8. SCUDERIA ALPHATAURI | AT02

I have mixed feelings on this livery. I absolutely loved last year’s, it was probably one of my favourites on the entire grid. Of course, with Toro Rosso becoming AlphaTauri, I was expecting a big change in the colours and whatnot when it came to the livery. However, this year, I’m not feeling it as much. The colours are still the same, and in that respect they look great, but I’m not a fan of how much blue there is compared to white.

That’s not to say I don’t like it though, I do. After seeing it on track during the pre-season test weekend, I think that it might grow on me even more, especially once the actual racing gets underway and I see it every weekend (how exciting!!!). There was just something about the 2020 livery that I’m not really feeling this year; I think more blue compared to white really surprised me! But, who doesn’t love a good surprise, especially in Formula 1?

RATING: 6/10

[ Photo Credit: AlphaTauriF1 on Twitter ]

9. ALFA ROMEO RACING | C41

I’ve not been the biggest fan of the Alfa Romeo livery since I referred to them as Sauber. However, I do quite like what they’ve done with their livery from 2020 and incorporated it into a new one for this season. Flipping the positioning of the colours works really well, I think, and I really like that.

I do actually prefer the white top and red bottom compared to the other way last year. It just looks more modern to me. The white space doesn’t look bare either, considering they’ve placed their sponsors in a way which adds a bit more to the livery.

Like the others, it’ll probably grow on me.

RATING: 5/10

[ Photo Credit: alfaromeoracing on Twitter ]

10. URALKALI HAAS F1 TEAM

I don’t really think there’s much to say about this one - I feel like everyone has similar opinions when it comes to the Haas livery and what it looks like. I think it looks quite bare with so much white and a lack of sponsors on the car… oops.

It is such a big change to previous liveries, probably the biggest of all, considering they’re still Haas essentially, in comparison to Aston Martin and Alpine who’ve undergone big changes. I never really expected to like the Haas livery much. Nevertheless, I do hope Mick does well - and I’m absolutely positive he will!

RATING: 1/10

[ Photo Credit: HaasF1Team on Twitter ]

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I can’t wait to see more of each car on track as the season properly gets underway in Bahrain for the first official race weekend of 2021. Even though the off-season has been fairly short since the final race was a little later than usual last year, it does feel like there’s been no Formula 1 action for months. I have no idea how I managed to cope during last year’s total lockdown.

I really do think 2021 will be an exciting year, with so many driver changes and team changes. I can’t wait to see how Vettel does at Aston Martin, or how Ricciardo does at McLaren; Alonso is back with Alpine and Perez is at Red Bull alongside Verstappen. There is so much to look forward to this year, and I absolutely cannot wait for Portimão - I loved the Portuguese Grand Prix in 2020.

With more races than ever before, there’s no doubt that the 2021 Formula One season will be filled with endless drama and excitement. Let’s just hope fans can get back to a track sometime soon…