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The best Formula 1 liveries in the 21st century

The best Formula 1 liveries in the 21st century

04-02-2023 10:57 Last update: 11:57
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GPblog.com

It is time for the Formula 1 teams to unveil their liveries for the new season. It is one of the most eagerly awaited moments for fans, curious to see what the cars will will look like. But what are the best Formula 1 liveries in the 21st century? GPblog has chosen ten for you and you can vote at the bottom of the article. 

Jaguar R1 (2000)

The first car from the Jaguar stable is an unmistakable colour. The bright green, which accompanied the British team throughout their five seasons in F1, definitely stands out among the single-seaters on the grid. The white adds an extra touch, along with the jaguar that leaps from the back of the car. In addition, the red logo of the HSBC sponsor also goes well with the other two colours.

Despite its beauty, the Jaguar R1 would only score points on two occasions, with fourth place in Monaco and Eddie Irvine's sixth place in Malaysia. The other two drivers to have driven it were Johnny Herbert and Luciano Burti.

McLaren MP4-22 (2007)

Perhaps the most iconic of the red and silver McLaren liveries of the 2000s. The design is extremely simple but destined to be remembered: McLaren's typical silver (at certain times in its history) is combined with the red of the sponsor Vodafone, creating an extremely pleasing combination.

The MP4-22, unfortunately for McLaren, is mainly known for something else though. It is in fact the car used in the year of the infamous Spy gate between McLaren and Ferrari, which saw the Brits stripped of all constructors' points. However, in this car Hamilton achieved six pole positions and, together with Fernando Alonso, fought for the title right to the last race.

Renault R25 (2005)

If you think of Renault, you will most likely think of the flamboyant yellows and blues of the early 2000s. The 2005 car is perhaps the best of the Renaults coloured this way. The R25 is mainly blue, with two yellow bands that start joined at the front and continue on the sides. The midnight blue rear wing is a backdrop to the Telefonica sponsor.

This was the first Renault car to win the title, driven by a young Fernando Alonso. Together with Fisichella, who also took a win, the Spaniard also took this fantastic livery to the top of the constructors' championship.

Brawn BGP 001 (2009)

The only Brawn to have ever existed has a livery that is a masterpiece. Honda's heir apparent appeared in F1 with a completely white car, with subtle neon yellow and black inserts. It started the season even without sponsors, racing completely spotless. In the course of the season the sponsors arrived, inserted in red on the car.

BGP 001 also went down in history because Brawn in their first and only season in Formula One won both the drivers' title, with Jenson Button and the constructors' title. In total, the white car crossed the finish line first on eight occasions.

Spyker F8-VII (2007)

Another car that clearly stands out when looking at the starting grid. Spyker made their Formula One debut in 2007 with a bright orange livery with black details. The colour is not chosen at random, as Spyker is Dutch and orange is the colour of Dutch racing cars. The numbers circled in white add an extra touch.

However, the car was not a great success. In fact, the orange car only finished in the points once, thanks to Adrian Sutil in Japan. No points instead for Albers, Yamamoto and Winkelhock, who did however manage to briefly lead the German GP.

Williams FW25 (2003)

Williams presented a car of extreme elegance in 2003. White with a large blue band rising from both bellies, it showed no other colours but a small grey trim. This was also because the colours matched perfectly with those of the main sponsor HP, but also with those of BMW and those of Allianz, which always appear on the car.

The FW25 was driven by Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher (as well as Marc Gené on one occasion), who led it to four wins and a second-place finish in the constructors' championship, behind Ferrari.

Ferrari SF70H (2017)

One of the Ferraris with the best shade of red. In addition to the typical Scuderia di Maranello colour, white appears on the wings, which is also adorned with a tricolour stripe. From the Spanish Grand Prix a special graphic was also introduced for the drivers' numbers, inspired by that used on the Ferraris of the 1970s.

With this livery, Ferrari finished second in the Constructors' Championship, also cherishing the dream of winning titles. Ferrari's hopes were finally extinguished by the crash, which let do a double retirement in Singapore. 

Red Bull RB15 (2019)

This is a representative choice. Red Bull liveries have been very similar over the years, the RB15 was even identical to the RB14. But the combination of the dark blue with the yellow-red logos of the Austrian energy drink and the Red Bull name written in red on the sides deserved to make the list.

The RB15 finished third in the 2019 championship, but Verstappen took victory in Germany, Austria and Brazil. Alongside the Dutchman over the course of the season were Pierre Gasly and Alexander Albon. They didn't reach the podium.

Jordan EJ11 (2001)

Jordan's yellow was a permanent presence on the grid in the late 1990s - early 00s and it certainly stood out. The 2001 car was obviously yellow, with black bellies and wings, and the Benson & Hedges sponsor stood out on it. The most incredible detail, however, was the car's nose, which was painted like the snout of a shark, which had become the team's mascot instead of the bumblebee.

This fantastic livery finished fifth among constructors with 19 points and was driven by four different drivers: Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Ricardo Zonta, Jean Alesi and Jarno Trulli.

Lotus Renault R31 (2011)

A clear homage to one of the most iconic liveries in the entire history of Formula 1. In its first season under the new Lotus name, Renault presents an all-black livery with gold inserts, inspired by the John Player Special livery of the 'original' Lotus. In addition to black and gold, there is only red on the car's ailerons due to the Total sponsor.

Driven by Nick Heidfeld, Vitaly Petrov and Bruno Senna, the black and gold Lotus Renault finished the season fifth with 73 points, also taking two third places in the first two races of the year.

The livery pictures

 
 
 
 
 
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