I’m about as new as you can get when it comes to my Formula 1 fandom, but thanks to Drive to Survive and some sim racing with some buddies, I’m hooked. Countless hours and days will be spent doing anything to squeeze every last bit of entertainment out of it as I can. Despite how new I am, there’s one thing I’m confident that I can do, and that’s rank the 2021 liveries!
As this is all opinion, we encourage you to share you list in the comments!
10. Williams
Williams broke away from trends in their past and brought out whatever this is supposed to be for the 2021 season, and all I can really say about it is I don’t like it. The first time I saw it, I thought that maybe it would look better on the track when we got to see that, but that really wasn’t the case. It reminds me of a livery you would use in my team mode on the F1 2020 game.
With two different shades of blue, yellow or orange, I can’t really tell, and white on the car, it’s like the car was painted by a six year old when their mother turned her back for a few too many minutes. It’s busy and complicated with big clunky lines that make the car feel slower. Not like Williams needs any help with that.
It’s not all terrible and there are elements that I quite like including the prominent logo at the top, but this isn’t something that I really want to see back on the grid in 2022. Keep it simple and don’t get too fancy.
9. Haas
Alright, let’s for a second pretend like this isn’t a giant Russian flag car and just look at it as a paint scheme with red, blue, and white as the colours. It’s actually not too bad and wouldn’t be so hated by fans, but we all know that this car is painted this way so Nikita Mazepin can still compete under the flag. That’s not important here, so let’s just ignore it.
The car is fine and it sticks out on the grid, but it is a little bit boring. Comparing this car to the 2020 car, the older one just looked better. It’s not like any of their cars have been overly cool or interesting, but this one just doesn’t do it for me.
If you really can’t stand this car however, you might be in luck. With the showing Haas have had so far, it doesn’t appear like they will be getting much of any air time this season. It would be cool to see Mick Schumacher get into the points a couple of times, however.
8. Aston Martin
With some of the concepts that came out when it was announced that Aston Martin would be making their return to Formula 1, I was excited to see what they had in store. To say I was disappointed with what I saw would be an understatement. So many people say this is their favourite livery in 2021, but I can’t agree with that what so ever.
I was sold on a green car with some electric yellow striping, but when those stripes turned out to be pink, I was thoroughly disappointed. I can understand and appreciate that BWT wants to see pink on the car and I’m happy they didn’t go with the Racing Point strategy of just making the whole car pink, I don’t have to like what they did.
Had they decided to go with the yellow, this may have been one of the best looking cars on the grid this season, but the way it looks makes it look like the watermelon team. The green looks fantastic in the sunshine though, so there is certainly something to build on for next season and beyond!
7. Mercedes
Everyone knows by now what an absolute force Mercedes are on the track even when it looks like Max Verstappen is going to run away with it. They might have some good competition on their hands this year, but their livery certainly isn’t on the level as some of the others in the field Not like they will care, they are too busy winning another championship.
Obviously, the whole ‘silver arrows’ thing doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense when your car is black, but I actually prefer the Mercedes being this way. Despite it’s ranking, this is a really sharp looking car. The teal stands out and the black is intimidating. It’s stealthy, minimalistic, and classic.
A team as successful as Mercedes with one of, if not the greatest driver of all time in Lewis Hamilton is allowed to do things like this. It’s cocky and pretentious, but hey, they deserve to act this way. This livery screams “I’m better than you and I know it.”
6. Ferrari
The 2021 Ferrari livery has upset quite a good amount of Formula 1 fans but this car is very sharp looking except for one bit, and you probably already know what that one bit is. The green Mission Winnow logo at the top of the car is both out of place and intrusive on an otherwise beautiful Ferrari.
Ferrari have never gotten too creative with their liveries and you have to appreciate that, but they did mix in a bit of a darker red towards the rear wing. A touch that I really like. I also really like that Ferrari just places sponsors without too much worry of designing the car around them.
If Ferrari was hellbent on adding some green to the car to get the full Italian flag back, I would have wanted to see it done in a different way. It has taken away from an otherwise beautiful livery.
5. McLaren
You can put your worries of bias aside, because I’m ranking my favourite team in the middle of the pack. When I first started watching the sport, McLaren was actually one of my least favourite liveries, but it has since grown on me. It could come down to my love of blue and orange together, but it could also just be that the car is really attractive and sticks out from the rest.
The orange and the blue contrast off of each other really nicely and just looks like it would be intimidating in your mirrors. The rainbow now only being on the back of the car and off the halo is also a good change.
Not much has changed with the McLaren from 2020 to 2021, but they say you don’t fix what isn’t broken.
4. Alpine
The other of the new competitors to Formula 1 in 2021 made a loud and lasting impression on the sport with their metallic blue, red, and white livery. Before we got to see any of the cars on the track, I thought that this might be the best looking car on the grid, but I’ve since changed my mind.
They haven’t fallen in my list because of anything they did wrong, in fact, this is a beautiful car, it’s just that some others have been slightly more impressive to me. This car, however, is flashy and will look really good in day races. I don’t think it was allowed to show it’s true potential in a night race.
The hints of red and white around the car to complete the French flag is a nice touch of course. While I was upset to learn that the yellow and black of Renault would be leaving the sport, I’m not at all disappointed with what has replaced it.
3. Red Bull
One of the things that people said when Red Bull unveiled the 2021 car was that it never changes, and just like McLaren, you shouldn’t fix what isn’t broken and the Red Bull is far from broken. The deep blue with red stands out, and how can you hate the bull on the side of the car? It’s absolutely beautiful.
The white sponsors pop off the car and bring a nice balance. Splashes of yellow help give the car a little more personality. There is a reason they keep going back to this design and it’s because it’s nearly perfect. It’s hard to think of one thing I would change about it.
2. Alfa Romeo
In my mind, Alfa Romeo has one of the most criminally under-rated liveries on the grid. A strong white base with the dark candy red pops off the car and takes on a life of it’s own. The logo on the side of the car, which turns out to be a snake eating a human, looks really cool and like the Red Bull and the car with the best livery on the grid, is a great identifier for the team.
Last season, Alfa Romeo used a very similar livery that had the red and white switched around. That livery, while still very nice, probably wouldn’t have landed as high as this one. This is a smart looking car.
It’s maybe a bit of an unfair advantage over the rest of the field for Alfa Romeo, but their colour scheme is one of my favourite. I’m a sucker for simplicity and they have found a way to put together a classic and simple car with some things that stick out and show off their brand and history. It’s fantastic.
1. AlphaTauri
Ok, some background here. When this car came out, I ranked it towards the bottom of the group. I just didn’t like this car when I compared it to the 2020 livery. Oh boy, how wrong I was. Let’s first say that without the white wheels, this would probably be sitting around the middle of the pack on this list, but holy smokes, the wheel take this thing over the top!
Much like the Alfa Romeo, the simplicity with the two colours and the easily identifiable branding on the car are wonderful. I also really love the navy blue and white colour scheme. The lines around the car aren’t my absolute favourite of all time, but it isn’t bad either.
The sponsors are really sharp and can easily be seen, plus the red Honda logo adds a little splash of colour for those who like a little more action. On top of all of that, this car is driven by Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly, so who wouldn’t love that?
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