F1 2017: Livery Concepts

Introduction

2018 is just round the corner (literaly like a day away). So over the past few months I have decided to have a bit of fun and do concepts of what I think each of the 10 teams should look like. 2017 was arguably one of F1's best years livery wise in ages, after years of monochrome, we had a whole assortment of colours featuring as main colours on the F1 grid. 2018 however there is going to be some obstacles that the teams will have to overcome when creating a nice car, which is firstly the halo, and secondly the removal of the shark fin, where teams have to find another place to position their numbers without removing any sponsors that have paid money to have their logo. Here is my take on what they should do. With these I am not just going for making the cars look good but I am also being realistic when it comes to what the teams can do when it comes to sponsor requirements and weight.

Mercedes

Each year, Mercedes have a habit of keeping more or less the same design but changing the design of the Petronas branding and distribution of the turquoisy green, which they did in 2017 in a neon stripes way. It was an idea that worked, but for 2018 they will need a slightly bigger change as they have had more or less the same livery since 2014.

This is the sort of design I think Mercedes should go for. What I've done here is essentially combined the engine cover and sidepod designs from the 2017 car to go all the way down the side of the car, incorporating a black background, which makes the neon stripes stand out more, particularly from a distance, as on the 2017 car, you couldn't really see the stripes unless you looked closely. The stripes go all the way across the car which creates more of a speed impression. The other effects on the colour scheme that this has is the black has been removed from the engine cover, which doesn't only make the livery look cleaner but enables the number design to be flipped onto the front of the engine cover.

Ferrari

For 2017, Ferrari reverted back to normality in a way after going for a 1970s retro livery in 2016, a livery that I loved, and was disappointed to see go, but after such a poor season, they were never going to stick with it for 2017. However they did keep the white on the shark fin, which not only looked reasonable but paved the way for the classic number designs. However something that will have a massive effect on the livery though is the fact Santander are gone, which will likely reduce the volume of white on the car.

Here is what I have done. Here I have kind of gone for a classic design, using a similar red, but reducing the amount of white to some characteristic lines across the car. The only major area of white that is there I have incorporated into the existing design to avoid it looking out of place by opening up an area on the engine cover using the line, in order to find a good place I can place the number on. Another notable thing is the fact I have replaced a lot of the Santander logos with Kaspersky, as considering that logo has a massive prominence on many Ferrari junior drivers' cars who don't have as much personal sponsors of their own, I can see their logos taking some of the vacant spaces, particularly the rear wing spot.

Red Bull

Red Bull stuck with a modified version of last year's design in 2017, which was a good thing. When that livery was first unveiled in its livery launch in 2016, I thought it looked hideous, but that was because of the lighting in the studio it was unveiled in. As soon as I saw it on track, I instantly liked it, so I wasn't sad to see it back in 2017. The livery will likely change though due to the Aston Martin branding but that is not a bad thing as it can easily be incorporated into the current design.

What I have done here is incorporated it into the existing design, in a way that in some ways reflects the way that Infiniti was incorporated in, but rather than using a blur style, I have essentially stuck the Aston Martin green underneath and parallel to the red diagonal edged lines, which not only fits into the existing design well, but also adds a bit of character. The metallic green would look great in a matte finish and it really fits in with the existing design well. Four colours don't usually work but it does in this sense. As far as modifications to the existing design go, I have removed the yellow outlines on the bull as the contrast between the red and the blue with this particular feature looks better.

Force India

Force India pulled a blinder in 2017. They originally unveiled their car in their traditional black, silver, orange and green, however this livery was quite poorly received. But then BWT came abroad and became the title sponsor, however I don't think it was just BWT's decision to make the car pink, the team, especially after their original design was poorly received picked that opportunity, especially seeing what BWT sponsored cars in DTM do, to make a massive publicity splash. Obviously as you'd expect with a pink car, it really divided opinion but I absolutely loved it and I am not saying that just because they are my favourite team. The way it was executed just works so well and most importantly, it grabs casual fans attention as it goes past.

For this design, as you can see, I have kept the principles and the colours of the 2017 livery, but I have edited the design a little, kind of in a similar way to Maximilian Gunther's F3 car, which fits a racing car a little more than the 2017 design. I have also added more of the accompanying darker shade on the endplates, adding more contrast with the rest of the car. However I would not be disappointed at all if the livery was exactly the same.

Williams

In 2017, Williams unsurprisingly stuck with the same design, however it was altered slightly to accommodate the shark fin. People say more can be made out of the Martini stripes, but in my opinion, the simple design is the best that can be done, I feel if there was any more it would look a bit messy. The design really works well with the current generation of F1 cars.

This is one of the reasons why the livery I've done here is similar, the other being I can't really see it changing. The main point of interest in this design is I have reorganized the sponsors around, especially with the addition of Sirotkin's sponsors, assuming he is likely to get that drive, although I think it is sad that money is getting picked over talent. SMP Racing has a lot of prominence.

The reason for this is in recent years, Williams have had issues with Martini advertising in non-alcohol countries, particularly in the F1 games and the Abu Dhabi GP, where they have to remove the red stripe that puts them in a livery that is different to what they are typically seen in. However the Martini stripe can be changed to a SMP Racing stripe, as it has been done in the above design, which would not only give prominence to another brand, but it also means in the Codies F1 game and at the Abu Dhabi GP, they can run a livery that is in some ways similar to what they would typically run.

Renault

Renault changed their livery quite substantially for 2017. They kept the matte, vibrant yellow from 2016 but essentially did a split livery between the yellow and a matte black. This looked better than their fairly plain 2016 design, but the split is quite abrupt, as the car suddenly changes to black after the nosecone. The yellow lines help with that, but the split should be more gradual. It essentially has the effect of looking like two different liveries having been stuck to each other.

In this design, the same shades are featured and it is still a 50/50 split between the colours, however the way I have done it, essentially both sides of the car have an equal amount of yellow and black, which works better and looks more complete than the previous design. I have also added some stripes which smooth the transition between the two colours in some areas as well as add more life to the design.

Toro Rosso

Toro Rosso were another team that pulled a blinder when they took the wraps off their STR12. Gone was the old livery that looked nice when it was first unveiled but became stale and dated after a while, and in its place was a simpler livery that was very well received, with vibrant metallic blue as the base colour, with bright red highlights that contrast with the blue well, before topping that off with the logos in reflective chrome. All these fit so well together and worked so well so I was unsure how to top that when making my concept for this team.

As you can see, I have used the same livery here but made some small modifications to not only enhance the livery but to incorporate the Honda logos. The red line on the top of the sidepod has been flipped to create a decent platform to place the Honda logo on, it makes the logo look more in place. The red contrasts really well so I have added more red to the car, just to add a little more consistency throughout the design.

Haas

Haas are a team that needs a livery change most, as after a solid looking car in 2016, they had arguably the worst looking car on the grid in 2017. Even with the red bits, the car looked dull as grey just doesn't work on an F1 car, unless it is a matte shade and has another vibrant colour alongside. And then apparently to ensure their brands stood out, they made the livery even duller by making pretty much all the red bits white, which just had no life to it. So this was probably the hardest livery to do, how was I going to make a car that looked good but also a design that they could realistically race with?

This design I took inspiration from looking at what a Haas typically looks like in NASCAR, and it just made me think 'Why don't they use the same design in F1?' The actual design and the arrangement of the colours is the same as that of the VF-17 in this design but it goes to show Haas have a good design, but they just picked completely the wrong colours as it looks fantastic in black and red, and very menacing and intimidating, what a racing car should look like. The brands also stand out as well. Aside from this I have Americanized the livery a bit as well, with the big, personal numbers on the bulkhead and the American flag on the rear wing. This livery was also done with the rumours of Maserati potentially becoming a title sponsor in mind, to ensure that if the rumours are true, Maserati Blue can easily be incorporated into the livery.

McLaren

McLaren did one of the biggest changes for a team in 2017. When the car was unveiled we were pleased that they hadn't trolled us when provoking all of this orange hype, I personally liked it however many felt the livery was generic for a McLaren, it would've been well received if it was a Force India or a Spyker from 2007. Also the shade of orange wasn't the Papaya shade everyone had wanted. Luckily Zak Brown has hinted at a Papaya orange livery for 2018.

A lot of people believe the car should just be plain Papaya orange however that can be dull. So I have created a combination of Papaya orange and black, which contrasts well. Like the Renault, I have ensured that on both sides of the car there is a fairly equal split of black and orange, in a design that conforms to the history of the team, such as the logo on the top of the sidepods and the speedy kiwi on the barge boards. The one design element I have taken from the MCL32 is the white stripe on the sidepod, which has been changed to black on an orange background.

Sauber

And last but not least we come to Sauber, who had one of the best liveries of 2017, with the metallic blue and white with the gold stripes to celebrate their 25th year. It was really refreshing after years of dull liveries from them.

When they announced the Alfa Romeo partnership, they unveiled this concept livery. The team have officially dubbed this as a concept livery, and the last time a team did that, which was Renault in 2011, it ended up being the design the team would use, so I think this will be the base for the livery that will adorn the C37.

For this concept, I have used the concept that the team unveiled as a base, but made some modifications. My instant reaction was that the car looks nice but should have more red, as that shade of red is fantastic. So I have extended the red onto the rear wing, and also made it so it doesn't stop so abruptly at the cockpit, it continues on all the way to the halo. I have also added some personal sponsors of Leclerc and Giovinazzi (assuming he will be reserve driver) onto the car.

So there we have it, my impression of what the 2018 Formula One grid should look like. Unfortunately the grid we will see probably will not look like this but we will have to wait and see what the teams come up with when they take the wraps off their 2018 cars in late February. Lets hope they can build on a solid livery season from 2017.