With the beginning of the 2024 season of Formula 1 right around the corner, the 10 teams on the grid have all released their liveries in time for testing in Bahrain before the Bahrain Grand Prix at the end of February. If you’re wondering what a livery is, wonder no more! Essentially, a livery in motorsport is the team-specific paint scheme that advertises the team’s sponsors and also helps to identify which car belongs to which team. Different races can have special liveries, and each team comes out with a different livery every season. I’m not a professional in the world of motorsports, but rather just a heavily opinionated fan, so come along as I rate (in no particular order!) the liveries of the 2024 season of Formula 1.
DISCLAIMER: Once again, I am not a professional, and I do not wish to offend anyone! These are just my personal opinions, so please take what I say very lightly, as it’s all in good fun!
Scuderia Ferrari’s SF-24
rating: 9.5/10
It’s a Ferrari: if the livery wasn’t their iconic shade of red, we’d have a problem. Luckily, it’s primarily red with some yellow and white mixed in, so all is right in the world. Ferrari is a staple in motorsport, and you can’t get any more iconic than this. It’s a classic, so I really don’t have any notes. My only wish is that I hope we get some Carlos and Charles wins in the SF-24.
MCLAREN’S MCL38
rating: 9.5/10
McLaren, you’ve done it again and produced another gorgeous livery! I’m not a fan of bright colors but the McLaren papaya orange is beautiful. I love the orange and black carbon fiber together, I think it looks extremely sleek and overall really cool. My only criticisms are that I wish we had more papaya featured on the car (I understand why lots of teams opt for carbon fiber, as it makes the car lighter), and that the light blue from the 2022 and 2023 liveries returned.
Williams’ FW46
rating: 8.5/10
I really love the Williams blue, but I wish there was more of it on the livery! Once again, the carbon fiber has taken over a majority of the car, which is fine because it helps the cars be more efficient, but the black can be a little boring. I’m not an engineer, so I don’t have a complete understanding of the importance of carbon fiber, but it would be nice if it came in other colors besides black. Overall, I think the FW46 has a very clean design, even though it may seem like I’m heavily criticizing the car.
HAAS’ VF24
rating: 6/10
I feel like when Haas released the VF24, no one really noticed. To me, at least, it was sort of a “Huh, Haas released their car, cool” situation. I don’t remember much marketing or hype around the release, which could be due to the fact that Lewis Hamilton announced his departure from Mercedes and switch to Ferrari the day before, or simply because Haas didn’t want to make such a huge deal out of it. On the whole, I feel like the VF24 is a little plain. The red and white seem to get swallowed in all of the black, so it’s not super eye-catching.
Visa cash app RB’S vcarb01
rating: 7.5/10
AlphaTauri’s rebrand to Visa Cash App RB had the Formula 1 world abuzz. There was so much uncertainty surrounding the rebrand, but it seems like it’s going pretty well! The VCARB01 stands out from the other liveries, as it’s a car with bright colors and not completely black. I respect VCARB’s decision to paint their car in bright colors (except the green Cash App logo, which throws me off) and go full-out on the design. I think VCARB01’s paint design pays great homage to Toro Rosso’s STR13 and STR14, which if you didn’t know, was how Visa Cash App RB originally started in Formula 1. Rest in peace Toro Rosso and AlphaTauri, we’ll miss you, but I’m excited to see what VCARB has in store.
Stake’s c44
rating: 6.5/10
It’s giving Shego from Kim Possible, which I’m not super mad at because she was one of my favorite characters, but I do think it’s a very interesting color scheme for a car. I love that Stake wasn’t afraid of color and embraced the neon green, as it’s quite the bold move towards a bold rebrand of the former Alpha Romeo team. I’m not a crazy fan of neon in general, but I can’t really complain because the car has some color to it. At least we’ll be able to easily identify the C44 on track during a race.
Mercedes-amg petronas’ w15
rating: 8.99/10
I’m kind of living for the comeback of the silver accents. The silver nose really reminds me of Lewis Hamilton’s championship-winning cars from the past while still looking like a current Mercedes. I think Mercedes is the one team I’ll give a pass to for having a primarily black car because that’s been their look for the past few years. Personally, the W15 would’ve scored a little bit higher if more silver was incorporated, but otherwise, it’s a damn good-looking car. I hope it gives Lewis some good races for his last season at Mercedes!
BWT Alpine’s A524
rating: 5.5/10
I feel duped by Alpine. Prior to actually launching the A524, Alpine was teasing the possibility of a light pink camo livery, and I was pretty excited! I’m not the hugest fan of pink, but the thought of a primarily pink camo livery would’ve been so cool. Unfortunately, myself and other F1 fans were let down when we didn’t see any camo on the car, let alone a different shade of pink! No hate to Alpine or to the A524, but when I look at this car, I feel deceived.
Aston Martin’s amr24
rating: 8.5/10
Aston Martin’s cool-toned green is back, and this wasn’t a surprise. It’s a great color, they know it looks good, and they stuck with it! I really appreciate how the livery is mostly green with only a little bit of black, as it’ll stand out in the sea of darker-colored cars. I think it’s simple, but does the job.
Oracle Red Bull racing’s RB20
rating: 9/10
Red Bull really said “copy and paste” for the RB20. It looks damn near identical to last season’s winning livery, the RB19, which is fine because that car absolutely dominated. Do I wish it was just the tiniest bit different? Sure, a little variety wouldn’t hurt anyone. However, do I think Adrian Newey designed another Constructors’ Championship-winning car? No doubt about it. If it isn’t broken, no need to fix it I suppose.
As nice as it is to rate these cars solely on their looks, Feb. 29 can’t get here soon enough so we can see these cars in action! Appearance is one thing, but performance is what really matters. I’m excited to see how these cars perform throughout the upcoming season, and hope we get some good races out of these liveries!