After eight days pounding around the Circuit de Catalunya in pursuit of performance, one important question about the 2018 F1 cars remains unanswered: Who’s got the best-looking one?
Join in our annual poll and take a look at the past winners.
Mercedes W09
A familiar livery on the car everyone wants to beat.
Ferrari SF71H
Ferrari are back in the red following the departure of sponsor Santander.
Red Bull RB14
Having revealed the RB14 in a one-off launch livery, Red Bull has reverted to its matte look for 2018.
Force India VJM11
An update to the new livery the team introduced last year sees the latest Force India decked out in candy pink – right down to the Halo.
Williams FW41
This is the last year for the current Williams livery following the announcement title sponsor Martini is leaving.
Renault RS18
Renault appear to be gradually moving ever closer to their black launch livery from 2016. Yellow is increasingly being kept to a minimum on the RS18.
Toro Rosso STR13
Toro Rosso’s revamped livery was your favourite car last year.
Haas VF-18
Haas tinkered with their livery last season but have gone back to their original look for their third year in F1.
McLaren MCL33
McLaren went orange last year but disappointed some by not running in their heritage colours. They’ve changed that for 2018: the Renault-powered MCL33 is painted ‘Papaya Spark’ with Burton Blue and Cerulean Blue’ details.
Sauber C37
But the biggest change of 2018 is at Sauber. The blue-and-gold scheme is gone, replaced by classic Sauber white with a splash of Alfa Romeo scarlet at the back.
Which is the best-looking F1 car of 2018?
Cast your vote below and have your say in the comments.
Which is the best-looking F1 car of 2018?
- Sauber C37 (6%)
- McLaren MCL33 (33%)
- Haas VF-18 (1%)
- Toro Rosso STR13 (7%)
- Renault RS18 (27%)
- Williams FW41 (2%)
- Force India VJM11 (5%)
- Red Bull RB14 (4%)
- Ferrari SF71H (11%)
- Mercedes W09 (5%)
Total Voters: 386
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2017: Toro Rosso STR12
2016: Renault RS16
2015: Ferrari SF-15T
2014: Williams FW36
2013: Sauber C32
2012: McLaren MP4-27
2011: McLaren MP4-26
2010: McLaren MP4-25
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Andy (@andycz)
11th March 2018, 11:10
When I look back to the Renault car from 2016… It’s so ugly in compare with this/last year cars!
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
11th March 2018, 11:40
Quirky votes, Every past winner looked decidedly different than it’s peers, either on design or livery.
Andy (@andycz)
11th March 2018, 12:44
Of course, I didn’t mean the livery at all. Just the rules in those years were weird with wide front wings and high and narrow rear wings.
FlatSix (@)
11th March 2018, 11:11
I’m inclined to vote for the Renault. The nice contrast between black and yellow really makes the Halo disappear.
Joao (@johnmilk)
11th March 2018, 11:14
Toro Rosso
Shame the front of the Sauber. If it was on par with the rear it would get my vote.
James McGrenery (@gronrie)
11th March 2018, 15:56
I love the Sauber nose, it’s distinctive and retro :-)
Uzair Syed (@ultimateuzair)
11th March 2018, 11:16
The Renault is definitely my favourite this year. I love the brighter shade of yellow and the livery covers the halo pretty well.
Damon (@damon)
11th March 2018, 11:22
McLaren is the best looking of 2018 and it’s not even close.
Mercedes is the only other car that doesn’t induce vomit. The Red Bull looks acceptable from some angles.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
11th March 2018, 11:41
Nobody voted for the Merc, I guess everyone’s tired of looking at the 4 time champions.
Dewald Nel (@ho3n3r)
11th March 2018, 15:01
Your opinion.
Personally, the Mclaren livery is the ugliest I’ve seen on a car in many a year.
Todfod (@todfod)
12th March 2018, 4:38
I agree. By far the ugliest car on the grid. I thought the Renault and Ferrari looked great this year.
Ju88sy (@)
11th March 2018, 16:19
Agreed, great to see Papaya Orange on the McLaren again. The Renault looks super as well, clearly it looks optimum when wearing soft tyres!
Ferrari all red is a close second for me this year now the white has been ditched.
The Last Pope (@the-last-pope)
11th March 2018, 22:39
Ferrari would be first if they had gone with black wings and gold wheels.
F1 frog (@f1frog)
11th March 2018, 11:37
McLaren is the best by far.
My full order would be:
1st McLaren
2nd Toro Rosso
3rd Alfa Romeo
4th Renault
5th Ferrari
6th Force India
7th Red Bull
8th Williams
9th Mercedes
10th Haas
Zazeems (@zazeems)
11th March 2018, 11:37
The Toro Rosso again for me. Still completely adore that livery.
GS (@gsagostinho)
11th March 2018, 11:42
I would like to vote for the haloless safety car.
Luke Harrison
11th March 2018, 12:28
Comments like this i find utterly hilarious.
You hate cockpit safety in Formula One, yet you’d prefer the one that’s completely covered over!
That’s like saying you hate the hybrid engines, so you’ll go watch LMP1.
David BR (@david-br)
11th March 2018, 13:33
@gsagostinho +1
I sighed and came to the same conclusion, they all look bad with the halo. I realized all the cars that I think look better haven’t integrated the halo colour with the rest of the car (McLaren, Renault, Haas).
David BR (@david-br)
11th March 2018, 13:36
Or ore exactly, they integrate it with the tyres (black) rather than the bodywork, which helps disguise and ‘lower’ it. Painted the same colour, it looks like some kind of viewing deck on a toy boat.
GS (@gsagostinho)
11th March 2018, 15:00
You make a good point. I don’t know if integrating the halo makes it worse or not, but it is simply terrible… sigh.
Jimmi Cynic (@jimmi-cynic)
11th March 2018, 19:04
Agree.
If only F1 had invented transparent titanium composites when it was needed most.
Uncle Ben (@uncleben)
11th March 2018, 11:53
Mercedes wins in the “Best Looking Nose” category.
Robbie (@robbie)
11th March 2018, 11:55
For me it’s the McLaren. I absolutely love the colours and it’s shape.
Regarding halos. I, like many, would rather they not be there, but I don’t hate them and I find beauty in their function. I am definitely getting used to them. I just can’t decide if I prefer the painted ones or the black ones. The painted ones are cool but I find they stand out to me more. I notice them more. The black ones to me seem more ‘hidden’ in the sense that at a glance my eyes are not drawn to them as much and I’m mainly seeing the colour of the car itself, the painted body panels, and the halos less so.
Robbie (@robbie)
11th March 2018, 12:06
My second place would be Ferrari and I’m surprised they don’t have more votes. I still find the Mercedes looks very cool too…always have liked that paint scheme.
pastaman (@)
11th March 2018, 12:35
I voted Ferrari because the car looks mean. For livery I would have probably voted Renault.
prelvu (@prelvu)
11th March 2018, 19:38
I have to agree.
Ferrari Renault and Sauber for me
But here they vote on who they support.
Adam (@rocketpanda)
11th March 2018, 12:36
Toro Rosso, Renault, Ferrari.
Palindnilap (@palindnilap)
11th March 2018, 12:41
For me it is Renault and not even close. They have designed one of, if not the most stunning car of the 10 last years, and that even with a halo on !
spoutnik (@spoutnik)
11th March 2018, 12:58
I’m all for it too!
Jeanrien (@jeanrien)
11th March 2018, 18:09
I join the small group.
Markp
11th March 2018, 12:45
All look great, theres a case for every team….I would call it a draw but at a push Ferrari best McLaren worst.
Hugo Pereira
11th March 2018, 15:17
Your hate towards mclaren its hilarious
ruliemaulana (@ruliemaulana)
11th March 2018, 13:02
I kinda wish we had slider option on every photo to reveal detail parts.
But my vote goes to Alfa Romeo. It has fresh look with a distinct nose and all kind of middle wing that makes it look like robot insect.
Honourable mention to Toro Rosso Honda.
LifeF1
13th March 2018, 10:36
It’s called Sauber
socksolid (@socksolid)
11th March 2018, 13:13
I think the ferrari’s move to fuller red livery after their sponsor santander left has made the car look better. While the old white colors added some nice highlights the simpler red/black design works very nicely on the car.
Robbie (@robbie)
11th March 2018, 13:39
Agreed
Hugh (@hugh11)
11th March 2018, 13:15
I think this is probably the best year in terms of livery’s we’ve had for a while. I voted Toro Rosso, as I still think it looks incredible, but all the livery’s (except Williams) I really like.
Trayambak Chakravarty (@major-dev)
11th March 2018, 15:19
Out of an entire grid, you chose the Martini to dislike? Harsh lol, considering how we were all crying for a Martini car on the grid a couple of years ago.
Jere (@jerejj)
11th March 2018, 13:36
I voted for VJM11.
David BR (@david-br)
11th March 2018, 15:53
It’s just missing a big pink umbrella.
Philip (@philipgb)
11th March 2018, 13:58
Not a huge fan of the Red Bull livery compared with it’s launch appearance, but it’s general design just looks right to my eyes. Every shape and surface looks like it has purpose and is just elegant
cdavman (@cdavman)
11th March 2018, 14:22
It’s a bit tricky to judge when they all look like they’re part of a hipsters flip flop collection…
Jimmi Cynic (@jimmi-cynic)
11th March 2018, 19:00
@cdavman +1
Although to be fair, some look like hipster elephant thongs on wheels.
montreal95 (@montreal95)
11th March 2018, 14:47
The STR is again the most beautiful car (or, because of the halo, the least worst looking)
The rest in order:
2) Mercedes
3) Mclaren
4) Renault
5) Red Bull
6) Williams
7) Ferrari
8) Sauber
9) Force India
10) Haas
Sravan Krishnan (@sravan-pe)
11th March 2018, 14:58
The RB test livery that wasn’t would have won this hands down.
Daniel Martinez (@danielito)
11th March 2018, 23:43
+1000!
Dewald Nel (@ho3n3r)
11th March 2018, 15:02
Toro Rosso again.
Trayambak Chakravarty (@major-dev)
11th March 2018, 15:16
I love how fresh the VJM11 looks. It’s the first car in a while that I’ve really fell in love with, so that’s what I voted for. The McLaren also looks pretty damn good but the lack of sponsors just ruins it for me. The Haas has a real ‘aerospace-y’ look because somehow, the black bit on the airbox coupled wuith the dull white colour reminds me of an airliner rather than an F1 car.
Every season there’s one car which looks intimidating. Last season, for me, it was the Red Bull with the kind of ‘hunched’ sidepods that looked like Mike Tyson coming after you at 320 kmph. The year before that, it was the Toro Rosso. But this year, all the cars with the narrow and high sidepods don’t look all that menacing. I guess the Williams and Ferrari to an extent, but not like last year’s Red Bull.
Livery-wise, I think nothing can beat the Toro Rosso. But I really liked Ferrari going back to all-red with a dash of grey. I wish they’d paint the wings black to complete the look. Also, it’s surprising to see people saying the Williams is the only car they didn’t like, considering that it’s a damn Martini. I guess you need change to make people happy. But then again, McLaren won three years with the same livery.
Sorry for the long post! I don’t know if sharing websites is allowed, but there’s a pretty nice non-profit blog called ‘f1colours’ that is solely dedicated to F1 liveries and I love it. You guys should check it out.
Trayambak Chakravarty (@major-dev)
11th March 2018, 15:21
Also, I missed out what a brilliant job Sauber did with the back of their car. It looks amazing, one of the best backsides in recent years!
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
11th March 2018, 15:21
The picture doesn’t do justice to the McLaren. The picture of the Renault makes it look better than it is, unless the tarmac matches the car as in the picture.
The Toro Rosso looks beautiful.
The biggest wasted opportunity are the Sauber – it could have been glorious. That Red is sublime but you can’t even see it in the picture.
The Ferrari feels wrong – is that the normal Red or is the light simply adding an orange hue?
Big Joe
11th March 2018, 15:57
Best looking front Noses – Force India, Red Bull
Best looking livaries – McLaren, Force India, Torro Rosso
The BBC’s Andrew Benson claims of the Halo “it’s remarkable how quickly one stops noticing it in photographs of the cars”
Doesn’t happen for me.
MazdaChris (@mazdachris)
11th March 2018, 16:35
Really surprised there’s not more love for the Force India. That pink and white colour scheme is glorious, even the halo looks kinda cool on it. The McLaren looks pretty good too. Boo to all the silver and white cars.
MG1982 (@mg1982)
11th March 2018, 16:40
Unfortunately, no contest for me! It’s the Mercedes for me all day long regarding the design. I find the nose design addopted by most teams quite ugly indeed, simply cannot vote for a car with that kind of nose. At least last year TR had a similar nose, now they went the ugly-way, so nothing left to choose from.
Regarding the livery, cannot decide which one is the coolest, but that McLaren livery must be the worst. The livery they had until the end of 2013 was so much better, a lot more original and easier to identify the car. Heck, even the liveries from 2014 to 2016 are obviously better.
lancesuk (@lancesuk)
11th March 2018, 17:21
Tough year, but the Toro Rosso got my vote. :)
Gary Brown
11th March 2018, 17:57
Unfortunately for me they all look hideous this year with that God awful halo. it’s hard to even focus on the livery as that monstrosity dominates everything else ☹. 2018 is the first season that I have not looked forward to in my 25 years of following F1. The halo is completely unnecessary and looks totally wrong on an F1 car which after all is supposed to be the “pinnacle” of “open wheel, open cockpit motorsport”. if they absolutely must have something they should have gone for an IndyCar style aeroscreen instead of this!!!
As for the livery, halo aside!!! My top 5 favourites are:
1) Force India
2) Renault
3) Ferrari
4) McLaren
5) Toro Rosso
I also really liked Red Bull’s launch livery it’s just a pity they didn’t keep it for the 2018 season ☹
marksch (@marksch)
11th March 2018, 18:05
All are horrible abominations.
#halosucks.
KimiRaikkonen1207 (@kimiraikkonen1207)
11th March 2018, 18:40
On the contrary (though I admit I’m not too choosy with car liveries), I think in comparison with previous years they all look rather nice, with the exception of the boring Haas. While most went with predictable options (Red Bull, Mercedes, and Williams), the original liveries were fine in the first place. The only thing I could really use is a splash of green on the grid again (I’d give anything for a competitive return of Caterham…).
Pyon (@pyon)
11th March 2018, 18:16
Renault > McLaren > Toro Rosso in my opinion.
Those are the only 3 teams iI found making efforts to have a nice levery. All the others did not even tried… Congratz to the 3 above and shame on the rest.
cm (@cm-cm)
11th March 2018, 18:42
I voted RBR, specifically their digital obfuscatied testing livery.
I would marry that livery if I could… my daily driven Jeep has something similar.
Martin (@ardy)
11th March 2018, 18:55
I voted for Mercedes. It looks mean and purposeful. I think the “pimple-noses” on most of the cars look ridiculous.
It would be fairer if all cars were photographed at the same angle in the same light. Some of them are so shaded it’s hard to compare liveries.
Halos should all be black, by decree. The white and colourful ones are so in-your-face they totally spoil the looks of the car.
John G (@jfever78)
11th March 2018, 20:47
I don’t know, to my eye some of the colored halo devices makes them blend in and disappear better, especially ones like the Ferrari. You almost don’t notice it at some angles, where if it was black I think it’d stand out much worse. But it’s a subjective thing, so everyone has their own opinion.
Captain Pie (@captainpie)
11th March 2018, 18:58
Mclaren or Renault for me.
Breath of fresh air, new colours and I feel you can tell the optimism of both teams making the liveries stand out more. Or I just like the colours. Whatever.
Also @keithcollantine has this vote only been run since 2010 or do we have results older than that? If it only goes to 2010 can we do a retrospective vote on older seasons? I’m sure there’ll be no bias whatsoever… 🤣
John Toad (@)
11th March 2018, 19:46
I’ve been following F1 since 1958 and in my opinion the cars today are nowhere near as beautiful as they were in my earlier watching days.
Functionally efficient, yes, beautiful, definitely not.
Maciek (@maciek)
11th March 2018, 19:51
Pretty much anything but black on the halo seriously reduces the cars’ aesthetic appeal unfortunately. My top 3 are Renault, McLaren and Toro Rosso.
stefano (@alfa145)
11th March 2018, 20:04
what’s wrong with red bull? I find it stunning as usual…
Todfod (@todfod)
12th March 2018, 4:42
Technically, its not about who has the best livery this year. It’s about who has changed their livery enough for people to notice that is the winner.
John G (@jfever78)
11th March 2018, 20:31
All of these comments about “This is the best looking car, everyone else that disagrees is wrong!” absolutely drive me nuts. Aesthetics are completely subjective, and the science and philosophy on this isn’t up for debate anymore. Just say it’s YOUR favorite, quit trying to tell others what you think is the only correct way to think. This should only be a friendly discussing, there’s literally nothing to debate here.
Calum (@calum)
11th March 2018, 21:25
Mclaren is the best looking livery. Papaya and orange is so much better, night and day ahead of last years orange effort!
If Renault had more yellow on the sides, maybe I would vote for them.
Webber fan
11th March 2018, 22:32
Where is the “none of them” option? The halo makes them all look hideous.
Gabriel (@rethla)
11th March 2018, 23:18
Nice to see that in 8 years the only thing they got right was the rear wing.
Ed Marques (@edmarques)
12th March 2018, 0:09
Mercedes.
Mclaren would be so much better if had something written on the sidepod.
Matts_F1 (@ayrtons6094)
12th March 2018, 2:53
Best looking in terms of design: Mercedes
Best looking in terms of livery: McLaren
Deej92 (@deej92)
12th March 2018, 9:53
Loved the 2015 Ferrari and 2010 McLaren. The Ferrari was quite unique with its nose during a time when the cars were rather ugly. 2009-16 is generally regarded as an era of ugly cars but in 2010, 11 and 13 they looked good.
Anyway this year: Ferrari. Never good news to lose a sponsor but the all-red look is an improvement (on the livery, the car still looks worse, i.e. halo).
TomD11 (@tomd11)
12th March 2018, 12:37
Given that I’m not a fan of the slab noses most of them now have and STR have gone that way too, I’ve got to give it to Merc. Although, since the addition of the halo, it’s like asking me to choose which brand of dog food I’d most like to eat.
Jimmi Cynic (@jimmi-cynic)
12th March 2018, 20:18
@tomd11 – Quote of the Year! LOL!
Halo visual apologists, like Benson, are running the inverted ‘Emperor Has No Clothes’ play – can’t see even it anymore.
GeeMac (@geemac)
12th March 2018, 15:57
Surprised at the lack of love for the FW41. I know the livery is essentially as it has been since 2014 but it is still a great looking car.
Markp
12th March 2018, 23:37
Is this the best looking design (ignoring colour imagine they were all the same colour) or best looking livery? I think there should be a poll for each, can the cars be photoshoped to the same colour?
Shimks (@shimks)
13th March 2018, 16:07
The McLaren, for me, is by far the best looking car – in fact, the only good looking car. The other skins are sooo boring.