Formula One Colours

Hi folks,

Just a quick note - as I can see from my blog stats that there are some of you still checking the site - to apologies for the quietness lately. So far it’s not been much of a season for keeping track of livery changes, as there have barely been any! But I’ve got some new material to come soon, including an article looking at all the drivers’ helmet designs this year, and also some more of the “classic liveries” stuff I’ve been promising. So, stick around!

Also, I’d just like to say how saddened I am by the collapse of the Super Aguri team. It’s intensely frustrating that in a year where we were supposed to have had 24 cars on the grid, we’ve now ended up with only 20 - and I can’t help but wonder where all those people were who supposedly had the money to compete with Prodrive for a slot back when it went up for grabs. Was there really nobody who fancied getting hold of an F1 team who could have bought Aguri out? As someone whose favourite era of F1 was a time when pre-qualification was necessary (those frantic, chaotic early ’90s days), I’m disappointed to see so few teams competing - and I can’t help but wonder if a drastic overhaul of the sport (such as, allowing in customer teams, but having a separate championship for them in tandem with the proper constructors’ championship - but still allowing all drivers to compete for one title) isn’t necessary in order to get competitor numbers up. F1 participation has never sunk beneath 20 cars in the modern-day era - but with Red Bull looking a bit edgy about the idea of keeping Toro Rosso going, manufacturers such as Toyota not getting a decent return on their investment, and Force India the latest iteration of a team that has changed hands too many times to count - well, let’s just say the future’s looking a bit worrying…

And, of course, it means we lose Ant Davidson, one of the most promising drivers on the grid (despite his late start in the sport). Still, if he’s not racing, perhaps ITV or the Beeb could snare him up for some punditry - in his appearances so far, he’s looked like the next best thing to Martin Brundle…

Okay, Force India are really trying my patience now, to the extent that I actively want them to fail this season.

Inexplicably, they’ve made a couple of changes to their livery already, replacing the white rear wing and silvery sidepods with a bright orange-red. Not only does this clash horrifically with the gold already on the car, but it makes it look almost indistinguishable from a McLaren. I know the Maccas are silvery, but in certain light they look  almost white - and the shades of red are just about identical. Note how the similarity even extends to the strip along the top of the airbox. Seriously, Force India, what is the point? Idiots.

It turns out, meanwhile, that Super Aguri have made a minor change to their livery, adjusting the red along the nose and throwing in a block of black. It’s not bad, as it happens… but their new uniforms, meanwhile, look great.

And the final point to note from the first day of track action is that Ferrari have stuck an ugly barcode motif on the engine cover, presumably to make up for Marlboro’s logo being shunted off the rear wing. Not impressed, frankly. Also, hard to tell from the light, but have they gone back to that lighter shade of red? Hope not.

You may have noticed that there are still two teams on the grid who haven’t had any kind of car launch or livery unveiling. Well, there’s been no official announcement yet, but it would appear from photos of the Melbourne paddock so far that both Super Aguri and Toro Rosso are starting the season with identical designs to last year. Toro Rosso have changed their uniforms, however (race numbers on there again! Hooray!), and it’s interesting to note the visual identity they’re starting to carve out - their cars are still similar to Red Bull’s, but note on the uniform the darker blue, and the prominence given to that yellowish cream colour, and contrast this with Red Bull’s lighter blue, and strips of red/white/blue. It would be nice if they could get rid of the bull on the engine cover now, though - it’s really starting to get dull.

Super Aguri, meanwhile, having been bought out by the Magma group, don’t look like giving their cars a quick dash of paint ahead of the first race; but rumours abound that a new colour scheme, and perhaps even a new name, will be forthcoming in time for Monaco. We’ll keep ‘em peeled.

Ferrari, meanwhile, have inked a deal with UAE airline Etihad - formerly of Spyker, but dropped in favour of Vijay Mallya’s own Kingfisher - that will see the brand on the red cars’ rear wings.

About a week late on this, but apologies, I’ve been busy elsewhere! Anyway, it’s not hugely far removed from the livery we got pictures of a little while back (the one that the team denied unconvincingly was the actual design)…

Interestingly, though, Mappin & Webb - the jewellery company whose logo appeared so prominently on that test livery - are nowhere to be seen. Instead, toy shop Hamley’s have increased their presence, taking over the sidepod, a result of parent company Baugur increasing their investment in the team.

As for the livery itself… well, as I commented when we saw the “test” livery, I like the design generally - the increased amount of blue is good, as is the fact that it’s a bit darker. It makes the car a bit more distinctive (standing out from the other white and blue cars on the grid), and it almost looks black-and-white in certain light. The use of silver in places is a bit nondescript, though - it might look better if that were gold, or a lighter blue. But I do also like the retro-ish race numbers, and all-in-all it’s a very Williams-ish design. Keep an eye on this car - it could well be this year’s “best of the rest”, if testing is anything to go by…

Meanwhile, here on F1 Colours, expect a bit more content again as we build up to the season. The first “Livery History” article - featuring the Jordan team - will be posted at some point over the next month, and I’ll also be featuring some general F1 commentary in both the build-up to, and aftermath of, the Australian GP. Only one week to go, folks!

Ladies and gentlemen, a drumroll please…

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Right, the winning entry will be posted later tonight (can you guess what it is, yet?) but in the meantime, if you’ve missed any, here’s a full run down of the list so far…
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A day late with this, then - but to make up for it, there are lots of lovely images below…

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Only two to go, after this - what will they be? Tomorrow I’ll post #2, and then a roundup over the weekend before the WINNER on Monday…

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Those of you who predicted this one for the top five - give yourselves a pat on the back…

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 Alright, I said the top 5 would be straightforward. Maybe I was wrong - this is less well known, and so might have been somewhat unexpected…

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