Ranking the 2023 Formula 1 liveries from worst to best. The start of the 2023 Formula 1 World Championship is on the horizon.
The teams have held their presentations and revealed their paint schemes for the upcoming season. Each year, fans hope for spectacular new liveries. Sometimes a team produces a gem, other times it’s genuinely awful. Let’s take a look by ranking this year’s F1 liveries.
10 – Alfa Romeo Sauber
Changing from red and white to red and black, Alfa Romeo Sauber is one of the teams with the biggest change. I think this change from white to black is a downgrade from last season. While on its own it’s certainly a good-looking scheme, several other teams also have added black to their livery. In my opinion, this makes Alfa Romeo stand out much less on the 2023 Formula 1 grid. I also dislike the way the driver number looks on the shark fin.
9 – AlphaTauri
AlphaTauri’s livery has stayed largely the same as in 2022. Dark blue and white, creating a unique scheme that stands out in this field. However, in 2023 red made its introduction on this car. Through Orlen’s sponsorship, red has been added to the rear wing, halo, and bargeboards. While I like the original layout, the addition of what looks like red stickers is a downgrade for this scheme. It feels out of place on such a sleek original design.
8 – Haas
The team with the biggest change from 2022 to 2023 is Haas. Last year, Haas modified their livery to remove the Russian colors from their car for obvious reasons. This year seems like a total revamp. The majority of the car is now black, with some slight highlights in white and red. While Alfa Romeo adding black was a downgrade for me, for Haas I feel it’s a big improvement. Certainly from a side angle, the car looks very nice.
7 – Williams
Williams is one of many teams in Formula 1 who have not changed much from last year’s livery. The different shades of blue used in the livery make the car stand out in this field. The only slight change in this livery is the addition of a Duracell battery on the air intake. It’s a fun little thing and a much more clever way to incorporate a sponsor than AlphaTauri’s way of adding Orlen red to the car.
6 – Aston Martin
The sight of British Racing Green on a Formula 1 grid is always a nice touch. Despite not changing much, Aston Martin have a solid look that makes them stand out. Especially in the night races, this livery has looked very good.
5 – Alpine
Alpine’s blue and pink is one of the strongest combinations on the 2023 Formula 1 grid, however for this season they have added a black stripe across the side pod to the back of the car. This takes my rating down a few points. I certainly like the full pink car the French team will run for the first three rounds of the Championship. If they were to run pink for the entirety of the season, it would make my top three for sure.
4 – McLaren
McLaren have changed some minor things on their livery for this season. Overall the colors have stayed the same orange, black, and light blue. However, black has been made more prominent on the car, similar to Arrow McLaren’s IndyCar livery. I prefer last year’s livery a little bit more, but McLaren still have a great-looking car.
3 – Red Bull Racing
Red Bull have never been known for drastic changes to their livery, but this year is the pinancle. The 2022 World Champions changed nothing on their livery for the 2023 Formula 1 season. Their matte black base with the iconic Red Bull logo is a strong combination. It makes perfect sense to keep this similar, but perhaps a slight change wouldn’t hurt. At least the graphics department was spared a lot of work.
2 – Mercedes
Mercedes has gone back to black for the 2023 season. The team previously used black on their car during the 2020 Formula 1 season. This shade of black with the light blue line that runs across the car is a very strong livery. One feature I particularly like is the fluorescent yellow driver numbers on the car. It makes the numbers easily visible from a distance, and the overall design looks very nice.
1 – Ferrari
Closing out my ranking at number 1 is Ferrari. There is not much the Italian brand have to do to win the livery contest. Their iconic red Formula 1 car has been a standout for decades. There are some minor tweaks on the side pods, showing more black in the spirit of the early 90s Ferrari’s.
The teams certainly stepped up their livery game in the last few years. Making a ranking of the 2023 Formula 1 liveries was quite tough, given these are some very good-looking cars on the grid. It won’t be long until we see these cars in action. The 2023 Formula 1 season unofficially kicks off this week, with pre-season testing on Thursday through Saturday. Racing action starts March 5 at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
