F1 2021 - The new looks (ranked)

With Winter Testing fast approaching and the first race of the 2021 season in Bahrain on the horizon. Gone are the videos of the teams teasing their engines firing up for the first time, now is the big reveal.

Besides seeing the cars out on track for the first time, nothing marks the start of the season quite like the car design reveal and I have to say we’ve been treated to some stunners.

This got me thinking, what is the best looking car on the F1 2021 grid. So, here are my liveries ranked from best to worst.

10. Ferrari

I know it’s not been released yet, but it’s going to be red. Plain and simple. Ferrari seemingly has always been red and long after I’m gone will they continue to be red.

They may through in some white or green to show their Italian pride, but it’s a concept that’s not changed in my lifetime and unfortunately, I can’t rank it higher than the bottom.

9. Haas

I’m not too sure what’s going on with this design if I’m honest with you. It wants to look retro and I gets that, but let’s address the elephant in the room. It’s essentially the Russian flag on a car. Oh, and the car that it’s on is that of an American team.

I understand that Uralkali is the title sponsor of the team, but even for me, this is a bit striking. Saying that it’s a step up from last years’ pink Racing Point.

8. Red Bull

Another year, another Red Bull. Yes, there are some sponsor logos that have changed. For example, the Aston Martin logo has gone, for good reasons, but other than that I’ve become blind to it.

It may well be a modern-day classic iconic livery, however, for me, it’s not. Add it to the list similar to Ferrari. It always has and always will look like that. Bring back the testing liveries, please.

7. Mercedes

This is going to upset a lot of people, but the new Mercedes look is rubbish. To be honest, if they have a season like the six gone previous we won’t see much of it as it drives off into the sunset.

I get the message that they went for with the black car last year, and I stand by it. The only saving grace is that it’s got lots of AMG logos on it. Which for me indicates someone in the design team has a good sense of humour.

Oh, and the fact that they had to meme it themselves before anyone else did, says a lot.

6. Alfa Romeo

Next is the mid-field and with the next three cars, I really couldn’t split them, I kind of hope they are like this on track during the season.

Insert “It’S jUsT tHe CoLoUrS iNvErTeD.”

This honestly grinds my gears - yes there are some copy and paste jobs in F1, not point any fingers, but read back a few.

Alfa Romeo does not fall into this category, their cars are elegantly designed and stand out from the field. I still love the Alfa Romeo logo on the engine cover.

I think the Alfa Romeo should come with an age-restricted warning.

5. Alpha Tauri

Alpha Tauri got the results last season and hopefully, they can continue to turn heads on the timing screens. That being said they've already got heads turning with this look.

They've set the benchmark of what a car design should look like this season. It flows, it’s elegant and it’s a stunner. The white wheel rims add something extra to the look as well. It would look at home on Route 66 with white-walled tyres as it would smashing round the track of Portimao.

It's only beaten by the best. However, Alpha Tauri, if you're reading. Please give the car white-walled tyres.

4. Williams

First of all, I hope Williams challenge for points this season. After watching the sport for 23 years that seems strange to say "hope they're challenging for points," they used to challenge Ferrari in the Schumacher era for race wins and have won championship titles.

Looking at the design of their car, it is already of to the best start. Whilst we've only seemed rendered computer-generated images, the 2021 challenger looks very, very good. I'm not sure they were going for the look of a knocked over Lavazza coffee cup, but it certainly has that style too it.

The blues and whites complement each other very well, i's almost become synonymous with Williams that they are blue and white, however, they do change the style up a lot and keep it looking like freshly ground coffe. I just hope it makes it to the first grid of the year.

3. McLaren

Papaya and Blue, or Orange and Blue if you're not up to speed about the colour Papaya. The colour of the old McLarens, and the staple of the modern era. McLaren has had a rejuvenation and is looking quick again.

There's a little bit more black on the car this year compared to last, though you may need to get the ruler out to check. The reason this gets so high on this list though is that the orange cars stand out, yet seem to fit in at any location that they are at.

2. Aston Martin

Jaguar F1 in 2004 was the last time you saw a car in British Racing Green on the grid. In fact, it was the last time you saw a predominantly green car on the grid. With the arrival of Aston Martin, this gap in the market has been successfully filled and wow, what a stunner.

Originally meant to have lime green details, as it was unclear whether BWT would stay on as a sponsor, you will now notice the reintroduction of some pink. Not so much the striking pink of last year's Racing Point, but more of a hot pink. Either way lime green or pink, it looks very very good.

1.Alpine

That leaves the top spot.

A "new" team for 2021, well new in the sense that it is the rebranded Renault 2020 car. Alpine walks away with the top spot for one very good reason. Remember any Marlboro liveried car? The iconic John Player Special black and gold lotus, or even the Gold Leaf lotus, or the green and yellow lotus, okay any lotus. Don't forget the Black and Silver McLaren-Mercedes, or the Rothmans Williams.

The reason I've named all those iconic looks is that this is now one of them. The electric blue, white and red makes it stand out from the crowd. It's head and shoulders above everything else, and how everything looks.

If Red Bull is considered a modern classic, then the Alpine is a post-modern masterpiece.

Don't agree with me? Leave your ratings in the comments.