#ANYWAY! the Livery Watch grind never stops!

[racingliners]

Livery Watch Flashback: 2017

Hello! As I mentioned in a post yesterday, I have been doing a huge load of research for my 2017 set fic The Rules of Strategy (watching races, reading race reports, looking up pictures etc) to the point where I have once again been getting ultra familiar with the circa 2017 F1 grid.

And while it's been a lot of fun reliving a season I previously followed as it happened, I of course have opinions on the 2017 liveries. So I'm going to give them the full Livery Watch treatment!

And GOD do I miss having a grid of fully painted almost entirely glossy cars 😭

Ferrari

LOOK AT HER!!!! God. Ferrari really peaked with this. Aside from the burgundy 1000th GP livery which I yearn for every day, this is a super close second. The shade of red, the vintage style numbers on the nosecone and sharkfin (and also the clever use of the sharkfin in making it all white which balances out really nicely with the front wing and bargeboards).

10/10 - Ferrari please bring this back for 2025 I BEG.

Force India

THE FIRST YEAR OF THE PINK PANTHERS!!! I was so overjoyed when this livery dropped at the time (the BWT sponsorship deal was announced after the initial car launch) not just because it was all pink but because of how bright it is, the Force Indias always stood out on the TV feed.

Like McLaren below, this was the first year of what became for the rest of Force India's/Racing Point's run a permanent livery so it needed some tweaks (which we did thankfully get down the line) but as a first go it's beautiful and I love it so much. The magenta and silver lines work well to add a bit of dimension to the livery as a whole.

8/10 - very good very pink

Haas

Oh I do not miss this iteration of the core Haas livery at all. Too grey, not enough red, very flat. Doesn't spark joy at all.

3/10 - If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.

McLaren

The MCL32 was the first car of the post-Ron Dennis era to feature a predominantly orange livery. Since the team had used predominantly monochrome liveries prior to 2017, they used a darker more tangerine shade of orange (notably with a soft metallic sheen) before settling with the now familiar papaya shade of orange the team have used since 2018.

Now with that aside, this livery looked great from the front but not so great from the side. I think they were maybe trying to emulate the McLaren speed mark logo with the swooshes, but it just looks a bit jarring and slightly out of place. But I do enjoy the white driver numbers!

7/10 - solid first orange livery effort.

Mercedes

I like to think of this as a polished up version of the 2014 livery. I love that that black on the engine cover is more airbrushed around the edges instead of ending in a sharp line. As well as the mixture of light green and light blue neon style lines over the Petronas teal gradient on the sidepods - it adds a really nice bit of depth to the livery as a whole and a nice additional pop of colour.

I also enjoyed the fact that Lewis and Valtteri had different coloured car numbers, this was actually the first year Mercedes made that change to their core liveries. Both colours (red for Lewis, blue for Valtteri - both to complement their helmets) work really well with the sliver, turquoise and black combo.

8.5/10 - I just wish the silver was a bit more metallic.

Red Bull

It's the same livery they've ran since 2016. Insert my musings from Livery Watch 2023 and 2024 here.

4/10 - somehow I think this composition/layout is nicer than recent years

Renault

This was a definite downgrade from their 2016 livery (which is the best Renault livery and really underrated imho). The very split down the middle half-yellow, half-black livery with the yellow stripes down down the sidepods just just not work for me. It makes it look like two different cars have been chopped down the middle and bolted on to each other.

4/10 - Not very magnifique.

Sauber

What the C36 lacked in sponsors, it made up for with class. As per the logo on the engine cover, this livery was designed to commemorate Sauber's 25th anniversary competing in F1. And I think the creme white, metallic gold and semi-metallic dark blue work beautifully together (this would make a very pretty moodboard imho).

8/10 - I don't know what I would change, but I love it.

Toro Rosso

If you're thinking that this looks similar to the Racing Bulls 2024 livery then you'd be right! I'm 90% sure that this was the inspiration for the VCARB01 but I do think that this version of the drinks can livery is so much nicer.

The colour palette is bright but cohesive (I especially love the chrome silver bull) and it feels in keeping with the quote Red Bull family unquote, but still has a unique identity. I miss this livery so much.

10/10 - Please bring her back to me.

Williams

Perfect, no notes, the F1 livery of all time. I need James Vowles to bring this back pronto.

10/10 - I would legit marry this car.