Opinion: Rating every 2020 F1 livery

Date Posted 20th February 2020
Read Time 5 min read

Finally, Formula 1 is back. Pre-season testing has begun in Barcelona with every team trying to capture as much data as possible ahead of next month’s curtain-raiser in Australia. 

Part of the build-up includes each garage releasing their new livery for the 22 upcoming races. This year, we’ve had everything, from complete overhauls and rebrands to those keeping it simple. 

So, let’s take a look through each new livery on the grid for 2020.    

Mercedes AMG Petronas | W11 | Rating: 6/10

Mercedes AMG Petronas 2020 F1 Car

The biggest change to the Mercedes this year is the splash of red courtesy of their new partnership with sponsor, Ionos. 

Visible on the front wing and surrounding the air intake, the red has split opinion. It’s nice that there’s something to go alongside Niki Lauda’s and the red of the Tommy Hilfiger logo, but I’m not sure it works on the engine cover. Front wing wise, with a bit of a softer gradient, it looks smart. 

Elsewhere, it’s much the same, although the Petronas turquoise influence seems a little more prominent on track this year thanks to its sharper edges against the silver.

Scuderia Ferrari | SF1000 | 6/10

Ferrari 2020 F1 car

Again, similarly to Mercedes, Ferrari has played it safe. The loss of the black detail on the rear fin and front wing makes little difference, although the introduction of the driver number on the engine cover brings it more in line with the rest of the field. 

Paintwork wise, it looks as though Ferarri have used an ever so slightly deeper shade of red, although you really have to focus to see it. 

All in all, it, unsurprisingly, just looks like a Ferrari F1 car. 

Red Bull Racing | RB16 | 5/10

Red Bull Racing 2020 F1 Car

Red Bull must have been too busy focussing on the mechanics of their new car as they seem to have forgotten to update their livery. We didn’t even get a camo edition!

Although it’s nice, the Red Bull has looked the same for a while now and it’s time for a change. Maybe the new rules next year will bring with it a more exciting livery, too. 

McLaren | MCL35 | 7/10

McLaren 2020 F1 car

McLaren’s offering this year is, again, fairly similar to the last, although somehow even brighter. 

A more vibrant orange clashes with the electric blue of last year, even if McLaren has done away with their funky diamond-patterned engine cover. 

Instead, as seems to be the case with the majority of the teams this year, they’ve gone with a more simple flow, although there’s a touch more detail on the blue towards the back of the car. 

Add to that the black detailing on the shark fin and it’s a nicely-finished paint job. 

Renault | RS20 | 8/10

Renault 2020 F1 car

Although not too dissimilar, this year’s Renault livery is up there with the best on the grid. More so because of its simplicity. 

The RS20 features an all black paint job with only the driver numbers resembling the yellow detailing of last season. 

All white sponsorship keeps the design clean and, in my opinion, only one other design tops it this year. 

AlphaTauri | AT01 | 9/10

AlphaTauri 2020 F1 car

And that design can be seen on the all-new AlphaTauri. Taking over from Toro Rosso, the changing of the guard sees a brand-new paint scheme; ditching the former royal blue and red for a white and black finish. 

Another big change, unsurprisingly, is the sponsorship. The Red Bull calling card has been replaced across the front wing and sides with AlphaTauri, while a new logo sits proudly on the engine cover. 

All in all, it’s a great livery, and in my opinion, the best on the grid this year. 

Racing Point | RP20 | 6/10

Racing Point 2020 F1 Car

As Racing Point potentially enter their last year of pink, with Aston Martin set to take over next year, I was hoping for something a bit more impressive as a final farewell. 

Instead, they’ve given us a simpler but extremely similar design to last year, with the only significant changes seeing the two shades of pink reduced to one and SportPesa no longer featuring on the engine cover. 

On the whole, it’s okay, just very 2019. 

Alfa Romeo | C39 | 7/10

Alfa Romeo 2020 F1 Car

Another whose changes are minimal this year is Alfa Romeo. The red and white works and it looks smart, but it’s now a 12-month old design. Not very F1-like. 

Notable changes are a switch of rear-wing sponsor and red replacing the blue detail along the nose. Aside from that, it’s as you were. 

Haas | VF-20 | 8/10

Haas 2020 F1 Car

Back to the more familiar team colours of red, white and black after their catastrophic sponsorship deal with Rich Energy ended last year, Haas has gone back to basics. 

With little external sponsorship to be seen on the livery, the VF-20 is one of the better-looking cars on the grid this year. 

Arguably a rip-off of Braun’s old car design, just with colour changes, it’s a nice finish, although I still prefer the black and gold. 

Williams | FW43 | 5/10

Williams 2020 F1 car

And finally, Williams. Quite a common phrase last year, and it rings true this time around, too. At least where liveries are concerned. 

The new artwork looks as though it was designed in Microsoft Powerpoint, the red doesn’t work with the blue and it symbolises how far Williams has fallen in the past few years. 

One piece of good news is a new sponsor, but with this car, that’s about it. The race suits are nice, though. 

The Last Word

There you have it. Every livery on the grid this year rated. In truth, it’s a bit of a boring year – design-wise. You just have to hope that 2021 brings with it more than mechanical changes. 

Let us know what you think of our ratings in the comments below!


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