Part One: TLBRB's thoughts on the 2026 F1 liveries
- Laid Back Race Blog Collabs
- 6 hours ago
- 5 min read
As the 2026 Formula One season launches get underway, the members of The Laid Back Race Blog thought that we should share our opinions on the liveries.
Red Bull
The team all seemed to like the new look for Red Bull, with Teagan stating: "I like it, the 2026 livery is a new (but reminiscent of 2005) look that is quite striking."
Topher expressed his excitement for 2026: "A bit of a step into the past with this livery, and I like it! While I never found anything wrong with their recent paint jobs, this one now has more of a pop with the different shade of blue and I can't wait to see it out on track."
Alex and Emmy conveyed their happiness with the shiny finish on the RB22.
Alex said: "There’s a definite throwback to the first Red Bull, the RB1, and I’m so glad they’ve stepped away from the matte finish after what seems like ages. This one will be absolutely stunning under the lights, that’s for sure."
Whilst Emmy added:
"I really like this years car! It reminds of Danny Ric’s 2014 car that’s in the Silverstone museum, I love the shininess to it rather than going for matte again ."
VCARB
Alex and Topher expressed their happiness with the livery:
"It’s a hit for me. Since they rebranded to (VCA) RB, every livery has been a stunner and they’ve continued that theme." Alex stated. "The wheel covers look great too, a great finish to the machine."
Topher added: "Absolutely loved the Minardi/AlphaTauri/VCARBohydrates livery last season, and I still admire this one just as much. The added blue elements introduce a new vibe to the car and it looks great out on track, having seen the drivers shake it down at Imola."
Teagan and Emmy seemed to have shown more wariness towards the new livery.
Teagan said: "It’s okay, the white colouring combined with the dark blue adds an interesting element, but I expected maybe a bit more when we know that VCARB have had such impactful liveries before, such as the pink Miami livery."
Emmy also said: "Pretty similar to last year and I still really like it! The colours go really well together."
Haas
The team were split on the Haas livery, both Emmy and Topher thought that the livery wasn't the best that Haas had created.
Topher said: "Not Haas’ greatest livery ever, but it ain't bad. Maybe Rich Energy needs to make a return to give it a pop of gold…". Whilst Emmy added: "It's not my favourite but not bad, not a fan of the massive sponsor logo."
Teagan thought that the livery was nice, stating that: "I do like the Haas livery, I think that they have played it safe by keeping with the white colour scheme. However, the red and black from the GR logo does look very smart."
Alex also thought that it was good, but credited the FIA's new rules for teams making brighter liveries:
"It’s pretty simple but, provided every other team doesn’t launch a white and red livery, it should stand out. Very, very heavy on the TGR branding (especially as Toyota has split now from Gazoo Racing). It’s nice to see another bright livery, the 55% paint rule implemented by the FIA seems to be working."
Audi
Unanimoulsy, the team felt disappointed with Audi's livery.
Teagan said: "I expected more from Audi, whilst it is quite striking, it feels like they have played it safe. Also, the livery is very similar to the old McLaren liveries."
Topher and Alex added: "I really hope that isn't the final design. For all the fanfare of Audi joining the sport, I expected a bit more out of the livery. It would be good if Audi sees the negative reaction to it and makes changes before the season opener.
"A huge name not just in motorsport, but the world of cars too you’d think would warrant a big entry and a bit of fanfare but instead, it looks very basic. Hopefully their inevitable mid season livery is a standout and a sign of better things to come."
Emmy also shared her disappointment: "It reminds me of the early 2010s car, I like it but feel like they could’ve done something much better."
Mercedes
Alex said: "f this car was a hairstyle, it’d be a mullet. Party in the back, business in the front. The classic Silver Arrow at the front looks great as always, but towards the rear it’s messy. They’ve tried a modern look and I wouldn’t say that’s a successful move. Bring back the old Silver Arrows."
Topher was much more positive: "My favourite Mercedes livery from the last few seasons. There isn’t anything new in terms of the colour palette, but the placement of the colour patterns on top of the sidepods is something different and I think it’s all the better for it. If rumours about Mercedes’ powertrain are to be believed, this could be a title-winning car…"
Teagan and Emmy were much more conflicted, Teagan said:
"I’m 50/50 on this livery- it could be a lot better, but it could also be significantly worse. Maybe it will look better on track, the new sidepod graphics are a clear advertisement for Adidas, and not a particularly nice one."
Whilst Emmy added: " Idon’t know how I feel about it, not a massive fan of the stripes down the side. I like the colours but it doesn’t look finished, the silver arrows feel a bit thrown on there for me like an afterthought."
Ferrari
The team were not at all surprised that the new Ferarri livery was red, yet they were quite disappointed by the seemingly non-traditional elements.
Teagan said: "Not a fan, the white is too much and from the cockpit view, it doesn’t even look like a Ferarri. The HP logo is ugly and needs chaninging. We knew that it would be red, I just expected so much more."
Topher also said: "It's red, it's a Ferrari. However, the Scuderia seems to have jumped on the 2016 trend with the inclusion on white on the car and I'm not a fan. White on a Ferrari was fine in the 1970s, it doesn't work anywhere near as well nowadays. Maybe someone should remind them how many wins they got in 2016…"
"You know what? It’s fine." Alex commented. "You expect the ‘it’s red’ kind of thing but, it’s one of the least red Ferrari’s I’ve seen in my life. The black touches do seem to add a sort of menacing quality, even if rumours suggest this car could be an absolute dog."
Emmy also stated: "I don’t like it, I haven’t liked their liveries for a while. Don’t like how it’s two separate colours, I understand why they’ve done it but it just doesn’t look like a Ferrari in my opinion, the logos look so ugly on the car."
Alpine
For Alex, Topher and Teagan, they felt as though Alpine had not changed the livery at all.
Teagan said: "Erm… it’s the same? Why are like 90% of the cars on the grid blue. Also bring back the pink Alpine, it was actually beautiful."
Topher quoted the iconic meme: “Corporate needs you to find the differences between this picture and this picture”. “They're the same picture”.
Alex also added: "looks at 2025 car, then 2026 car It’s the same. Bring back the yellow patches, at least that was exciting, if slightly mismatched with pink and blue."
Emmy was more optimistic: "I don’t hate it, I really liked last years car and it looked good on track so I’m not mad about it. Love the colours together"
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