Ranking the best-looking cars on the 2025 F1 grid from worst to best

Telegraph

15-03-2025

With pre-season testing over and the first race of the season this weekend, we have seen all 10 of the 2025 Formula One challengers on track. Now, given most of the cars at this stage of the regulations look alike, and few if any are distinctive, this is essentially a livery ranking. Though everything aesthetic is taken into account, in some way.
10. Ferrari SF-25
There have been several attractive Ferrari liveries in recent years, perhaps peaking in 2022. The SF-25, however, is not one of them. They have changed the shade of red again, but that is not a major problem. What is an issue is the increased prominence of the HP sponsorship, which ruins the aesthetics of this car.
White and blue front and rear wings I can just about live with, but the HP logo plastered behind the top airbox just ruins it. Four colours work well for Ferrari in my opinion and in this order: red, black, yellow and a very small amount of white. Blue should be nowhere near this one. In many ways it is a shame that this is how Hamilton's first Ferrari looks.
9. Williams FW47
Is the Duracell sponsorship on the airbox losing its novelty factor? I would say so. That this Williams is in ninth shows that many of these liveries are middling. The FW47 is not a bad-looking car as such, but it would be improved if the shade of blue on the nose matched the colour on the rest of the car. The white piping is a nice touch (more piping on F1 cars, please), though. A touch more red would not go amiss, either. A big part of me wants more white to replicate those mid-1990s Rothmans-sponsored Williams cars.
8. McLaren MCL39
I am always unsure whether the McLaren looks good or bad. It depends on the angle. Thankfully, developments in F1 have meant that fewer teams have so much exposed carbon fibre compared to a couple of years ago. McLaren are one of the teams who have kept a fair amount of black, though.
I always thought a deep blue (there is a touch of that in places but not enough) was a good compliment to the classic 'papaya' shade of orange. It worked well in 2018, though that car was dreadfully slow. McLaren will not care what their car looks like if they can manage to win both championships this year.
7. Aston Martin AMR25
The shade of green looks a little lighter in 2025 and that is welcome. There is not much more to say on this one, as it is very much the same as last year's livery. I am struggling to spot anything significant that has changed, in fact. Minimal points for effort but at least the car has some identity in its aesthetic.
6. Red Bull RB21
We all now know what a Red Bull F1 car is going to look like. A few years ago I yearned for them to try something a little different, just for once. Now I think that would be a mistake. It is not exciting – would a yellow or red halo kill them? – but this works and takes its place firmly in F1's aesthetic midfield.
5. Sauber C45
This 2025 Sauber has attracted some criticism from observers and for reasons I cannot understand. Last year's version topped our list but partly because the novelty of a bright green and black livery was striking and uncommon. This is largely an evolution, with a bit more green.
I suppose some of the criticism came because it is unadventurous. Just two colours and no real daring touches or anything remotely ambitious has been attempted. The green just fades into the black behind the driver. Still, it is at least different from the rest of the grid.
4. Haas VF-25
The Haas liveries have ranged fairly wildly in their decade or so in F1. Thankfully they have ditched the predominant grey of their early years. 2025's model is very much a variation on last year's red, white and black one but with more white than black this time. It's hard to get too enthusiastic about it but that is the case for almost all of the 2025 cars. Quite low effort, and that is probably to be expected with the final year of these regulations. Let's hope for some changes across the grid in 2026.
3. Mercedes W16
Very much a continuation of last year's car, the team have stuck with the silver/black hybrid after alternating between those two colours for a few years, with the usual licks of Petronas green. I ranked 2024's W15 in fourth, so this is only a minor upgrade. The red and the Ineos branding on the driver's airbox has gone, to be replaced by more silver. I think the beauty of this car largely depends on the angle you view it from. Its best angle is definitely from the front.
2. Alpine A525
Almost top place for trying something different from last year. In the wave of 'naked' F1 cars Alpine were the worst offenders, largely because their car was massively overweight. Thankfully they have mostly stopped that now, with the main areas of exposed carbon fibre being on top of the sidepods. And we do not often see them, so that works well enough.
They could have perhaps leant into the BWT pink a little more, but from front on this is reminiscent of the Force Indias of seven or eight years ago, with just a dash of Alpine blue here and there. The pink halo works, too.
1. Racing Bulls VCARB 02
This gets top spot partly almost entirely because it is so different from the previous livery and also because it is different from the rest of the grid. There are slight Lola Mastercard vibes to the VCARB 02. It also feels like a slight variation on the Honda-inspired livery Red Bull ran for the 2021 Turkish Grand Prix.
Simplicity is a plus in any F1 livery and you cannot get much more simple than white – and there is a lot of it here. The colour scheme on the nose, airbox and rear wing make it very clear that this is the Red Bull sister team, after years of their livery rather playing down that link. A sort of 'away kit' if you will and one that is better than the 'home' strip.
Which car do you think is the best-looking car on the grid this season? Cast your vote and join the conversation in the comments section below