Ahead of the new season which marks the first F1 campaign of the new decade, let take a look at the best and worst looking cars from last decade.
From horrible liveries and dreadful designs to beautiful title winning cars, every F1 fan has an opinion on their favourite and worst looking designs so here are a selection of the beautiful and the ugly cars to have had the dignity of gracing F1 last decade.
We will therefore start with the top five worst looking cars to have hit the track so without further ado, here are five of the worst cars from throughout the last ten years.
Top 5 Worst Looking
No.5 – Mercedes W01 2010
Mercedes might of finished the decade with six consecutive driver and constructor crowns but their first car looked very different to that of their 2019 counterpart, with seven-time World Champion in Michael Schumacher at the wheel.
The car was pretty basic in livery and design as if it simply was a 2009 car that had received minimal upgrades applied, only to then be presented as a new car for the 2010 season.
Without a shark fin rear and F-Duct, the cars of that season were very identifiable, but the Mercedes had a questionable nose design compared to the rest of the 2010 grid, so was probably one of the reasons why their comeback season was a damp squib.
No.4 – Marussia Virgin MVRO2
2011 saw Marussia Virgin launch the MVR02 in what was their second season, yet their livery failed to live up to the hype.
Feeling like a rushed job with same colours applied as in 2010, the car felt lazy in comparison to HRT who had a checkered flag on their rear which made them noticeable at the back of the grid.
I was expecting to see red, white and blue colours applied to the Marussia Virgin in line with their logo, yet they failed to deliver but their future liveries proved to be better than their 2011 car.
No.3 – Sauber C34
The 2015 Sauber car was much like the 2011 Marussia Virgin in that just one colour was splashed on with bits and pieces added to jazz it up.
With Felipe Nasr joining the team with a main sponsor in a Brazilian bank, a blue covering with sponsor sections in yellow felt hugely disappointing and more like an IKEA tribute car than a racing car.
In all honesty, the car was just lazy and unimaginative for a team of Sauber’s status.
No.2 – Ferrari F2012
2012 brought new rule changes in terms of the car’s overall safety as front noses were lowered to reduce risk of t-bone and flips occurring in collisions, leaving teams with ugly cars
Ferrari however was the worst car out of the lot with an immediate and large step from the crash structure to the survival cell, on top of various other car issues.
Fernando Alonso nevertheless managed to drag the team to second in the Constructors’ championship and sixty points off Red Bull, whilst narrowly missing out on the title to Sebastian Vettel after unfortunate incidents in Belgium and Japan cost him valuable points
The overall performance however doesn’t disguise the severely ugly car that Ferrari served up despite having a huge budget.
No.1 – 2014 Caterham CT05
If there is an ugly F1 car then the 2014 Caterham CT05 defines the definition after failing to deliver in the 2014 season, which saw F1 enter the hybrid era in the biggest rule changes that F1 has possibly ever seen.
Nose design would therefore be one of the most conflicting rules with most teams sadly producing ugly noses, whereas Caterham took it to a whole new level of ugliness.
Looking like a rush job which was unfinished, each part looked like it had come from separate cars and bungled together to produce a car to go racing with, although it took until mid-season for them to correct their errors.
Now that we know which five previous F1 cars are the worst of last decade, here are five of the best.
Top Five Best Looking
No.5 – Toro Rosso STRO5
The 2010 Toro Rosso car has to be one of the best cars in my opinion because it is a beautiful design with its dark background featuring a red bull in this variation.
It therefore stood out in the pack that season although their performance wasn’t much, with just 13 points collected across 19 races which put them last out of the point scoring teams.
That car however will be best remembered for Sebastian Buemi’s dramatic double front tyre failure in FP1 for the Chinese Grand Prix.
Nevertheless, the livery is a sight to behold.
No.4 – Ferrari F138
2013 saw F1 reach the end of the V8 era and Ferrari produced a great car from the iconic red livery to an aggressive high nose which I personally loved.
The car also looked mightily fast even when stood still as if it meant business, taking Fernando Alonso to victories in China and Spain although the Scuderia were pipped to second by Mercedes in the Constructors’ championship by just six points.
Definitely a fitting car to see out the V8 era as F1 entered the current hybrid era.
No.3 – McLaren MP4-27
If there is a McLaren made for the top three, it has to be the 2012 car in a year which saw some of the ugliest nose designs, including the “step” to meet new safety rules.
McLaren however found a way to avoid falling in with the gan got ugly cars in an unique way which simply made the normal nose even lower, yet was legal and stunningly beautiful.
From all angles, it was just amazing although reliability towards the end of the season would cost Hamilton a tilt at the title, whilst Jenson Button drove the car to what remains the team’s final F1 win in a wet thriller of a Brazilian Grand Prix.
No.2 – Williams FW38
2015 saw Williams in the midst of a reconnaissance as teams continued to get to grips with the new hybrid era, yet they produced a stunning car for that season with a perfect livery and car design.
With a white livery complimenting the Martini logo colours on the rear wing, the livery was just so retro and gorgeous to look at.
Add in a Mercedes power unit and the car was one of Williams’ best throughout this century so far, especially given their current crisis as the team were able to challenge Mercedes for the British GP victory until mid-race rain wrecked their chances.
Overall, this car surely has to rank as one of the sport’s best cars from last decade given its awesomeness.
No.1 – Mercedes W05
2014 saw the arrival of a new hybrid era and the Mercedes W05 was the bee knees in terms of dominance and car appearance.
Compared to the ‘damp squib’ 2010 car, this car looked genuinely smart and quick in design and livery, which proved evident with 16 wins from 19 races that season, having spent millions of £££ on this car which was a second faster than the rest of the grid.
Mercedes however are now hunting for a record seventh consecutive constructor title against tougher competition, which underlines just how exceptional the W05 car was in 2014.
Please feel free to drop a comment down below if you think there are better or worse looking cars that belong in the top five chart.
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