Formula E Liveries 2018–19: Worst to Best
Important questions were on the lips of Formula E-watchers as soon as they saw season five’s cars driven in anger. Would Stoffel Vandoorne be able to get on the pace in Ad Diriyah with only half the testing of most of the drivers (spoiler: yes, in qualifying)? Would Mahindra show their usual early-season pace (spoiler: yes)? Would every driver manage to master Attack Mode in time for the first race (spoiler: extra homework for you, Jose Maria Lopez)?
Without doubt, though, the burning question, even way back in pre-season, was articulated by Formula E on Instagram: “which car looks best?” A friend of the blog remarked that it was funny that this was the factor that mattered most in motorsport these days, but regardless, it the truth is, a great livery can cement itself in the viewer’s memory for decades. Think, if you will, of the sky-blue and orange Gulf Ford GT40 at Le Mans, or the black and gold JPS Lotus in Formula One. A great paint scheme can sometimes seem to give a car a tenth of a second.
Rene Arnoux, the former Renault, Ferrari and Ligier F1 driver, once said that he wore a plain white helmet as he didn’t feel colours would make him go faster. That’s certainly the kind of utilitarian thinking that many racing teams have, but Formula E fans, as with all other kind of racing viewer, relate to a great colour grading. Let us know if you agree with our countdown, from worst to best, of season five Formula E liveries.
11. Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
We mean no offence to Audi or Abt Sportsline, in fact we admire the team they’ve built up over their time in Formula E. Sticking with the same driver pairing for so long shows they’re well-organised and that the management culture is good. One of the problems with a company as big as Audi is that it can sometimes seem a bit resistant to change, even when that might be good.
As a consequence, what we have is the livery design that worked so well on the LMP1 car, transposed to a Formula E car. Someone seems to have mentioned that it’s an electric series, so there is a token swish of green too, but it doesn’t quite fit in with the other tones on the chassis, and the whole thing ends up looking a bit like a Bundesliga football club’s 2000s away kit.
10. NIO
The funny thing is, there isn’t that much that’s wrong with NIO’s livery. It incorporates all three of the company’s corporate colours, and gives viewers a professional image of the team. That’s all well and good, but it’s not exciting. You might argue that a manufacturer with ambitions to be the Chinese Tesla won’t want to rock the boat while it regains its earlier form in Formula E, but a more adventurous design with the same colour palette could have won new fans for a team that, notwithstanding its season one title, seems to lack a bit of defining character.
9. Venturi
There aren’t really any bad Formula E liveries this season, so the lower places are mostly for those that don’t stand out. Back when McLaren brought back silver in 1997 in F1, it felt like a way of differentiating themselves from all the whites and blues on show. Now there are so many silver paint jobs on show, that Venturi’s effort feels a bit staid. Venturi make a big thing of being based in Monaco — there are plenty of possibilities related to the principality’s flag — they could have done a retro Marlboro McLaren scheme, for example. This isn’t a bad effort, it just needs to be so much cooler to stand out on a computer screen.
8. Nissan e.dams
The Renault e.dams car looked so different to the others on the grid until last season, and that was a plus; the team managed to reflect, in its laser blue main colour, Renault successes in another form of motor sport. It helped that the team was successful, and the whole package gave off an air of both excitement and calm professionalism most of the time.
Cut to season five, and Nissan have taken over the team, in no small part to publicise the fact that its Leaf is the bestselling electric car in the world. In many ways, the new livery, all swashes of silver, black, and red, is indicative of the wider steps forward Formula E has taken — put simply, teams are now thinking a lot more about how they look, especially when up against other major manufacturers.
The Nissan e.dams livery seems to suffer from a similar conservatism to the Venturi livery, but it could be argued that of the two collaborative partners, it is Renault that has ‘fun’ in its corporate DNA more than sensible Nissan, and that shows in the colour scheme.
7. Jaguar Racing
When Jaguar came into Formula E, they were direct replacements for the endearing and enthusiastic privateers of the Trulli team. The contrast couldn’t have been more pronounced in the teams’ images, with Jaguar sticking with the same black, accented by peppermint swirls, since arrival in the category. That’s largely in deference to major sponsor Panasonic, but can you imagine how great this car would look in British racing green? Just a thought.
6. GEOX Dragon Racing
Jay Penske’s Dragon Racing was a regular in IndyCar before moving to Formula E, and, in a way, shares an aesthetic with Formula One’s American-led team, Haas. They both favour professional but unremarkable liveries. In Dragon’s case, it is likely the monochrome colour combination, with zebra stripes on the roll hoop and a red trim, is in deference to shoe manufacturer GEOX, which is the primary sponsor this season.
Although it differentiates the Dragons from rivals on TV thanks to no other team having that combination, last season’s metallic red — and indeed the plain black they used in testing — looked so much more aggressive.
5. Envision Virgin Racing
Mmm, very tasty. It might be just because it looks like a Dairy Milk wrapper, but Virgin have again come up with a colour scheme that whispers, rather than shouts, the corporate branding, while also not being too off-putting to fellow potential sponsors. Including silver, but as part of a predominantly purple package with neon orange accenting the sides, this is a very attractive paint scheme.
4. BMW i.Andretti
Andretti have gone from pillar to post with liveries in recent seasons, but it is the takeover by BMW that seems to have guided the thinking in this blocky, asymmetric series of light blue, white and grey shapes.
It’s reminiscent of Audi liveries of past seasons in Formula E and the World Endurance Championship, and it looks similarly sensible, but what saves it from dullness is that lack of symmetry, and how the laser blue tapers down the side of the nosecone, accentuating the lines of the Gen2 chassis. BMW have put their considerable brainpower to work on this combination.
3. HWA Racelab
We’ve always had a predisposition towards matte black, ever since that Arrows F1 car from 1998, which is still one of the most beautiful racing cars to look at, even now. HWA, for likely their only Formula E season, have pulled a stunning paint scheme out of the bag. It’s similar in tone and style to the Virgin, but with that carbon look running over most of the car, with teal accents that suggest Jaguar’s look, only improved.
It’s a shame that HWA are only, effectively, fact-finding for Mercedes’ eventual entry into the category, because this is the kind of image that champions have.
2. Mahindra Racing
Every racing series needs a Jordan — an entrant who uses the boldest colours in the felt-tip box on its cars, and then tops that with exciting PR stunts that catch the attention of non-fans and floating viewers. Mahindra are that team, at least this season. Dilbagh Gill, as shown in the team’s latest video in which a bewildered Jerome D’Ambrosio takes part in a Bollywood film, has a keen eye for opportunities to put his drivers in unusual places. He’s also ensured that Mahindra’s sponsors have a canvas that, with its clashing red and blue, jumps out of the screen like an Indian movie’s dance sequence.
1. DS Techeetah
After two successful seasons, Techeetah keeps the crown as the best-liveried team in the pitlane. No-one else has the guts or the nerve to run a gold colour scheme, which, allied with matte black and a thin line of red, bring back good memories of the brief ascendancy of the Lotus-Renault F1 team with Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean.
Metallic gold is often eschewed by teams because it is said to show off logos poorly, but that downside is made-up for by the captivating way the shades on the car compliment each other. It’s a perfect example of how a paint scheme doesn’t have to be busy, just classy, to catch the eye.
Did we get this wrong? Tell us in the comments!
