Can you believe it? No sooner has Lewis Hamilton popped his cup on the mantel piece that the 2016 testing season is nearly upon us. However there is something more low-key about the build-up to 2016 than previous years… and to find out why we must turn our attention to general skulduggery from those whom own the sport.
Despite the sport generating £1.1 billion each year, the teams have been forced to cut running costs yet again and thus have decided to cancel the annual launch season. Over the past decade, car launches have gone from huge publicity events with laser shows, pop stars, and exquisite banquets to a series of JPEG images uploaded to the team’s websites.
Indeed, an extravagant launch is not strictly necessary, but a small unveiling in advance of the first test would be nice. Even from the factory, with the drivers lifting a cover off. But it’s not to be. Broadband is jolly pricey these days so we’ll have to wait for the first test at Paul Ricard on January 25 for our first glimpse of the 2016 challengers.
So, in the absence of any cars to marvel at, we here at Talking Torque Towers thought we’d spool through the archives hunting for the 10 best-looking Formula 1 cars to have ever graced the circuit. Let us know what you think.
1. 1983 Brabham BT52
The sharp, dart-shaped Brabham BT52 took Nelson Piquet to his second drivers’ title, and what a car. Powered by BMW, the car was distinctly shaped like an arrow, with a pointed front-end, narrow mid-section with the side pods tapering out at the very back of the car.
2. 1988 McLaren MP4/4
The Marlboro-McLaren livery is one of F1’s most iconic, but the shape of the 1988 MP4/4 had something different about it. It was the last of the gigantic turbo-era cars, which featured a relatively shorter nose with the driver sitting quite far-forward. Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost won 15 of the season’s 16 races in it.
3. 1954 Maserati 250F
They don’t make them like they used to – or did they ever make them like that? When looking at Pathe newsreels of the 1950s Grands Prix, it’s sometimes difficult to decipher between your Vanwalls and your Cooper-Climaxes. However the Maserati 250F, which raced between 1954 and 1960 with legendary Juan Manuel Fangio notching up several wins, epitomised F1’s “Golden Era”. Even today, the cigar-shaped monocoque looks sensational.
4. 1967 Lotus 49
If ever a car defined an era it was the Lotus 49. Built around the legendary 3-litre Cosworth DFV engine, Jim Clark drove it to victory in its maiden race in 1967. Painted in British racing green with the traditional yellow trim, and featuring nothing but an exoskeleton at the back, its fragile gait is instantly recognisable.
5. 1954 Mercedes W196
Along with the Maserati 250F, the Mercedes W196 was a car that defined the 1950s. Its most notable feature was the bulging air duct on the front right wing of the car, sitting above a huge, gaping grille. At the hands of Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss, it won nine of the 12 races it entered.
6. 1992 Williams FW14B
The blue, yellow, and white livery on the Williams FW14B was nothing new – it had been the essential colours of the team since the mid-80s. However the active-suspension 1992 car really was a thing of beauty. Not only did it take Nigel Mansell to a then-record-breaking nine victories in a single season but, well, it just looked so darn good.
7. 1991 Jordan 191
It may not have been a race-winner, but Eddie Jordan’s first F1 car remains one of the sport’s best-looking challengers. Featuring title sponsorship from fizzy-drink 7-Up, the car came in shades of metallic green. It featured fluent curves that rival teams would copy, and it would also be the car in which Michael Schumacher would make his F1 debut.
8. 1990 Ferrari 641
Ferrari have never been too adventurous with their colour schemes, with the blood-red body, black wings, and gold wheels featuring between the late seventies and 1996. To truly appreciate a beautiful Ferrari, one must study the angles and the contours, and none are so pretty as the 641, which was raced by Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell in 1990. Just look at the sharp nose cone.
9. 1970 Tyrrell 001
The 1970s gave F1 some of its most bizarre-looking cars. Hysterically oversized air-intakes, preposterously large wings, exposed engines… it was an era when designers were effectively able to build whatever they wanted. Tyrrell gave us much to admire, such as the famous six-wheeler 1976. But its 1970 001, driven by Jackie Stewart and Peter Revson, was by far the best looking. Despite not winning any races, its exoskeleton rear end and low, pointed profile still make it a gritty stunner.
10. 2009 Brawn BGP001
Yes, we have been able to find one car from the 21st Century that stands out! As the aerodynamics war hit fever pitch in the 1990s, and rules constantly made all the tighter, modern F1 cars have a tendency to all look the same. An overhaul of the regs for 2009 meant that the cars would look very different. With a return to slick tyres and the abolition of aero-extremities, Brawn emerged from the ashes of Honda with a crisp stunner. The drooping nose wasn’t to everyone’s taste, but it still stood out for the right reasons.
