Fans force livery rethink by F1 bosses

F1 bosses are exploring how to make car liveries easier to distinguish for fans

Kevin McKenna

Sunday 2 June 2024 01:39

F1 bosses are considering changing the liveries of F1 cars following feedback from fans.

The announcement comes in the wake of feedback provided by fans who have watched the action on television during the first part of the season, with one issue appearing to cause some concern.

Some fans have noted that it is often difficult to distinguish cars, particularly during night races, when driving at high speed.

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In particular, Aston Martin and Mercedes liveries have been singled out, as well as RB and Williams.

In response, FIA director Nikolas Tombazis has revealed the topic will be debated further at the next F1 Commission, admitting that the sport's governing bodies must strike a balance between creating a better spectacle for fans, while limiting the number of restrictions imposed on teams.

Are F1 liveries going to change?

In an exclusive interview with Autosport.com, Tombazis said: “One issue is that cars have a bit too much naked carbon, because obviously the weight of paint, so the cars have a bit too much black.

“We need to get to some process where teams in some way or other communicate with each other and say: ‘Well, if your car is blue here, mine will not be blue there.’ Or something like that.

“But how exactly that process would work [remains to be seen]. It's not a regulatory process.

“We don't want to be making regulations about liveries as the FIA, but we do want cars to be distinguishable.”

Mercedes Aston Martin Williams