Which team has the best-looking car of 2013?
Debates and polls
With any racing car, all that really matters is how fast it goes.
But that doesn’t mean they can’t also look good. And the introduction of ‘vanity’ panels to cover up the unsightly stepped noses which appeared on last year’s cars has produced some better looking racers this year.
But which is the best? Have a look at all eleven of the 2013 contenders below and pick you favourite.
Red Bull-Renault RB9
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- Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, Jerez, 2013
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- Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, Jerez, 2013
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- Mark Webber, Red Bull, Jerez, 2013
Ferrari F138
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- Felipe Massa, Ferrari, Jerez, 2013
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- Felipe Massa, Ferrari, Jerez, 2013
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- Felipe Massa, Ferrari, Jerez, 2013
McLaren-Mercedes MP4-28
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- Jenson Button, McLaren, Jerez, 2013
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- Jenson Button, McLaren, Jerez, 2013
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- Sergio Perez, McLaren, Jerez, 2013
Lotus-Renault E21
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- Romain Grosjean, Lotus, Jerez, 2013
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- Romain Grosjean, Lotus, Jerez, 2013
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- Kimi Raikkonen, Lotus, Jerez, 2013
Mercedes W04
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- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Jerez, 2013
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- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Jerez, 2013
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- Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, Jerez, 2013
Sauber-Ferrari C32
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- Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber, Jerez, 2013
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- Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber, Jerez, 2013
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- Esteban Gutierrez, Sauber, Jerez, 2013
Force India-Mercedes VJM06
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- Paul di Resta, Force India VJM06 launch, Silverstone, 2013
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- Jules Bianchi, Force India, Jerez, 2013
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- James Rossiter, Force India, Jerez, 2013
Williams-Renault FW35
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- Williams FW35, 2013
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- Williams FW35, 2013
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- Valtteri Bottas, Williams, Circuit de Catalunya, 2013
Toro Rosso-Ferrari STR8
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- Jean-Eric Vergne, Toro Rosso, Jerez, 2013
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- Daniel Ricciardo, Toro Rosso, Jerez, 2013
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- Daniel Ricciardo, Toro Rosso, Jerez, 2013
Caterham-Renault CT03
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- Charles Pic, Caterham, Jerez, 2013
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- Giedo van der Garde, Caterham, Jerez, 2013
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- Charles Pic, Caterham, Jerez, 2013
Marussia-Cosworth MR02
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- Max Chilton, Marussia, Jerez, 2013
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- Luiz Razia, Marussia, Jerez, 2013
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- Luiz Razia, Marussia, Jerez, 2013
Over to you
Which team has the best-looking car this year? Cast your vote below.
Which is the best-looking car of 2013?
- Red Bull-Renault RB9 (3%)
- Ferrari F138 (22%)
- McLaren-Mercedes MP4-28 (16%)
- Lotus-Renault E21 (7%)
- Mercedes W04 (3%)
- Sauber-Ferrari C32 (28%)
- Force India-Mercedes VJM06 (3%)
- Williams-Renault FW35 (5%)
- Toro Rosso-Ferrari STR8 (3%)
- Caterham-Renault CT03 (3%)
- Marussia-Cosworth MR02 (7%)
Total Voters: 715
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Images © Various – see watermarks for details
Cyclops_PL (@cyclops_pl) said on 20th February 2013, 12:54
I’d say Ferrari, then Lotus and Caterham (love the metallic green!).
andae23 (@andae23) said on 20th February 2013, 12:55
Tough choice between Marussia and Sauber, but I voted for the latter.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65) said on 20th February 2013, 13:24
Same choice, but voted for Marussia.
Fixy (@fixy) said on 20th February 2013, 14:23
I picked Marussia as well, their livery makes their lovely car appear even more beautiful! It looks so long and simple. The Sauber’s shape is perfect apart from the stepped-nose, and the dark colour of the livery doesn’t show the true beauty of the car in my opinion.
testguy (@testguy) said on 20th February 2013, 14:56
Voted Marussia, shame it going to be really slow.
Shimks (@shimks) said on 21st February 2013, 11:30
Same here.
Shimks (@shimks) said on 21st February 2013, 11:31
Marussia, I mean.
firstLapNutcaseGrosjean (@sorin) said on 20th February 2013, 17:25
Sauber is the most ugly on circuit but very beautiful in photoshop. :|
mateuss (@mateuss) said on 20th February 2013, 18:11
I find it interesting that the Sauber is voted the best-looking so far. At a glance it looks like the HRT of past and the livery is boring gray. I like the technical detail and find it interesting, but you have to be looking at it for more than 0.3 of a second to realize it is not an HRT. So it is difficult for me to understand why do people like it so much… Interestingly, when I asked my girlfriend which she thought was best-looking she said “This one is good!” as we scrolled past the Sauber.
McLaren, Lotus, Mercedes and Williams are in my top group of best-lookers. Any of these could become my subjective best-looking car if it turns out to be quicker than the rest. Cars speed ads fair amount to its beauty, at least for me, and the opposite is also true. That and the similarity of the Sauber and HRT is probably why I dislike it so much.
My vote went for the Macca. And if the Sauber wins this vote, which it probably will do, then the worst-looking car IMO will have been liked by the majority of the voters. And this never happens to me, but then again, this type of poll is the very definition of subjective opinion. By the way, I have nothing against Sauber, last year I thought their car was one of the best-looking.
mateuss (@mateuss) said on 20th February 2013, 19:00
I would like to see the technical details of each car compiled somewhere. For example the lengths of the cars, because some cars seem longer and some seem shorter, but it is impossible to make any conclusions visually, because they are all quite similar.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 20th February 2013, 19:06
@mateuss
Most of the front-running teams won’t give out that information. Indeed, Ferrari’s wheelbase was one of the bits of data McLaren found out from the ‘Stepney files’ in 2007.
lubhz (@lubhz) said on 21st February 2013, 14:58
@mateuss my thoughts exactly, it’s pretty much like the 2010 HRT! Only worse.
Steban http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2013/02/09/jerez-test-150-pictures/saub-guti-pere-2013-2/
Sakon http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2012/12/12/hrt-f1-2010-2011-2012-pictures/
Hulk http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2013/02/06/2013-f1-testing-day-2-pictures/saub-hulk-jere-2013-3/
Karun http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2010/05/13/monaco-grand-prix-practice-in-pictures/chan_hrt_monte_2010-1/
nomeg1 (@nomeg1) said on 22nd February 2013, 9:30
Yep, definitely…the Sauber, + nice team ! Too bad for Kobayashi, a shame really !
Marian (@haffaniq) said on 20th February 2013, 12:55
Ferrari F138, rather different car compared with F2012 (at least best looking, but, hopefully, Ferrari might be very quick either).
bebilou (@bebilou) said on 20th February 2013, 12:55
It’s McLaren MP4-28, not W04.
And the McLaren is, as often, the best looking car.
Stagger (@stagger) said on 20th February 2013, 14:36
I totally agree. Mclaren is most of the times the best looking car.
Giuseppe (@giuseppe) said on 20th February 2013, 23:34
For me it’s either the McLaren or the Sauber. I also like the Marussia. You’re absolutely right about McLaren usually having the best looking car.
kinggp (@kinggp) said on 21st February 2013, 3:08
have to agree!
Red Bull once again by far the ugliest car though
JCost (@jcost) said on 21st February 2013, 6:54
Same here.
1. McLaren
2. Sauber
3. Ferrari
4. Toro Rosso
5. Marussia
6. Williams
7. Red Bull
8. Force India
9. Lotus
10. Mercedes
11. Caterham
njw (@njw) said on 20th February 2013, 12:56
“McLaren-Mercedes W04″ …… !?
Ed Spencer (@espencer93) said on 20th February 2013, 12:58
McLaren-Mercedes W04? Pretty sure it’s the MP4-28
Atticus (@atticus-2) said on 20th February 2013, 12:58
Ferrari, Sauber, Caterham.
Estesark (@estesark) said on 20th February 2013, 21:11
My three picks too. I might be inclined to put Caterham at the top if their nose was prettier. As it stands, Ferrari takes it.
This time last year I chose the Lotus, but I’m not a fan of the additional red, and it still has an ugly nose as well, so it’s fallen down the order this year.
jacobf90 (@jacobf90) said on 20th February 2013, 13:00
First time I caught a glimpse of the Ferrari I couldn’t help but say out loud ‘oooooo sexy nice’ but that Sauber pipped it for me, just. Doesn’t help that I’m biased against Ferrari though.
ltsh (@ltsh) said on 20th February 2013, 13:00
Marussia wins this hands down! They’ve had the best looking sinse they started in 2010 and I can’t see that changing tbh
frankus28 (@frankus28) said on 20th February 2013, 13:01
Caterham, a small team with a brilliant graphic designer… Almost makes up for the Alain Prost nose.
Shortstick1 (@troylongstaff) said on 20th February 2013, 21:24
@frankus28 Agree completely! A great looking car with that new green, but I must be one of the only ones to actually like Caterham’s nose, I don’t think it is ugly one bit!
Cronies (@cronies) said on 21st February 2013, 8:20
Also like the green – Can’t believe people like these dull grey/silver cars – we have three on the grid! Suaber to me looks real bad in Photos – completey boring!!! Thought some color would be more popular….
Alex Brown (@splittimes) said on 20th February 2013, 13:01
I voted Marussia. They have to win something!
Lucas Wilson (@full-throttle-f1) said on 20th February 2013, 13:15
I voted Marrusia as well.
AceofSpades (@aceofspades) said on 20th February 2013, 13:03
Wish I could vote for more than one team, but as it is, Sauber gets the vote from me.
matthewf1 (@) said on 20th February 2013, 13:03
Best car shape – McLaren
Best car livery – Red Bull
Worst car shape – Williams
Worst car livery – Lotus
beneboy (@beneboy) said on 20th February 2013, 16:11
I reckon the Red Bull livery looks like something you’d throw together on Need for Speed, it’s just a load of random sponsor stickers with a few lines down the side and a couple of yellow blobs and I’ve always found it to be rather dull.
ZF1 (@zf1) said on 20th February 2013, 21:28
@baneboy +1
Don’t forget to mention the nitrous in the exausts ;)
Giuseppe (@giuseppe) said on 20th February 2013, 23:39
:)) That’s the perfect description for the Red Bull livery if there ever was one.
Max Jacobson (@vettel1) said on 20th February 2013, 22:30
I like Red Bull’s actually; I think it brightens the car up a bit from what was a rather dark shade of blue! Each to their own I suppose, it is rather busy!
matt90 (@matt90) said on 20th February 2013, 13:04
I’m quite surprised by the love for the Ferrari and Sauber. The Sauber isn’t bad, but the dent in the nose detracts. The Ferrari is plain ugly though- it has a stubby little nose, which isn’t helped by the front wing supports being too chunky, and it has the same knobbly humpback caused by the second inlet that it did last year. It’s a huge improvement from last year, but still pretty ugly bad to my eyes.
For me it was a toss-up between McLaren and Force India, with McLaren winning as I didn’t quite like the Force India’s nose as much from anything other than profile.
matt90 (@matt90) said on 20th February 2013, 13:13
The Marussia also wasn’t bad, but I struggled to look past the livery which I find isn’t very cohesive.
The Caterham reminds me too much of a caiman.
The Toro Rosso, despite lovely sidepods, has a nose which is too sharp and square (the same problem as the Ferrari).
Williams also has a nose that looks sawn off.
The Mercedes is quite nice, but the nose isn’t quite right from most angles.
Lotus has a nose which is too beak-like.
The front of the Red Bull is crooked, and the purple hue makes the livery look too busy.
McLaren could perhaps do with a slightly livened-up livery. Otherwise, it’s nice and simple, looks clean, and the stance looks very planted from the front (although the profile isn’t quite so nice).
Max Jacobson (@vettel1) said on 20th February 2013, 23:02
@matt90 – I keep thinking it’s like an ugly girl putting make-up on: it’s an improvement but still it’s not a thing of beauty to behold. The F2012 was an inherently ugly car and putting a vanity panel on it in my eyes doesn’t make it a pretty car. There are better ones out there, such as I think the Sauber (despite the half-step) and the McLaren.
BasCB (@bascb) said on 20th February 2013, 13:14
Not sure on the Sauber, but I fully agree with what you say about the Ferrari (maybe people just being relieved to see its not as ugly as last year?) @matt90. I also agree with you on the Force India, the orange nose is good looking but only from the profile.
As for the Lotus, Caterham and or Red Bull (talking about broken looking noses), I have trouble understanding why people would vote for them on looks, even if the green is bright, the purple daring and the black and gold a classic.
Not decided yet, as I think Marussia is in with a good chance as well, so I will wait a bit before voting.
matt90 (@matt90) said on 20th February 2013, 13:20
@bascb One of the things I like about the Force India is the livery. It’s bright, and looks interesting and fast.
I think another problem with the Sauber is that the livery is so much better than last year (that was really awful) that lots of people are drawn in. And it isn’t a bad livery. But it is pretty plain. Slightly bland even, compared to many of the others.
infy (@infy) said on 20th February 2013, 13:34
Tastes differ. For example, I hate the shape of the Force India and really dislike the silver on the Mclaren and Merc. Ferrari’s style is raw and racey.
Giuseppe (@giuseppe) said on 20th February 2013, 23:43
I agree regarding the Ferrari; it’s not as ugly as the 2012 car, but far from being good looking particularly around the front of the car. However, for some reason, I absolutely love the “dent” in the Sauber’s nose.
Arrrang (@arrrang) said on 20th February 2013, 13:08
@KeithCollantine One of the Williams car pictures show the 2012 car.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 20th February 2013, 14:58
@arrrang It’s this year’s car with a nose they were testing this morning.