Old F1 logo was “neither iconic nor memorable” – Brawn

2017 F1 season

Posted on

| Written by

Formula One has responded to criticism of its new logo by describing the old design as unmemorable.

Motorsport director Ross Brawn defended the decision to introduce the new brand, which was revealed immediately after Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

“Over the past few days the question was asked as to whether the logo is really a major priority and the answer is yes,” said Brawn.

“Apart from the commercial aspects, the new logo is much more flexible in terms of its use, especially when it comes to its application on merchandising and in the digital world. It has impact.”

Lewis Hamilton was among those who questioned the decision to replace the old logo. “I think the one that we already had was an iconic logo I think,” he said on Sunday.

“Just imagine Ferrari changing their logo, or Mercedes changed their logo. I don’t think the new one is as iconic but maybe it will grow on us.”

Brawn insisted “the old logo was neither iconic or memorable” and said the new design demonstrated to F1 fans that the sport is going through big changes.

“It was important to let Formula One fans see that we are entering a new era,” he said.

“Our sport is changing and must look to the future and also outside its own environment if it is to attract new fans, especially among the young.”

“We believe this logo exemplifies this desire: in a world where visual communication is ever more important, we must also move in this direction.”

2017 F1 season

Browse all 2017 F1 season articles

New F1 logo on the podium, Yas Marina, 2017

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

136 comments on “Old F1 logo was “neither iconic nor memorable” – Brawn”

  1. The logo has grown on me already. I really like it

    1. Roth Man (@rdotquestionmark)
      28th November 2017, 19:57

      I think it’s modern and stylish. It’s simplicity makes it memorable and distinguishable. Look at the logos for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. All extremely simple but easy on the eye, you could say a child could design any of them, but in fact they are extremely effective marketing tools. It’s the product you associate with the logo not vice versa. The old one was fine but the sharp edges and font style looked dated and this is a new era aimed at a new demographic.

      1. Yeah, I agree with you largely here; I feel just updating the old logo to make it more TV friendly would be fine, but the complete overhaul is still a rather nice step, just very rushed imo, and lacking the energy they wanted it to have; it would be better if they had waited until 2018 to implement it for good I think, leave 2017 with a sense of goodwill and fan engagement.

        I am still mixed on the logo tbh; I like it, and the design document (and article) behind it explained the vision brilliantly and I’m looking forward to it getting realized, but at the same time it does feel flat and very much like the ESPN logo (though the WipeOut touches are wonderful)

        1. Roth Man (@rdotquestionmark)
          28th November 2017, 21:15

          Yeah that’s a fair comment @revenger210
          Must admit I like the Wipeout touches as well.

        2. @revenger210 Picking up on the ESPN similarities, this is because the agency Wieden also handled that project (taken from the Creative Review article Keith posted earlier in the week) and the project lead cited The Designers Republic work on Wipeout as an inspiration.

      2. It’s not memorable at all. nothing stands out about it, and if you didn’t know it was supposed to be an f1 logo, it would be almost illegible (sp?)
        IMO the wipeout comparisons show the lack of originality, and i don’t think the wipeout games and their design aged too well either.

        I understand why RB is saying this, but it’s horse####

    2. Yeah I agree, once I saw it in the promotional materials on merchandise and alongside the new font/branding it made perfect sense why they changed it.

      It certainly brings F1 into a new era.

    3. I still think it shouldn’t be red, and although I like the sleek simple design, it’s timeless and it suits everything, red though is an overused colour. The old logo I don’t like it as it is presented above, Black blank and Red, I rather see it all white blank and white, more neutral. Honestly why not a reworking of the old logo, maybe it would’ve satisfy the old fans and the new owners?

      1. Roth Man (@rdotquestionmark)
        29th November 2017, 7:52

        Yes I definitely agree there @peartree

    4. First thought i had was double A… maybe i see more then the rest of the world.

    5. Agree. The moaning about this logo just speaks volumes about the F1 viewership, before it was changed nobody waxed lyrical about the old one but suddenly everyone is a branding expert.

      Hold a poll of 100 random people on the street and the new logo would overwhelmingly gain the popular vote.

      And yes I work in branding and have done for 25 years, made a pretty decent living out of it too before the old guard start moaning.

  2. The old logo wasn’t a masterpiece but this one is even more generic…

    1. @James C
      The more you look at the old logo the better it gets.
      There’s the black F, the white 1, and the red profile of Emerson Fittipaldi with hair and sideburns flying in the wind. Take another look.

      1. Actually I have the opposite reaction. I look at the old logo now and it seems like something doodled in felt tip pen on a loose sheet of A4, sometime in the late 1970s.

        1. That’s funny! i feel similar when i look at the new one, it looks like it was put togehter by the designer 1 hour before the deadline

        2. I agree! the old logo’s time is past, it looks and feels very dated although stood-up well over the years.

  3. And this one is memorable?

    The fans have had an overwhelmingly negative response. I think that says enough

    1. @strontium Well, Brawn has repeatedly and clearly stated the intention is to draw in new fans, so the utility of our (current fans’) responses is limited. Plus, if you continually cater to your base at the expense of expansion, the sport’s population will trend towards 0, so yeah, pretty clear we all should be a little less insulating in our attitudes.

      1. @evman The current fans reaction is a good measurement of how good this logo is. It would be naive to assume that, even though current fans don’t like it, new people who are less familiar with F1 will.

        Drawing in new fans is great, but if it’s at the expense of your current fans who have been dedicated for years then it’s disappointing to say the least. Disregarding your current long-term fan base in pursuit of new fans has never been a good move. I get the impression that Brawn wants to attract the US and Asia, seemingly at the expense of the current European fans. Brawn has repeatedly and clearly stated a lot of things, if this is what he comes up with then I wish he’d be quiet for a bit

        1. With all due respect, @strontium, it would be naive to assume that current fans speak for future ones, especially if they’re from a completely different demographic. Liberty knows this, which might explain the logo’s passing resemblance to the Forza Motorsport games; those players are probably the most likely group of young people to adopt F1. Even the font is similar to that of this own site (sans serif, curved edges)! In addition, consider that most of the time the logo will be viewed as a thumbnail on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc., and the old logo most definitely was less readable. I know it is human nature to resist change, but we’re not teens anymore, time to acknowledge it’s necessity.

          As a side note, few current fans will stop watching because of a logo change, but new ones have a better chance of joining if they can better associate a logo with it’s product. Low risk, high reward.

          1. bringing in new young fans with $400 stand tickets and $48 t-shirts at the track. And having to pay to use the F1 website for full features. etc etc. nonsense.

        2. Look at current fans (us). This is a constantly whining bunch impossible to please. We rarely like anything and always complain about tracks, tires, regulations, young drivers, old drivers, pr-robot drivers, socializing drivers, TV coverage, podium ceremonies, safety changes, car looks, better past races, worse past races, management decisions, lack of changes, new changes, and logos. Most of that stuff and more is warranted, at least in our eyes, but still. Yet, we keep on watching the show. In a sense, we are a lost cause. We grew up with Ecclestone, so it’s not easy to alienate us with any decisions. So yeah, why target us? Maybe we should leave them alone, they know what they are doing?

          1. I don’t reply often to posts…but man, you said it all…very good analysis of what is going on in real time…and yes, they are working hard…and the jewel in their hand is Mr. Brawn…they actually do know what is going on…how they deal with the monster in the room ie Ferrari will be pivotal for how their future works out…probably

          2. @zimkazimka fantastically well said.

            And @strontium critics will always shout louder than admirers, that’s just the way it goes. I said it above but ask 100 random people on the street which logo they prefer and the new one would crush the rather archaic looking old one, every time.

      2. @evman I think perhaps Brawn didn’t get the old logo. I think we need someone to explain that there’s a 1 in it. The only thing I say is that black and red isn’t the best look for the old logo.

    2. @strontium
      check out this version, a modern take on the classic design:
      https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/7fnz7e/modernized_f1_logo/

      1. It’s terrible! blocky and poorly resolved, the ‘1’ and stripes look unbalanced and incongruous.

        1. @ju88sy What you consider looking blocky, I consider looking solid. The part of the old logo that I didn’t like were the tapering speed lines, which this design resolves. Different (pen) strokes for different folks, I guess. Cheers!

    3. To me when i glance at it, i feel like im looking at a Kmart logo

  4. I wonder what kind of merchandising they have in mind that needs such a boring logo to work alright.

    1. @fer-no65 no doubt only merchandise that is black or white because “the red works really well on black and white”

    2. If you check out the t-shirts and hats that were shown on the article explaining the new logo, they really do look awesome compared to anything that could be done with the old logo.

  5. Are people now starting to like the new logo?

    1. no, but Liberty is taking a page from the Bernie book and pretending they are…

      1. @arrows98 +1, with the “thousands of imaginary people we have surveyed”

      2. I think they are, there are people who are too stalwart in their opinions to accept any change, they’re also the people who will be very loud about it…

        The people who accept it will just do it quietly and move on.

    2. Yes. The new one is simpler, sharper. The old was outdated, fussy, very 1990s.

      1. Hahaha, Mercedes, Levi’s etc. logos are more than 100 years – even more outdated, even more fussy. Why those dimwits aren’t hiring stupid designers to reshape their logos to attract new audience? If Liberty Media don’t want to hear the reaction of the fans they could consult Coca Cola, Ford, Shell and many other companies.
        The new “Casey Carey sofa” design is lifeless and pointless.

        1. You do realise that all the companies you quote have updated their logo over the decades? with varying degrees of transformation.

    3. Many companies buy people to market their products online. I get the feeling LM is doing that right now, on this website.

  6. I think Ross and Liberty should take notice of the fans comments. I honestly think the old logo is/was iconic to F1.

    The new one is awful. If Liberty are really all about the fans then this should of been put out to vote and I can guarantee fans would rather have the old logo.

    1. +1.

      Is Ross taking over Bernie’s old trolling place?

    2. I have an opinion on the logo.

      But I’m much more passionate about tires that can be raced on, a stable formula that allows convergence, and affordable viewing options.

    3. They forgot to add mustaches on this logo. I think Casey Carey is sleeping in this kid’s bed, otherwise there is no other explanation why he chosed that awful design.

      href=”https://i.pinimg.com/564x/5c/1f/45/5c1f45346d5343c2fd1e579afabcc555.jpg”>

  7. Wow, these are harsh words by Brawn. You can’t deny that a logo that stuck with us for more than 24 years has rightfully earned an iconic and memorable status; to simply dismiss it like that will just channel the fans against whatever future endeavour you want to take the sport to against you, as it does spit on a legacy of 20+ years.

    A very rushed statement in order to defend the negative reaction to the new logo, but fighting fire with fire can result in the whole forest burning down.

    1. +1.

      F1’s new knee-jerk-dictator-in-chief?

      1. Nah, that’s too early to call tbh; Brawn is a brilliant engineer, he’s been in the paddock for decades and has a lot of good ideas with him for sure. I’m willing to give him the first five years free, because, like he said, F1 needs a long term plan and not a knee-jerk reaction. The logo was rushed as is the Halo implementation, but both can be explained legally (Liberty needs to justify its purchase and be the public receptor of the sport, thus new logo, and Halo for driver safety following Bianchi’s death, which even resulted in a lawsuit against the sport, so a solution had to be devised as quickly as possible). That is why I’m cutting both him and Liberty slack for being so hellbent on implementing both so quickly. What I dislike is their tone however with both of those changes; that is a sign of worry, which can be explained due to the pressure of both aforementioned legal things taking place.

        I hope we’ll be fine at least.

  8. This new logo needs to be re-worked. A lot of people couldn’t see the 1 in the old logo, but I can’t see the 1 in this. It looks like an I and I keep thinking it’s Force India’s new logo.

    1. Correct! The new logo looks like the letter “n” printed backwards. I was disappointed with all the efforts presented to us. The fundamental problem with it is it isn’t a logo that says “F1”. The “1” needs to be emphasised more to show it is more than a one, it IS Number ONE. F1 is the premier open wheel racing series and is honoured for that by having the Number One in its name, so the one should look like a one, not an “el” or a capital “aye”. The “F” needs to show that it is an “F” and not an “n” or an “r”. In fact some people were ridiculing it as being “rrl”.
      So yes, have a new logo, but have one that says “F1”. I was hoping to have the chequred flag included in the logo as well.
      If you think about the brand name Kodak, the “K” has a blunt hard sound to it, and that is exactly what the new logo should do, the “F” and the “1” shouldn’t be weak, like in that logo, they need to be hard and strong, harsh, reminiscent of the V10 engine, the old logo had dynamism and speed, this one is looks like a yacht sailing. If you want a yacht then have it in a storm, the sails are being ripped off, not sailing in a light breeze.
      Can you imagine sitting down to watch the start of the new season, FP 1 at Melbourne … the producer cues in the sound of a racing car rushing towards us… the Doppler shifted distortion as it races past … then … “rrl”. No, sorry, you can’t help but laugh.

    2. Forget it mate. New logo stays as it is. However, if people couldn’t see “1” in old logo they should move on from this sport. It’s a highly sophisticated sport with a much more subtle technical delicacies – sort of speak – compared to hidden messages of a simple logo. I’d say the greatest problem of this sport is TV coverage. The only ‘free’ TV coverage in Europe, RTL is under question for the next season. It’s the best coverage for free; although I call it “tv advertisements interrupted by F1 race”… Formula 1 will suffer even more if it moves on pay TV completely. That’s not the rocket science, it’s so obvious. Sometimes ‘less is more’ and that’s the idea an American mind has hard time to comprehend.

    3. I don’t even see “F” nor in this logo. Casey Carey sofa is what it is.

      1. Sundar Srinivas Harish
        29th November 2017, 12:48

        Its Chase, love. Chase. And you could’ve just commented your analogies of the logo and Carey’s furniture, instead of replying to 3 different comments about the logo.

    4. Yep, looks like FI to me.

  9. the way they are trying to justify this logo change is getting quite ridiculous: YES, WE KNOW, F1 is under new management and you want to make that clear to the outside world; stop acting like the new logo is so great that you have to keep defending it because ‘people just don’t get it, maaan…’

    the funny thing is, I can see some ACTUAL design reasons why they would want to change the logo: the world has changed quite a bit since 1994 and I feel the old logo works better in print than on screen; but this new one is just terrible…

    1. @arrows98 – Just to play devil’s advocate for a moment, wonder why FedEx is not planning any new logo changes anytime soon? (Also designed in 1994)

      Of course FedEx may be attempting to lure the new F1 logo designers away at this very moment! Ha ha

  10. I remember it…

    Long live the old negative space now much maligned semi-memorable quasi-iconic logo!

    Really though Mr. Brawn, when you are finished pushing the company logo line, please just concentrate on the racing. Thank you.

    1. @bullmello he should definitely stick to the racing side of things

  11. While I actually like the new logo I’m becoming concerned and disappointed that Brawn is less the hoped for tell-it-like-it-is change agent and more just another corporate mouth piece. Time will tell…..

    #NoHalo

    1. Worrying indeed.

      #NoLogo

      1. Lots of noes to be considered.

        #NoNewLogo
        #NoHalo
        #NoDRS
        #NoFerrariExtraMoney

        1. #Nostupidhashtags

          1. #Nostupidhashtagswithsayingslikenostupidhashtagsonthem

  12. I really don’t understand the outrage over the new logo, it’s just a logo? I personally prefer the new design, it’s simplistic design makes it look tidier and I think it will age better than the old logo.

    I think people are just jumping on the bandwagon with the criticism of the new logo, and it’s really not a big issue. I think fans should focus on real issues like the ugly halo and the rock hard tyre compounds.

  13. Funny that they say people couldn’t see the ‘1’ in the old logo, so they bring in one that looks like three tetris blocks.

    I could barely care less about this, I understand their reasoning for wanting to change it but the result is somewhat uninspiring.

  14. The new logo lacks creativity! I can only imagine what one of my old graphic design instructors would have said if I brought this new thing to a critique… oh wait I can imagine, they would have asked if I whipped this thing up last night because is sure does not look like it went through much development.
    Just because a company has changed management does not mean it needs a revised logo, that whole concept goes directly against the objective of developing a strong brand awareness.
    As Ross seems to have a lot of extra time on his hands maybe he ought to contact a few of these companies and tell them their old logos need to change. GoodYear, Shell, General Electric, Campbell’s, Du Pont, Johnson & Johnson, Coca-Cola, to name just a few…

  15. The new logo is OK, but I think the old one is more memorable, as well as being more easily identifiable. In the new logo, neither the “F” or the “1” are well defined, IMO. Without the “Formula 1” text immediately below it, it immediately seems rather generic to me.

  16. I beg to differ. The old logo was truly iconic, at least for us, a whole generation of people who grew up with it and started following Formula One just when it was introduced, in the mid-90s. There’s an unmistakable connection for me, at least, between that logo and all things F1.

    You can call it outdated and you would be right. But “neither iconic, nor memorable”? It was probably the sole iconic and memorable thing about F1 as a brand still left untouched.

    I do understand why changing it was a priority, marketing-wise. I get the need to reposition the brand, to target new audiences and to have a visual identity that’s easier to decline and to adapt to various current formats. I don’t even agree with the people saying the new logo is bad. It’s not. It’s modern and it caters to a different demographic.

    But trashing the old ways in favour of supporting the new? That’s just bad marketing practice from a brand that should really learn how to embrace its heritage, whether it’s an old logo, the core of its format or the concept of privateer teams. Afterall, everything that’s new is built on a foundation of old in this world.

    1. Aye, that’s an excellent point, and I fully agree with you. Brawn trashing the old ways will result in a marketing hellscape for him and Liberty if they continue down that path, and will get an already volatile fanbase more fervently against them.

    2. New F1 just a whole lot of American BS.

  17. Apart from the commercial aspects, the new logo is much more flexible in terms of its use, especially when it comes to its application on merchandising and in the digital world. It has impact.

    I have a large amount of respect for Ross Brawn for everything he achieved but how can he seriously say these things about this logo when it has only been in existence for 2 days? It reads to me like the corporate jargon that feels like is becoming increasingly standard from the Liberty people.

    It is also untrue what he says about the previous logo, it’s just complete nonsense to call a logo that was used in a consistent manner for more than 20 years not iconic and unmemorable.

    1. I expect that this was Ross Brawn’s way of saying “*&%# you” to Bernie and his recent trolling.

  18. Brawn has not said one clever thing ever since he joined Liberty.

  19. Preferred the old one but as I watched the unveiling after the race, my initial thoughts were that I just didn’t care. I’d just been forced to watch a horribly dull ‘race’, and that ‘race’ wouldn’t have been any better or worse with a different logo, so it doesn’t really matter…

  20. The new logo is terrible. The thin line that forms the separation between the top and mid bars on the F washes out on tv as evidenced on its debut. The contrast of the old logo made it readable at nearly any distance. Maybe I’m just old but it doesn’t look new or fresh. It looks like a millennial’s idea of what 80’s style fonts look like. Because of these reasons the logo looks sophomoric and that opinion could be extended to the sport by people who are discovering the sport. Bad move.

  21. There’s an interesting review of the new logo/fonts/etc on BrandNew here.

  22. It’s a simple process to achieve success.

    Buy f1.
    Remove existing dictator.
    Rebrand as new product.
    Add skimpy underwear (something that looks like a thong).

    Sounds like a perfect business plan surely they can’t cock up the implementation…….

    1. Thong, or wishbone?

  23. Ross Brawn should stick to technical aspects and not marketing. The old logo is recognizeable, the new one is forgettable and easy to pass over. If he wants to focus on F1 being in a new era, maybe he should focus on the product on the track saying that, ie. the new 2017 cars instead of trying to have a logo convey that. Never will be a fan of the new logo.

  24. If Force India every wins a championship, all they need to do is change the colors on the new F1 Logo.

  25. Will the logo affect racing? No? Then I don’t care.

  26. Whenever I look at the new logo all I can see is a halo in profile.

    1. Congratulations, you have made the Comment of the Year!

  27. Says Mr. Brown who ran the team with the ugliest color scheme in the entire history of world motorsports.

    1. o yeah, that travesty too

    2. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, that Dayglo Yellow became increasingly fashionable after Button won with it.

  28. says, the “biggest cheater in f1 that was never caught”…
    highly-credible!

  29. Ross … what happened to you ??

  30. Please…can we move on? I’ve had enough of this off-season already!
    C’mon Williams, sign up Kubica and give us some real news.

    1. @bullfrog – quite true. In this off-season period when fans are chomping at the bit for news – any news – leaving us with something like the Halo and the new logo is not going to make for happy fans and pleasant comments!

      Be thankful that at least the championship titles didn’t go down to the wire – imagine the endless dissections of “what if” that would have otherwise happened. :-)

  31. Regardless of my own thoughts on the new logo (I don’t like it at all), The thing that is a bit of a worry is that everyone I know that i’ve shown it to that doesn’t follow F1 were unable to tell that the new Logo is supposed to read F1.

    Whatever you thought of the old logo at least when you showed it to somebody they immediately knew it read F1 because it was very clear in it’s design.

    If people can’t read what it’s supposed to even say I don’t see it doing a very good job at selling/promoting the sport which is surely supposed to be one of the primary purposes of any logo.

  32. Oh no! Brawn turns out to be a ‘Yes man’!

  33. GtisBetter (@)
    29th November 2017, 0:10

    I can only see a sideshot of a guy sitting with the top and bottom cut.

    1. I thought it was an “a”. Then maybe an “H”. Maybe a double decker “n” ?

      Oh, I get it, it’s a F1 that also looks like a F, I, and A all rolled into one! How clever, it works on so many levels. Oh, wait, it is a logo, not a brain teaser.

      Maybe it is just merging F, A, I, and the L is empty space?

  34. Horrible change

  35. No one else pointing out that it looks like a ripoff of the new Juventus logo, turned sideways.
    While the new logo was an improvement for the old lady, this one is a big step in the wrong direction…

    1. Or Niki Lauda’s Helmet

  36. We can vote for driver of the day. Why not vote for a new F1 logo?
    Put 10 logos on f1.com and let the people vote for the best logo.
    Good way to engage the fans.

    1. @jamesbond

      Maybe they did? After careful consideration the fans picked the logo that crashed out in Q1 the day before?

      Fans were really impressed, this logo was a “L” on Saturday but on Sunday it worked its way up to something that resembled F1?

  37. Give it to an old man to know what the

    young

    fans want.

  38. To each his own, I say.

    Was Brawn’s response an official statement from Liberty? I didn’t see any source attributed to his comments. If yes, then I’d just say he ought to stick to the technical side of things, there’s enough that needs fixing, and those things need messaging to the fans and dialogue with experts. Let Sean Bratches take up any discussion of the logo. If it wasn’t an official statement, then that’s fine, he’s entitled to have an opinion – just like the rest of us.

    I do see that the new logo looks reasonably decent in the F1 twitter feed (it’s recognizable), in YouTube the icon in my list of subscribed channels appears to small, etc. Still waiting for formula1.com to be updated to the new brand to see how that shapes up (in fact, I’m surprised they didn’t cut over to the new look on Sunday night).

  39. Donald F. Draper
    29th November 2017, 2:10

    From an online point of view the new logo makes more sense. Scroll up and down repeatedly on a phone or internet browser images of both the old and new F1 logo. With the old one the first thing that the eye catches is an F and that is it. With the new logo the eye can catch the entire F1 in a single glance and instantly recognize that its a singular entity as opposed to just a single letter. In a more digital age, the chance of catching more happenstance viewers because of this possible subliminal advertising is worth it.

    1. How did you get it to be recognisable as letters on a mobile phone? I can’t get it to display that way on a desktop screen (and my Twitter-capable phone doesn’t display pictures).

  40. I loved the old logo, but this modernization of it by Ivon on Reddit is WAY better than the one that Liberty ended up with. Check it out:
    https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/7fnz7e/modernized_f1_logo/

    1. Damn, that’s beautiful. Modern, clean, brutal, yet keeping with the theme of the (nearly) quarter century logo.

    2. Aargh, just when the new logo was starting to grow on me, and become recognizable, this nice re-imagining comes and mixes things up!

  41. Well, I don’t care about the Logo, Formula One is about Drivers and Teams not a freaking logo… Hamilton, Vettel, Kimi, Alonso, Sainz, Hulk, etc., doesn’t care, why should we..

  42. Todd (@braketurnaccelerate)
    29th November 2017, 7:56

    The nostalgia crew are hard at work trying to diminish anything that hints at progress and change. The same crew that yearns for thirsty V10’s, 20″ wide tires and ground effects.

    Is the new logo my favorite? No. Is the new logo modern and sleek? Absolutely. The old logo was dated, very dated. As another poster mentioned, it’s a throwback to the 80’s and 90’s. While it gets points for cleverly disguising the 1 in the blank space, the red streaks are too busy and messy for today’s world. The typeface screams old-fashioned and looks like it may have adorned a cigarette packet in the 70’s.

    The new logo is clean, concise, and sleek. It’s very modern and fits in with today’s world.

    1. Sweeping generalization.

      It’s not because of change, but because what they’re changing it to is a massive downgrade.

      I think you misread, if anything it’s the new logo that is a throwback to 80s or 90 vision of something modern.

    2. @braketurnaccelerate I’m glad you think it is modern or sleek. To me it looks like a logo from the 1980s and very blobbish (especially at Twitter-sizing – remember this logo has to be used on digital spaces too).

  43. Well, sorry, but I don’t like it.
    I can accept that the old logo was somewhat outdated, but the new logo, and the other two proposals… are ugly and too simple. I understand the “world of today” uses clear, minimalist, sleek logos. But hey… this logo is… two letters. And one of them… well, if you don’t know where does it comes from, you can’t say if it’s an “1” or an “I”. You can say that the Facebook logo is only an “F”, but, actually is a blue square with a white “F” embedded. The new F1 logo is… only two letters, or a letter and a number, in a font type that can be sleek, but remembers none to speed, passion, competition, or any other thing related to racing.
    I think renewing the older one would have been the correct way. The old logo may be outdated, but is brilliant, and speaks about racing and speed, and have a history.

    But hey… it’s only a logo. I´m not going to cry for this, but at the same time I think the logo has little to do with attracting new fans. I don’t see a “normal person” saying “hey look what an awesome logo, I’m going to watch this sport!”. Put some good racing, battles, strategy, beautiful tracks, maintain the F1 at the peak of the technology, make the drivers look like heroes again, and you have all the fans you need.

  44. I really liked the previous logo. However, when I first saw both logos next to each other, I became clear that the old one was, … old. Suddenly the typeface of the 1 looked so dated and the “Formula 1” written underneath not nice at all, even in the wrong place. The more I see that is logo now, the more I dislike it. As for the new one, I kind of like it because it’s very neat and abstract, yet clear that it’s F1 when you know. I also enjoy the rrl jokes made about it! Now let’s get those tyres work so that the drivers can pay and follow each other as much as they want/need.

    1. Silly autocorrect: … so that the drivers can race and follow each other…

  45. it still makes me think of force india before it makes me think ‘f1’

  46. I hate that the 1 should be more important than the F, still the F is 5 times bigger. The 1 looks like a letter i. There’s no going around it, it sucks.

    1. Or small letter L, So are they renaming it to Formula liberty?

  47. The new logo looks like the letter T flopped over onto its side.

    If we were in cowboy country it would be called the “lazy T” brand.

    What next? Political correctness and 50% of drivers must be female?

  48. I’m still trying to find either the F or the 1 in the logo (depending on angle, I see rI, rrI or a backwards “n” or “h”, none of which fits this series), despite multiple explanations (it doesn’t help that elsewhere, including at Radio Le Mans, similar designs for the first character do symbolise “r”). At Twitter-size it looks even worse – like an amorphous blob that could be mistaken for a latter-day-Ron-Dennis era amorphous Kiwi logo. Which is not the ethos that Liberty was claiming they wanted for F1. For me, it doesn’t work in any of the contexts yet shown, nor is it likely to do so.

    It’s not so much that the logo has changed that it has been traded for something that is less fit for purpose (assuming that the logo is there to represent F1 in some way).

    1. @alianora-la-canta It’s a stylised side view of the cockpit of next years cars (with the halo).

      1. @ijw1 Thank you for that.

  49. I don’t know…it reminds me of ‘Force India’.

  50. I give it 2 years max before they change the logo again. Because this one sucks monkey a$$.

  51. All i can see is fi fi fi…and it rimes.

  52. I like the old logo. I didnt change my wife after 20 years.

  53. Well, if it really wasn’t then why was it used for as long as it was (almost a quarter of a century) and not ditched long ago already? For me, the old one was both iconic and memorable.

  54. The new logo has grown on me a bit. However, the “one” is just too much of a plain bar. I think they should have done something to make look at least a little bit more like a “1”. And the font for the “Formula 1” text, esp the “a” is awkward, IMO. But in the long run, this is way down on the the list of things that need Liberty’s attention.

  55. Ross Brawn says the sport is changing.. It isn’t. It’ll still be terrible sounding, stinky old V6s for the foreseeable future if he gets his way. They used to say he was an intelligent man, he’s lost it somewhere along the line.

  56. The new logo looks like a knock-off Forza logo. Actually, if they space out the lines more, it would look WAY better. Still won’t be as good as the old logo though.

  57. It is just a logo. There are more important issues to discuss.

  58. When designing the new logo Liberty didn’t consider ecological branding design. The new logo should have been more Eco-Friendly. This new design will consume a lot of ink when printed or painted. They should have just tweaked the existing ‘iconic’ logo to use even less ink.

  59. Change should be driving by ambition to improve not by we must change so we take whatever as long as we change.
    New logo looks like something a child is bringing home from school, a couple of lines and only one color over the whole page :-) :-)
    Recommend eye laser suregry for Mr Brawn :-)

Comments are closed.