The 50 Best Looking Formula 1 Cars: No. 30 – No. 26
This is the continuation of the “50 Best Looking Formula 1 Cars” series. In this edition you will find cars No. 30-26. Be sure to check out the previous editions (listed below) to find cars No. 50 – 31.
30. Williams FW14
Not only was the FW14 a great looking car, it’s said to still be more technologically advanced than the current Formula 1 cars of today. Quite an impressive feat given that it just celebrated its 24th birthday.
The FW14 was indeed a marvel from its unveiling onward. Yet the FW14 wasn’t free of problems, and as such, poor reliability hampered the Williams’ 1991 championship hopes.
Despite Nigel Mansell chalking up five race victories, retirements were equal in number at the conclusion of the season. Yet a second place finish in the constructor’s championship was a testament to how good the FW14 actually was, if everything went right on race day that is.
Williams didn’t give up on the FW14, using the mechanical phenomenon once again the following year, and whatever problems the FW14 had had in 1991, they seemed almost non-existent in 1992.
Nigel Mansell powered through the season, claiming a record nine race victories, three podium finishes, and taking the driver’s championship.
29. Caterham CT01
It never won a championship, it never won a race, and it was never driven by a celebrated driver. Nevertheless, the Caterham CT01 is absolutely stunning.
The lovely yet subtle British racing green provides a superb backdrop to the striking yellow racing lines.
And even though the ‘platypus billed’ noses that adorned many of the cars in the 2012 season were considered ugly, the CT01 carried it well, so much so that it actually made the widely thought of ‘deformity’ look good.
28. Sauber C14
For any Red Bull Racing fan, the C14 is genesis.
Sauber’s 1995 racer marked the arrival of Red Bull into Formula 1, with the Austrian energy drink company becoming main sponsor of the team.
Though it was the first year of many in the Sauber/Red Bull partnership, the C14’s livery, which in time would make its way onto Red Bull’s own racers, was only seen this once.
Sauber decided to forgo the darker blue with the arrival of Petronas as a sponsor the following year, replacing it with an unappealing light blue/aqua mash-up.
27. McLaren MP4 27
Though the ‘platypus nose’ may have worked for the Caterham CT01, not all the cars pulled it off (the Force India VJMO5 being a good example).
McLaren fans were therefore happily surprised to discover that the team had decided against the much hated nose design for their 2012 model.
Even more to their liking, the car was extremely pretty because of it.
The MP4 27 was once again covered in chrome, and sported red side-pods, yet its elegant and gradual sloping nose was the talking point of the paddock.
Though McLaren couldn’t outdo the ever dominant Red Bull on race day, the MP4 27 at the very least can claim that it turned heads for all the right reasons, something its rival cannot.
26. Ferrari F2004
The F2004 allowed Michael Schumacher to claim 13 victories out of a possible 18, in the 2004 Formula 1 season.
Obviously Schumacher would go on to win the championship that year, his fifth straight and last for the Italian team.
Between 1999 and 2004, Ferrari had dominated Formula 1, the F2004 being the last car in this unforgettable era of the sport.
It was a mixture of beauty and speed, perfectly encapsulating the essence of Scuderia Ferrari in the early 2000s.