F1 teams face 'complicated' problem as FIA look to make things easier for fans

All 10 teams will reportedly discuss measures to ensure that all teams’ future liveries can be easily identified and differentiated from one another at the next F1 Commission meeting. Fans were left frustrated when the designs for 2024 were revealed as most squads opted for less paint and more carbon fibre in order to save weight.

With carbon fibre clearly visible on many different cars, some fans are struggling to tell teams apart on track, and this has been a particularly pressing issue during night races. Mercedes and Aston Martin in particular can look extremely similar as the machines zip by the grandstands during race weekends.

However, according to Autosport, this may soon change. At the next F1 Commission meeting, the teams will debate the matter although, reportedly, the FIA and FOM are keen to avoid strict regulations about livery designs.

Explaining the situation, Nikolas Tombazis - head of single-seaters at the FIA - said: “As always in F1, it is a bit more complicated than maybe meets the eye. 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.

“There has also been a lot of work done by all teams to change the type of paint or indeed a lot of it nowadays is extremely thin films, to keep the weight as low as possible.

“And another issue is that some teams seem to use similar colour schemes, so they end up with cars that maybe look visually quite close to each other. We're discussing it still with the teams, and it will be discussed in the next F1 Commission.”

In order to solve the problem without targeted regulations from the FIA, Tombazis wants to see teams cooperating while orchestrating their livery designs. “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,” he added.

“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.”

If actioned, this change would be a popular one among fans, who long to see a return of the vibrant F1 liveries of the past. Only a few years ago, the grid contained the bright yellow of Renault and the bold pink of Racing Point, but the current crop of designs is a smattering of barely distinguishable blues and blacks.