So we’re into a new year. I am still alive and well. I’m also happy to know that you are doing well enough to read this too. So long as I have air to inhale and blood to course through my vessels, I am going to keep writing and creating about my passion. I recently saw an early 2000s F1 car and a lot of memories started flooding back to me. This car is such a gorgeous specimen, I’m okay with overlooking how much of a calamity it was.

We’re strange creatures. The way a person or an object looks is able to stir up feelings within us to the point where everything else doesn’t matter. At some point we’re all guilty of being shallow. A good looking person smiles at you and you don’t hesitate to exhibit the best side of your personality. This piece is along those similar lines. This piece is about the best looking Formula One cars ever according to me.

Like many of you, my love for cars was elevated due to videogames. I spent countless hours wasting away in front of my TV just enjoying a typical childhood many experienced in the late ’90s to the early 2000s. One particular memory was when my parents surprised my brother and I with a brand new Playstation 2. Along with this, my parents had bought us two games. Because they were from a different era and they couldn’t tell the difference at the time, one of the games was actually a PC title. It was a Microsoft flight simulator. The other game was Formula One 2001. I particularly remember the cover which featured the drivers in their helmets looking directly at the camera. The other interesting bit about this fantastic gift was that I had received a controller. The controller came in the same livery as one of the cars that competed in F1. More on that in a bit. Let’s get straight into the best looking F1 cars. I’m going to do 11 cars because some might be bothered with the oddity of having a top 11 list and I think it’s fun to annoy people sometimes so here we go:

11. 1983 Brabham BT52

Drivers: Nelson Piquet & Riccardo Patrese

We begin with this dart-shaped creature. German engine, British constructor, South African designer and a Brazilian world champion at the wheel. It was a symbol of success and the peculiarity of it doesn’t end at the form. In 1983, Nelson Piquet piloted the four-cylinder rocket to his second driver’s championship and historically the first ever F1 driver to win a world championship with a turbocharged engine. I’m fascinated by the fact that it was a brand new car. Thanks to ground effect being banned, Gordon Murray & David North could not further develop cars from previous years, so they had to design another car from scratch. In qualifying trim, they famously would pump out a terrifying 1500 horsepower at full boost. Unexpectedly, the 540 kilogram dart was easy to drive. With a 30/70 weight distribution, you can understand why. More weight at the rear to improve traction. Just look at it! It’s gorgeous, nothing more can be expressed.

10. 1961 Ferrari 156

Drivers: Phil Hill & Wolfgang von Trips

Now onto something that gives an alternative meaning to ‘flared nostrils’. Yes this sniffer is the 1961 world championship winning 156. It has a cool nickname too, unlike most F1 cars it has a memorable designation. It’s called the ‘sharknose’. Can’t imagine why it’s called that. This achingly beautiful car was designed by Carlo Chiti and was piloted by one of America’s two F1 world champions, Phil Hill. It started out life with a Dino V6 engine then later on had a wider angle 1.4 litre V6 which improved the smoothness and inertia. This car is so special that it doesn’t exist anymore. Every original example made was scrapped due to Ferrari’s policy. Quiet an artsy decision if you ask me. While the end to one of the most beautiful cars ever might leave you feeling dejected, fret not. You can still have a shark nosed Fezza in the form of the F430. Plenty of upsides, they’re brilliant berlinettas. Downsides are it’s quite a portly sharknose and I’m not sure it looks as good.

9. 2011 Mercedes MGP W02

Drivers: Michael Schumacher & Nico Rosberg

Be careful to not impale yourself with this thing. This sharp looking Silver Arrow is the 2011 W02. Look let me just be upfront with you, the car was pretty awful. It didn’t win, it didn’t get podiums and it loved to humiliate Schumacher by having many breakdowns. All of that doesn’t matter when you lay eyes on it. This John Owen design is an absolute stunner that looks like it was crafted from a billet of aluminum by a skilled blacksmith. The nose is high and pointed, the sidepods are chiseled and it has a normal looking airbox which overall looks better than the W01. It was powered by a 2.4 litre V8 that revs to a stratospheric 18 000 rpm. This was also the first season since 2009 that the Kinetic Energy Recovery System made a return. It was a cohesive and simple design that just worked when it comes to being beautiful.

8. 1991 Jordan 191

Drivers: Bertrand Gachot & Andrea de Cesaris

Much like the Mercedes previously mentioned, this is another winless beauty. It did have a 4th place finish in the Americas (Canada & Mexico). On both occasions, it was Andrea De Cesaris who piloted the 191 to it’s best wins. Gary Anderson’s design of the 191 was of its period. It was powered by a 650 horsepower Ford V8 that wails to 13 000 rpm. It has a wonderful looking front spoiler, the nose is rounded and the sidepods are very low to the ground. The five spoke O.Z wheels had a lovely yellow accent on the rim. The most beautiful aspect of this car is the airbox. It’s shaped like a fin and the way it slopes into the rear is nothing short of perfection. Taking a look at the livery I love it, despite 7 Up tasting like hydrochloric acid with salt in it. Interesting how it was a collaboration of both 7 Up and Fujifilm. Michael Schumacher had the opportunity to race it in Belgium after Gachot was arrested for spraying teargas into the face of a London cab driver. It was a road rage incident.

7. 2013 Red Bull Racing RB-9

Drivers: Sebastian Vettel & Mark Webber

After one of the most exciting seasons in Formula 1, 2013 was a season for Red Bull to really demonstrate how dominant they were. They proved to be on the ball as Sebastian Vettel scooped his 4th world champion win and the team’s 4th constructors’ win. The RB9 won 13 of the 19 races on the calendar! It had 12 fastest laps, 11 pole positions for qualifying and 24 podiums! To this day it’s the last Red Bull to win a world constructors’ title. This car is the peak of Red Bull for me, not just in terms of speed and power but also down to the way it looks. Powered by a naturally aspirated 750 horsepower 2.4 litre V8, with KERS, the 642 kilogram RB9 produced some hair raising qualifying laps. The Infiniti livery has this fantastic colour shift under the sunlight that reminds of midnight purple from Nissan GT-Rs. One moment it’s dark blue, the next moment, it’s purple. The red accents on the wing endplates and the splashes of yellow also make for a really beautiful package. Not only was the livery beautiful, but so is the form of it. Gone is the stepped nose from 2012 for a smoother look and as you can probably tell, I do really like the narrow bodied cars of the early ’10s. This car also marked the end of my favourite pairing of Red Bull drivers: Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. As much as they had their differences, they were a pretty good team with similar grit and determination to ensure they won.

6. 1995 Williams FW17

Drivers: Damon Hill & David Coulthard

From one modern Adrian Newey design to an older design of his, The Williams FW17 was considered to have the best aerodynamics and chassis setup in 1995. It was also regarded as having the best engine. So you can imagine how disheartening it was to lose both the drivers and constructors championships to Benetton. And if you take a moment to consider how the previous year’s season ended in Adelaide, it sure seemed as if the odds were stacked against Damon Hill. History did repeat itself again in 1995 when Schumacher and Hill both collided and retired from the British grand prix. Controversy aside, the FW17 was a stunning looking car. It was the first Williams F1 car to have a raised and pointy nose. I also love the Rothmans livery. Being a massive fan of machines like the Porsche 962, you can understand why it’s here. It’s a lovely simple shape accompanied by one of the most iconic liveries in motorsport. It also had the soundtrack to match. It was powered by a Renault 3.0 litre naturally aspirated V10. The same engine actually powered the championship winning Benetton B195. Power was rated at 675 horsepower at 15 000 rpm. Both Hill and Coulthard won races that season and Coulthard has mentioned how the FW17 is the car he looks fondly at the most when compared to others over his career.

5. 1987 Lotus 99T

Drivers: Ayrton Senna & Satoru Nakajima

Okay look, I know you thought they’d be a 98T here but, to my eye, the simple yellow Camel livery works really well with Aryton Senna’s signature lid. The 98T is one of the most iconic racing cars ever, however I’m more compelled by the beauty of the 99T. The nuances between the two are pretty marginal. Interestingly it’s not a Renault powered V6 like the previous versions. The 99T had a 1.5 litre turbocharged V6 Honda engine rated at 900 horsepower. The other interesting part of the deal between Honda and Lotus was that Honda wanted Lotus to sign Nakajima, who was Honda’s test driver. They agreed those terms. It wasn’t the best car out of the field. McLaren, Williams and Ferrari all had better aerodynamic packages. In the hands of the brave Senna though, the 99T was one of the fastest down the straights. I love the massive triangular shaped endplates on the front wing. The nose is short and pointed downwards and the position the driver sits in is near perfect. Not too far back and not too far out in front. I also love the massive shape of the sidepods exposing the radiators and the air intakes that remind me of the Pagani Zonda R. In certain lights, the bright and slightly saturated body colour reminds me of Porsche’s Signal Yellow.

4. 2012 McLaren MP4-27

Drivers: Lewis Hamilton & Jenson Button

One of three cars in 2012 to not use the abominabale platypus nose, the Vodafone donned MP4-27 is a chromed smasher. Somehow McLaren were able to make the chrome look work. I know other people prefer the look of Lewis’ championship winning MP4-23, but I prefer the cleaner looking, elongated car. Since 2009, McLaren struggled to compete at the front. 2012 was a different story for Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton. Despite not winning a championship, the car showed flashes of brilliance. In Australia for the inaugural race, Hamilton qualified on pole and Button was in second place. Something the team haven’t experienced since 2009. Again they had a strong qualifying performance in Malaysia as Hamilton was on pole position. Unfortunately Hamilton ended up finishing third and Button fell out of the opportunity to score points due to damage. Their bad luck was attributed to bad weather conditions and the race being red flagged. No matter, it’s a beautiful looking car and I love how the orange accent makes the nose look flat. The penultimate Paddy Lowe McLaren was powered by a Mercedes 2.4 litre V8, aided by KERS. Lewis and Jenson made the best out of the situation with 7 race wins and 13 podiums.

3. 2012 Lotus E20

Drivers: Kimi Räikkönen & Romain Grosjean

Earlier on I mentioned how you might be disappointed not to find a 98T on this list. I can understand, however that’s too easy and it’s been mentioned on many lists of a similar nature. The legendary black and gold livery made a comeback in 2011 under the name of Renault. In 2012 it was it was renamed to ‘Lotus’ and the car was designed to meet the controversial platypus nose regulations for the safety of the drivers. This is a unique car at the time because it was arguably the only good looking platypus-nosed car out of the pack. The gold contrasting accent looks as if it’s a lighter shade under light as opposed to Lotuses of the past. The gold wheels also suit the car so well and made for a beautiful modern F1 car with a retro tribute livery. It was quiet a strong performer too. Piloted by F1 world champion Kimi Räikkönen and GP2 champion Romain Grosjean, the James Allison designed E20 claimed 1 race win, 10 podiums and 3 fastest laps. It had a KERS assisted Renault 2.4 litre V8 that typically screamed to 18 000 rpm. One of the most memorable moments for the E20 was in Abu Dhabi when Kimi had outclassed the entire field to pickup their only victory of the season. Romain also picked up some impressive podiums in earlier rounds. What I love about the E20 is the nose is pointy, the classic livery is a winning combination and the red accents on the endplates work when it shouldn’t.

2. 2010 Ferrari F10

Drivers: Felipe Massa & Fernando Alonso

Thought you’d see a 641 by now? Well I’m in the minority, because when I look at the 641, it doesn’t really stir up those feelings that are popular with so many motosport fans. I’ve always been nagged by how it looks like a mosquito to me. I’m also not so sweet on the black spoilers and black wheels. You’ve also probably seen it on countless lists of the same topic. So I chose a car from the time when I started taking F1 more seriously. The 2010 F10. This 2.4 litre naturally aspirated rocket came very close to clinching the world championship in a very dramatic season with multiple drivers vying for the throne. It’s of the time where Fernando Alonso was really on form. Felipe Massa was also rapid in the F10. What I love about the F10 is it snuck up on the field during race days. It only managed to achieve 2 pole position results, but it got 15 podiums out of 19 races. Interestingly, the hideous F2012 achieved results that were similar. The F10 came from one of the greatest designers of all time: Aldo Costa. It features one of the pointest noses I’ve ever seen in a high position. Earlier examples did not have the infamous F-duct. I also love the rounded sidepods that look as if it’s powered by jet engines. The livery was also bang on point. A glossy red paintjob, white accents on the spoilers and I particularly love the controversial barcode logo design on the airbox that’s supposed to show a Marlboro logo when the car is moving at speed. Laying eyes at the F10’s sidepods, its pointy nose and its ridiculously elongated wheelbase, it sort of reminds me of the Thrust SSC jet powered car that currently holds the land speed world record.

1. 2000 Jaguar Racing R1

Drivers: Eddie Irvine & Johnny Herbert

Finally we reach the end of the list. We round it off with a Jaguar. Remember earlier how I spoke about receiving a Playstation controller in the same colour scheme as a racing car? This is the car that inspired it. The Jaguar R1 was a massive disaster of a car. It was difficult to drive, it was unreliable and the engine didn’t deliver effective power. The R1 was powered by a Cosworth 3.0 litre V10. Jaguar admitted they did make mistakes when it came to the wind tunnel calculations. Despite the hardship, take a look at the R1 and it would be near impossible to not fall in love with it. The metallic green paint looks fantastic under light or in darkness. The white contrasts really well with the green and the gold wheels are drop-dead gorgeous. Despite the wind tunnel debacle, the form of the car is also perfect. It’s the right width, it’s not too long and the height of the rear wing is also on point. Driven by Eddie Irvine and Jonny Herbert (his last season), it competed in 17 races and could only muster up 4 points. It’s best finish was 4th place in Monaco.

This car is what I see when I reflect on childhood memories. Spending so many hours trying to get the lines right on F1. Sifting through the menus and looking at the team’s drivers. It wasn’t all doom and gloom for Jaguar, eventually they were acquired by Red Bull and became Red Bull Racing. Since 2010 they’ve enjoyed massive success so in the end, the difficult times were worth it.