Red Bull Racing and Alfa Romeo have specialized in putting their “camouflaged” cars on the track during winter tests, reminding us of other cases of single-seater designs in tests that were not the ones seen during the year.
Now, before the 2022 season kicks off with three days at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya at the end of February, the possibility has arisen that the teams will be planted on the asphalt with provisional decorations on their cars. The reason is not to hide secrets or wait for more sponsors, but because Bahrain asked Formula 1 for exclusivity during the second round of tests, which will be held in March.
Ferrari could present a red similar to that of recent years before moving to an “old school” type to honor its 75-year history. And while that arrives, enjoy in the gallery below what the cars that some teams presented in testing were like… and how they were later during the season.
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Pass the photos and enjoy (If you can’t see the images, click on ‘Full version’ at the end of the article)
BMW 1999
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Jörg Müller starts with a completely white BMW test car. It is a Williams chassis from the 1998 season, but in the rear it already has a BMW engine. All to prepare for entry into Formula 1 in 2000.
Photo Credit: BMW AG
BMW 1999
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Meanwhile, another provisional design and some sponsors also appear on the track, but the color is not fully defined.
Photo by: LAT Images
BMW 2000
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And so it returns definitively in the F1 BMW in 2000, mixing white and dark blue. In the photo, at the wheel is Jenson Button.
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
BMW 2006
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White is also the color of choice when BMW launches its own team under the name BMW Sauber in 2006. Here, Nick Heidfeld at the first tests without any sponsors. Only the BMW logo can be seen on the nose.
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
BMW 2006
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This time, the basic color is white, plus the BMW house colors (blue) and a bit of red.
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar/Motorsport Images
Honda 2008
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Rubens Barrichello does the first Honda test in 2008, also with a completely white car. And again only the brand logo is visible.
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Honda 2008
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And with a mainly white car Honda also enters in 2008, although (as in 2007) it bears the motto “Dreams of the Earth” and does not show sponsors.
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
HRT 2012
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Totally white the first HRT in 2012. It may seem that a lot of space was offered to sponsors, but the “Spanish” car was never very full of them…
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
HRT 2012
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In the 2012 season, the team adds at least shades of red and gold, although sponsors (KH-7 was featured on the wings) were conspicuous by their absence.
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Super Aguri 2006
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The Honda name and Bridgestone logos appear on this test car. But it’s not Honda’s factory car: it’s Super Aguri in 2006 testing (with a chassis that originally belonged to Arrows).
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Super Aguri 2006
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In the end, the Japanese team will compete in Formula 1 with a more artistic design. There are not many sponsors, but there are some red elements.
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Honda 2007
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Black, with very few stickers. Rubens Barrichello tests a 2007 Honda whose design is not very original. But Honda has an idea about to discover…
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Honda 2007
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With the globe painted on the car and some black: those were the colors Honda raced in in the 2007 Formula 1 season (with Button as driver).
Photo by: Andrew Ferraro/Motorsport Images
Jordan 2003
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Giancarlo Fisichella drives a (literal) all-black Jordan in 2003. Fresh out of the shop, so to speak. A “naked” racing car!
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Jordan 2003
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But, as you can see here in 2003 of course Jordan still has his colors, black and especially yellow.
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Jordan 1991
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Already the first Jordan in Formula 1 was black. Here at the launch of the 911 (later renamed 191) in the UK.
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Jordan 1991
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But the car with which Michael Schumacher made his Formula 1 debut was green during the season.
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Ferrari 1998
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Speaking of Schumacher: in December 1997 he drives the Ferrari model for 1998, all in black.
Ferrari 1998
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Just in time for the start of the season in 1998, the Ferrari shines again in its traditional red colour.
Photo by: LAT Images
minard 2003
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Even Justin Wilson had the pleasure of driving a black car in testing in 2003. His Minardi team at least had a few team logo stickers.
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
minard 2003
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The Dutch sponsors invested in the 2003 season in Minardi, so Jos Verstappen and company were able to continue in the top flight. The black was mixed with some areas of white and smaller parts of red.
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Pirelli 2012
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In turn, tire manufacturer Pirelli uses a black racing car to work on Formula 1 tires with test driver Lucas di Grassi. What you see is all black and your own logo, of course, plus the tire brand. And this design remains unchanged.
Photo by: Pirelli
Honda 2004
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Similar was the 2004 Honda, in the photo with Takuma Sato at the wheel. It already had the sponsors and much of the subsequent design. But all on a black background.
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Honda 2004
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The 2004 season design resembles what Takuma Sato demonstrates in the image. Almost a decal of the test design, only with different colors.
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Williams 2006
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This one wasn’t black, but it was dark blue and metallic looking. It’s Williams, here with Nico Rosberg, at the 2006 F1 tests. Sponsors are arriving.
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Williams 2006
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And this is what comes out: dark blue and some white. The colors chosen by Williams in the 2006 season.
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Renault 2007
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Also dark blue, but Renault includes some yellow in 2007 pre-season testing. Pictured is Giancarlo Fisichella, and he has some sponsors on the car, though not the main sponsor.
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Renault 2007
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This main sponsor arrives at the beginning of the season with the brand of a bank that also contributes its colors. Of the dark blue, therefore, only the rear wing and part of the front one remain.
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Renault 2002
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This simple model from 2007 is close to the classic Renault colors: white and yellow. But with this combination, the French factory team tests before the 2002 season, as you can see here.
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Renault 2002
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But the tobacco sponsor continues and the light blue also returns to the cars. This was Jenson Button’s car in the 2002 season.
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Sauber 2003
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The nose is white, but this car that Heinz-Harald Frentzen drives in testing in 2003 (the Sauber) is mostly metallic blue.
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Sauber 2003
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In Worlds the Sauber is a bit more colourful, although the basic tones of the design were already evident in testing.
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Prost 2001
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The 2001 pre-season tests Prost does everything in blue, only with the name of the car on the side showing another color.
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Prost 2001
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It might seem that the Prost of the season would be a work of art, but no: the design is complemented by small red areas, as well as some sponsor stickers. But the basic color does not change.
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
BAR 001 1999
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Metallic blue, gray and black: those were BAR’s colors on its Formula test debut. But the team planned something completely different…
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
BAR 001 1999
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In its first year in F1, BAR tried to run different tobacco sponsors on its two cars, but were prevented from doing so and instead ran a double-sided design with a zipper down the middle.
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Red Bull 2004
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Blue and grey. This is how Red Bull prepares in November 2004 for its debut in Formula 1 in the 2005 season. The car visually resembles a can of Red Bull…
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Red Bull 2005
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When it comes to the serious stuff, Red Bull gives the car a new look and bids farewell to the “can design” of the previous year. And light blue becomes dark blue.
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Red Bull 2015
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Camouflage is the magic word for this design. It also reminds of zebra crossings. In any case, the Red Bull is a real eye-catcher during the tests leading up to the 2015 Formula 1 season.
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Red Bull 2015
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Yes, the 2015 one was a bit revamped, but in principle it’s still the same Red Bull design from previous years. It only adds purple with the Infiniti sponsor, but in the design of the car there are many differences (beyond color) from the test.
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Honda 2004
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It is not a typical test design, but it is a similar idea to that of Red Bull in 2015: Honda test driver, Anthony Davidson, participates in free practice in Brazil 2004, complete with graffiti.
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Jaguar R1 2000
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Jaguar carried out its first tests in Formula 1, ahead of the 2000 season, with a completely green car, without sponsors.
Photo by: LAT Images
Jaguar R1 2000
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However, his final car would end up being more beautiful. On the hood the jaguar stood out in grayish tones, and the green became metallic. The design during the season also included white elements, and various advertising marks.
Photo by: Lorenzo Bellanca / Motorsport Images
Spyker 2007
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For the season the Spyker, here with Adrian Sutil at the wheel, was light orange and grey, very different from the presentation and the first kilometers.
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Spyker 2007
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This orange (or red) took the 2007 Spyker to the tracks. Christijan Albers is driving the car in the picture, but they would change the design before the start of the season. It should be noted that this was the color that Midland wore in 2006, before being Spyker.
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
McLaren 2006
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Speaking of orange (and of McLaren, as in 2017 and 2018): in 2006, the Woking team contested tests in that historic orange colour. But it was just “for the picture”…
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
McLaren 2006
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During the season (Juan Pablo Montoya appears in the photo) they recovered the traditional silver color.
Photo by: McLaren
McLaren 1997
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As early as 1997, McLaren chose this tactic for testing.
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
McLaren 1997
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During the 1997 season, however, it is the silver paint that causes a sensation. A very nice car.
Photo by: LAT Images
Toyota 2001
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There is a lot of red in this Toyota with which the manufacturer prepares in 2001 to enter Formula 1 in the 2002 season. Mika Salo appears testing the first draft of the car, which hardly has any stickers.
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Toyota 2002
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For the world cup, the design department can propose something interesting. The red is still very present, but the white part increases. And of course that reminds us a bit of McLaren cars from the 80’s and early 90’s…
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Force India 2008
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Red and white? Also here: before the debut in Formula 1, Force India runs first with a white and dark red (maroon) car in the tests. But at the beginning of the season, the colors of Adrian Sutil and his partner are completely different…
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Force India 2008
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The dark red gives way to a bright red and the gold color is even more prominent. Also, there is a lot of white. It is the design of the first Indian Formula 1 team!
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Ferrari 2006
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All in red, but with a black rear wing and white front wing, Michael Schumacher tests his Ferrari in 2006 before officially unveiling the car and its final livery.
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Ferrari 2006
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In the season, Ferrari wears the now familiar design with the sneaky tobacco sponsor and with other usual stickers. Unlike the Schumacher test, the rear wing is not black.
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Red Bull Racing RB14 2018
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The Red Bull Racing team unveiled its 2018 RB14 in this livery, promising to reveal the livery it would use for the full season at pre-season testing in Barcelona.
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
Red Bull Racing RB14 2018
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So it was. Already from the preseason they wore the car with the final design, maintaining the same colors that have accompanied them during their stay in Formula 1.
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Red Bull Racing RB15 2019
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At the Red Bull presentation for 2019, like the previous year, the new ‘weapon’ from Milton Keynes was presented with a curious camouflage that was very popular on social networks.
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
Red Bull Racing RB15 2019
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But, once again, from the first tests Red Bull returned to the usual decoration, frustrating the wishes of the fans.
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Alfa Romeo Racing 2019
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This is how the Alfa Romeo was hunted in its first shakedown of 2019, the year in which they left the Sauber name behind. Final change or just for that day?
Photo by: Lorenzo Moro
Alfa Romeo Racing C38
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Only for that day, yes. In the presentation they already had the final decoration, which is the one they put on the track for all the winter tests and the season.
Photo by: Sauber F1 Team
And which Formula 1 test design is the most beautiful of all?
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That depends, of course, on consumer taste. Express yourself on our social networks by deciding which one you like the most! If you want to vote for this one above, it’s the Jordan of the 2005 season 😉
