Back to the future - lack of aesthetics in F1?
There have always been optical freaks in Formula 1, but in recent years they have become so common that today only ugly creatures seem to be on the grid. In 1979, the whole world laughed at the peculiar Ferrari 312 T4. The laughter soon died down, however, as the car with the two drivers, South African Jody Scheckter and Canadian Gilles Villeneuve, steered purposefully towards the world championship title.
The two Ferrari drivers took three victories each in 15 races, a total of six fastest race laps (all Villeneuve) and two pole positions. At the end of the season, they even took first and second place in the drivers' championship and a clear victory in the constructors' championship! Efficiency had triumphed over aesthetics.
Last week, the new cars for the 2014 Formula 1 season came to light for the first time and, lo and behold, the Caterham CT05 is very reminiscent of the 312 T4. All cars would fail the first episode of "Germany's next Topmodel", but the Caterham wouldn't even get the application forms.
It is the ugliest of the ugly. The entire F1 field would cut a fine figure as a fighting force in "Lord of the Rings". Due to some of the models, the F1 World Championship could also be renamed the "Dildo Masters".
Of course you get used to these impossible creations, of course everyone soon likes the fastest car, but isn't it a shame that there haven't been any cars that are a real feast for the eyes for years.
Formal harmony! As if from a single mold! Attractive from front to back! These are all slogans that you can simply forget about the new F1 cars.
Marketing and design are on everyone's lips these days. Every team employs several people from these sectors, but unfortunately only two teams manage to paint their formally hideous "ants" in such a way that their shapelessness is at least somewhat concealed.
The JPS-Lotus creations of the time are probably the most ingenious example of beautiful paintwork. Formally, these cars were not all beautiful either, but thanks to the ingenious paintwork, they all looked as if they had been cast from the same mold.
The Force India cars, with a paint job reminiscent of a spare parts store, are right up there with the negative examples.
Let's remember the great old cars that never lost their unique shape, even under the various sponsor liveries.
