Today, I decided to take on a fun project – designing the livery for the Mercedes F1 car for the 2026 season. I’ve always been a huge fan of Formula 1, and the idea of the sport evolving with new regulations in 2026 got me pretty excited.
First things first, I needed to understand what’s changing in 2026. I found out that the cars are supposed to be smaller and lighter. They’re going to be 30kg lighter and 10cm narrower, which is a big deal for racing. Plus, there’s this whole focus on being more environmentally friendly, with a 50-50 split between electric and internal combustion power, and they’ll use fully sustainable fuels. This is a massive shift, and I wanted my design to reflect that.
I started by thinking about the colors. Mercedes has a history with silver, but they’ve also used black in recent years. After looking into it, I found out that they used black to make a stand against racism, which I think is really powerful. For my design, I decided to go back to the classic silver. But, I wanted to add something extra to show the change towards sustainability. That’s where the idea of incorporating green came in, just like what they’re kind of doing with their PETRONAS livery.
- I spent hours sketching out different designs.
- I played around with different shades of silver and green.
- I experimented with adding patterns and gradients.
It was a lot of trial and error, trying to find the right balance between respecting the team’s history and looking forward to the future.
Finally, after many attempts, I came up with a design I’m pretty happy with. It’s mainly silver, sleek and shiny, but with bold green accents that highlight the car’s aerodynamic features. I think it looks modern and classic at the same time, and it really stands out. I made sure the green elements were prominent enough to represent the move towards sustainability without overshadowing the iconic silver that everyone recognizes.
This whole process was a blast. It gave me a new appreciation for the work that goes into designing these cars. I know it’s just a fan project, but it felt great to combine my passion for F1 with a bit of creativity. Plus, it got me even more hyped for the 2026 season. I can’t wait to see what the actual cars will look like, and how they’ll perform with all these new changes.
