2026 F1 Liveries: How to Tell the Teams Apart

Livery season is Formula 1's unofficial new year. In 2026 the ritual was more than a fresh coat of paint: the cars underneath changed more than at any point in a generation. Here is how all eleven teams show up.

Why 2026 liveries look different

The new rules use smaller car proportions and movable wing elements. For exact dimensions and weight requirements, consult the current FIA technical regulations. Designers got a tighter canvas. DRS is gone; active front and rear wings switch between Corner Mode (cornering) and Straight Mode (straight-line), so every scheme has to work on a shape-shifting car.

source: Formula 1

1. Cadillac: clean-sheet American identity

The debut everyone circled. Not a rebrand of an existing team: a new black-and-white presence on the grid, with Pérez and Bottas aboard. Cadillac’s launch uses a black-and-white scheme; check official race galleries for one-off variations.

source: Cadillac F1

2. Audi: four rings on a works car

Sauber's transformation completes as Audi paints its first works Grand Prix car. Titanium, carbon black and Audi red identify the new works entry. Four rings, Hinwil and Neuburg engineering: the livery has to carry a manufacturer story as heavy as the power unit under the cover.

source: Audi

3. Ferrari: SF-26 red

Rosso corsa still has to win on a smaller silhouette. Hamilton's second season in red keeps global eyes on every launch photo; the SF-26's nose, sidepods and active rear wing decide whether classic Ferrari still photographs like a championship car in 2026 proportions.

source: Scuderia Ferrari HP

4. McLaren: papaya on the MCL40

Papaya remains one of the most readable colours in the sport. On a championship-defending car with the #1 on Norris's nose, the MCL40 livery is less reinvention than assertion: we are still here, still loud, still the car you spot first in the midfield pack of a long-exposure night shot.

source: McLaren

5. Mercedes: silver-black works colours

Mercedes’ silver, black and turquoise identity has to re-prove itself after seasons of midfield-or-better form. The same power unit paints customer cars at McLaren, Williams and Alpine, so the works livery is the purest expression of the new hybrid brand.

source: Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team

6. Red Bull Racing: RB22 with Ford

Blue, red and the energy-drink graphic language stay, but the mechanical story is new: Red Bull Ford power after Honda's exit. The team’s launch marked a return to a gloss finish, without abandoning the most recognisable sidepod art in the paddock.

source: Oracle Red Bull Racing

7. Aston Martin: British racing green, Honda era

Aston green on an exclusive Honda works programme is a visual and technical reset. The AMR26 has to look like a Hypercar cousin and a proper Grand Prix weapon: green fields, lime accents, sponsor stacks rebuilt for the narrower body.

source: Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team

8. Williams: deep blue revival

Williams blue has been the colour of a rebuild. With Sainz and Albon on Mercedes power, the FW48 livery is allowed to look ambitious again: not heritage cosplay, but a serious midfield machine that wants to be photographed in parc fermé.

source: Williams Racing

9. Alpine: post-Renault identity

Leaving Renault power for Mercedes customer hardware forces a branding rethink. Alpine blue and pink has to signal a racing team, not only a road-car badge, while Gasly and Colapinto give the car two very different market faces.

source: BWT Alpine F1 Team

10. Haas: VF-26 Ferrari customer look

Haas continues the American independent story on Ferrari power, with Toyota Gazoo Racing links in the commercial stack. The VF-26 needs a livery that reads at speed in the midfield train: high contrast, simple graphics, no clutter on the tighter bodywork.

source: TGR Haas F1 Team

11. Racing Bulls: sister-team colours

The Faenza car must look related to Red Bull without cloning it. VCARB branding, Red Bull Ford hardware, Lawson experience and Lindblad's rookie season: the livery is youth marketing as much as race identity.

source: Visa Cash App Racing Bulls

Where to see the 2026 liveries in person

Use the race calendar for dates, then the individual race's official gallery to check its current paint schemes. A season-launch rendering is useful for the base identity but may not show a later special livery.

If you are identifying cars from a distant seat, combine colour with the driver number rather than relying on paint alone. The driver and team guide pairs the numbers with each entry.