Grading the Japan Special Liveries

Haas: B+

This livery was so close to being perfect. It has all the characteristics of a good one-off livery: bold color choices, lovely designs, and neat detail additions, all without changing the basis of the livery. I love the cherry blossoms all across the car, and the shade of pink they used to accent the designs melds perfectly with the team's base color scheme of black, white, and red. They just had to goof with the font. For reference, Haas' standard number font is sleek, hitting the sweet spot between futuristic and blocky. However, with the new look came a font that has far too much resemblance to something out of Angry Birds. It's a very jarring change in vibe when placed alongside the almost serene look of the rest of the car. Fortunately the numbers aren't visible from most camera angles used on track, so it's not a major blemish, but it's just frustrating to see a car this pretty with such an eyesore.

Red Bull: A-

As with everything else to do with Red Bull liveries in recent years, the motto of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" rings true with this year's special "White Bull" livery. The paint job pays its respects to Honda, as the motor company's technical partnership with Red Bull and its sister team will come to an end after the 2025 season (much like 2021, where the livery was also dedicated to Honda in the final season of Honda's independent engine development program). To be honest, despite the virtual copy-paste from 2021, this car still does a lot right. From the striking white covering the car to the metallic red font and designs to the red circle around the numbers paying homage to the Japanese flag, everything works perfectly together. Considering that the 2021 livery is up there with the best one-off liveries of all time, it's hard to go wrong with a copy. The only thing that's missing is the Japanese characters behind the engine intake and under the rear wing, but the design is still very well designed and an absolute looker.

Kick Sauber: A+

DISCLAIMER: This livery was released as an April Fool's joke. Kick Sauber will continue to run their blinding green color scheme in Suzuka. Please do not take the livery, or this piece, seriously.

Okay, nevermind. This is perfection. A wonderful homage to one of the team's fifteen title sponsors, as well as wagyu beef, which is produced in the country, this livery does everything right. Personally, I'd find this car incredibly difficult to drive because I'd be too focused on trying not to take a bite out of the halo. However, I doubt that the two incredible talents that the Stake Kick MSC Cruises Gran Premio del Made in Italy Sauber F1 Team have tossed in their cars this season will have any trouble operating the machinery this weekend. After all, going from a tractor to a dead cow is probably an upgrade, no?