F1's Las Vegas liveries: car and helmet designs for the 2023 Grand Prix

Amid the fanfare and spectacle of Las Vegas, teams and drivers were always going to jump on the bandwagon and most have done so with enthusiasm, revealing custom car liveries and helmet designs for F1’s return to Nevada.

We have seen several one-off colour schemes already this season, but not on this scale, with a majority of teams and drivers producing liveries just for this race. Scroll down to see them all.

Red Bull

While Max Verstappen hasn’t been the most positive advocate of the race itself — stating that he “felt like a clown” during the opening ceremonies — that hasn’t stopped the Dutchman from arriving with a new neon-themed helmet for his inaugural Las Vegas weekend.

His team-mate is looking to change his fortunes with a casino-themed lid, featuring chips, a roulette wheel and cars on the top.

The team itself will run in a purple-tinted livery which was voted for and designed by fan Lindsay Palmer who had her design picked from thousands of entires. In a classic Vegas stunt, the car was revealed to the public for the first time on Wednesday while being hung upside down from the roof of a nightclub.

Ferrari

The Scuderia is one of only a few teams returning to Las Vegas after competing in the city’s very first grand prix over 40 years ago. It wasn’t exactly a gleeful experience for the Maranello marque, with its best result being a ninth place finish courtesy of Didier Pironi in 1981. But the decade before had been a “golden age” for F1 in America, with Ferrari standing centre stage with multiple race victories at Watkins Glen and Long Beach.

A custom red and white livery for 2023’s re-visit to the Nevada desert — with matching driver overalls — aims to pay tribute to the white-striped scheme sported by some of its best Stateside winners including Niki Lauda, Clay Regazzoni, Carlos Reutemann and Gilles Villeneuve.

It’s left to the drivers to embrace the Las Vegas theme. Carlos Sainz has gone all in, with Las Vegas lettering spelling out his name along with slot machine symbols. Charles Leclerc‘s not far behind with a recreation of the famous “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign along with a set of dice and chips.

AlphaTauri

AlphaTauri‘s AT04 will sport one of the more eye-catching liveries on the Las Vegas Strip this weekend, with a black and white striped colour way — designed by artist Brendan Monroe — that should at least look super fast in the hands of Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda.

Neither driver has resisted the temptation to follow suit with a revised helmet design, and both have opted for chrome liveries; Yuki Tsunoda’s bronze autumn leaves have already been misinterpreted by some spectators as a nod to Nevada’s decriminalisation of cannabis; Ricciardo has gone for a blue and silver showstopper.

Alfa Romeo

Popular opinion suggests Alfa Romeo may have won the competition of Las Vegas liveries with this black playing card-inspired creation. Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu will race in accompanying overalls, with Bottas also sporting a custom ‘Planet Vegas’ helmet.

Williams

While some have taken a subtle approach toward their Las Vegas liveries, Williams — much like the event itself — has made sure to go over the top. A giant Las Vegas sign slapped on top of the teams usual livery could be considered to be an eyesore by some, but it could also be seen as a fitting tribute to the only team on the current grid to have won in Sin City.

Alex Albon has taken the bold scheme and run with it, revealing a helmet that’s a colourful homage to the venue.

Alpine

Alpine isn’t wrong in describing its livery as a one-off Vegas special — in the sense that its car will be racing with the design in Las Vegas — but any link to the neon skyline beyond ends there. Forgive us for being disappointed with the lightly-modified scheme, which sees the logos of clothing brands Palace and Kappa incorporated into the team’s familiar blue and pink.

Esteban Ocon provides a much-needed lift with his Deadpool-inspired red helmet.

McLaren

McLaren has been steaming past rivals in the championship as it turns up the wick in the final races of the season. It’s looked to be Red Bull’s closest competitor in recent races, and maybe that focus explains why it’s shunned the chance to adopt a new Vegas livery.

Neither driver has passed up that opportunity, though. Lando Norris‘s lid looks deadly with a nest of snakes; Oscar Piastri‘s tie-up with Google has produced a “dark mode” design with streaks of rainbow colour.

Haas

American-owned Haas is sticking with its standard paint scheme for Las Vegas, leaving the extravagant creations of its drivers to shine. Nico Hülkenberg has adopted sparkling stars and stripes, while Kevin Magnussen‘s graffiti-inspired job includes a scrawled “Sin City” and black and white depiction of the city border sign.

Mercedes

Few at the team will forget the disastrous 2019 German Grand Prix where Mercedes celebrated its 125th year competing in motor sport with a retro livery and vintage team attire. The race was a complete disaster for the-then dominant Silver Arrows when Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas both crashed.

It wouldn’t be any surprise if it had put team boss Toto Wolff off custom liveries for life. Mercedes will continue with its usual black scheme in Las Vegas, but George Russell adds a touch of sparkle to proceedings with a glittered helmet paint-job.

Aston Martin

Aston Martin‘s marketing efforts went into a digital show on the giant trackside Sphere which, ahead of the race displayed its F1 car, as well as some of its road models.

Both drivers got in on the act though: Lance Stroll on brand with green neon wings that echo the Aston Martin badge, plus a Canadian maple leaf on the top. Fernando Alonso‘s design has gone heavy on the glitter, with the neat asdition of a joker card on the back, bearing the face of — who else — Alonso himself.