Category: throwback thursday

Peter Revson races in his 1972 #16 McLaren M19C

White, red, and green…what? First off, the green they picked is even worse than piss yellow. Second, the red stripe is too thick. Third, changing the white to either red or green would work a lot better. Also, why in the world isn’t the windshield covering the driver’s face? It’s not even close to being level. What purpose does it serve? All in all, I give it an F

Jacky Ickx races in South Africa in his #5 1972 Ferrari 312B2

More pointless white stripes up the sides, but at least they committed to it. The colors are good, Ferrari has a good shade of red, and if the white were filled in with that shade of red, it would earn an A for sure. The pointless ugly stripes take it from an A down to a B-

Niki Lauda, is racing hard at Monaco in his 1972 #4 STP March-Ford 721X

If you are going to add a racing stripe up the side, you should commit to it. Rather, the team started a white stripe on the top, and kept it on the front wing. The red logo on identical red scheme comes back, but this time the ovals are slightly more visible. The logo setup on the front wing should be on the rest of the car. I also don’t like the OIL TREATMENT lettering that is clearly on the side of the windshield. It’s a D+ that had the potential to be an A scheme.

Chris Amon Matra 1971 #20 Matra MS120 was recently sold

Wow! That’s a good shade of blue! I also like the logo placement, the logos themselves, the diagonally angled numbers in a white circle, and the fact that many of the visible elements of the car are painted white, to match the shade of white used. This is a solid A scheme for sure!

Jack Brabham in his 1970 #12 Brabham-Ford BT33 at the South African Grand Prix

Formula One’s quarter of Throwback Thursday starts with a decent scheme. The yellow used here isn’t as bad as some shades of yellow that I’ve reviewed this year, but it’s not my favorite. I do like the sky blue, and the stripe across the front of the car. Also could we make Formula One teams put their car numbers diagonally on the car in a white circle? That looks really good. All in all, I’ll give it a B+.

In what was his last race before his jump to NASCAR, Tim Richmond poses with his 1981 #84 UNO/WTTV/Guarentee Auto Parnelli Cosworth

It’s a simple design, red with white lettering. It’s a great design, red with white lettering. It’s a great shade of red, and a great shade of white. It’s a solid A scheme that doesn’t say much because it doesn’t really have to. It’s a shame Tim’s IndyCar career ended the way it did. It’s also a shame Tim’s NASCAR career ended the way it did.

Sheldon Kinser poses with his 1981 #81 Sergio Valente/Longhorn Racing Longhorn / Cosworth

Black and gold is a great color scheme for a car, and this example proves that. The white is a bit over done, and it does look kind of forced. The western theme works well, and it’s a solid B+ scheme. Sadly, Sheldon passed away from cancer in 1988. This is how the world should remember him.

Gordon Smiley sits on his 1981 #60 STP/Intermedics Wildcat/Cosworth in a mis-matched driver suit

Sadly, this is the last Indy 500 Gordon Smiley would race in before his death during qualifying for the 1982 race. Wildcat ran the same paint scheme as Mario, but the STP logos aren’t the prominent ones, and the car looks better as a result. The Intermedics logo could be better, but other than that, this scheme is worth a B+

Tom Bigelow gets ready to race his 1981 #56 Genesee Beer Penske Chevy

The blue fade effect is amazing, the color scheme is great, and I love the retro Genesee logos and car number. I wish the blue was the more prominent color, but the white works well, especially with the blue fade. I would also say that white on white doesn’t work for sponsor logos, especially on the front right wing. It’s a solid A scheme.