Flash Fonts: 2

This is a 1991 Lola T9100.

And this is the 2024 Ferrari F1-25. Can you tell me whats wrong with this Ferrari?

WHOS DRIVING IT?

As stated in a previous blog, numbers in racing help the fan identify a car. And while this may be a cherry-picked example, it gets my point today across nicely: legibility at all angles.

One of the hardest part of designing for a race car is that all cars are hand made, and very few have nice slab-sided canvases like NASCAR or Touring Cars would. Forumla cars and open-wheeled vehicles are especially challenging in this front because not only are they so oddly shaped, but they’re also subject to rapid changes, as most racing series for these cars have open bodywork rule books.

To sum it up very simply: the canvas changes every week. Or at least, every time the team makes an upgrade to the bodywork. More often than not, this means the vinyl wraps you see elsewhere are exchanged for a coat of paint and tons of smaller stickers for sponsors and numbers. This generally leads to ultra simplified designs when it comes to numbers and font selection. You need something solid, easy to print, easy to adjust, and something that can fit on any curve of a car.

When looking at the LOLA head on, you can read everything with ease. From its distinct #9 to UNA and RCA. When you look at the Ferrari head on, its very difficult to make out anything compared to the Lola. Id like to clarify, you can still read most of it, but it doesn’t come across as quick as it should. Remember, both of these cars are capable of reaching over 200mph sustained, you would only see a flash of information before its gone and in the next turn.

Both of these cars have a similar slope from the dash to the front wing, so there’s no good reason the Ferrari should have this issue. A very simple fix would be to swap the shell logo and the number’s position, allowing for the number to be easier to read. Thats all for this one, until next time.