Liberty Media is leaving no stone unturned in its quest to revamp the Formula One brand.
The sport’s commercial rights holder recently filed three trademark applications with European Union Intellectual Property, and as a result, is expected to use one of them as a new F1 logo and wordmark, according to F1 Fanatic. The series’ current symbol, which was introduced in 2000, features a black “F” and a red design that gives the impression of speed, with the negative space in between forming the number one.
Each application included different variations of potential logos, and although it’s not clear if or when Liberty will announce the new branding, we have a good idea which design they likely will choose.
The emblem that’s located below the other two seemingly is the most obvious choice, as it’s similar to the logo that’s used in the recently re-named Formula 2 championship.
The icon in the upper left is reminiscent of the logos used by GP3 — as well as F2’s former incarnation, GP2 — which partly is why it likely won’t make the cut. In addition to the fact that the FIA seemingly is moving away from the branding of the GP-named junior categories, the styling doesn’t work for F1, as the loops don’t actually spell out “GP.”
Although the final layout is our least favorite of the bunch, we unfortunately wouldn’t be surprised it gets chosen. It’s much harder to read than in the current logo, but it’s the only one of the three options that incorporates the negative space into the design.
If you look at the black bars as a group, they seemingly form the letter “A.” As a result, we think that, combined with the “F” from F1 and the white space — which looks like a lower case “I” — are a nod to the FIA.
