McLaren goes back to its roots with striking British GP livery

McLaren has unveiled a one-off British Grand Prix livery that harks back to the team’s original white-and-green colours in Formula 1.

The team joined the grid as its own constructor at the 1966 Monaco Grand Prix, with the M2B’s livery design having come about as a result of the seminal Formula 1 film, Grand Prix, being filmed.

McLaren unveils 1966-inspired livery for British Grand Prix

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McLaren has regularly changed its livery for its home race in recent seasons, harking back to liveries gone by with the addition of chrome to its papaya-and-black colour scheme among other recent designs.

This time around, the team has reached back to the very beginning of its history for inspiration, with a mostly white car set to take to the track at Silverstone this weekend, broken up by a green stripe up the middle of the car.

Interestingly, this was not the team’s original plan for how the M2B would look at the time.

Grand Prix director, John Frankenheimer, was filming in Monaco in 1966 when McLaren debuted, and was in need of a white car on track to represent the fictional Japanese team, ‘Yamura’ – and having been chosen to represent them, along with a suitable payment for doing so, McLaren’s initial plan for a green-and-silver colour scheme was scuppered.

In the present day, McLaren gathered its living race winners for a special photo opportunity in Monaco earlier this season, with the team having now celebrated its 1000th race in Formula 1 – with double world champion, Mika Hakkinen, taking an M2B around Monte Carlo as part of its commemoration.

McLaren has revived the livery for the British Grand Prix this year, nodding to the team’s roots as part of its sponsorship with Google.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will both be in white race suits for the weekend, too, with a ‘Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Team’ sticker added to the MCL40 in honour of the team’s founder.

Louise McEwen, McLaren’s chief marketing officer, said: “Our Silverstone livery is a celebration of where we began and everything we have built since.

“The McLaren M2B represents the start of a journey defined by relentless innovation and a belief in possibility, and this design brings that spirit to life. Our partnership with Google Gemini is grounded in those same principles.

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“Together, we are exploring how technology can unlock new ways to innovate, iterate and push performance forward, both on and off the track.

“This livery is a powerful expression of that shared mindset, honouring our heritage while looking firmly to the future.”

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