Why McLaren's special Monaco livery is such a hit

While they always say that fast is beautiful when it comes to Formula 1 machinery, it's equally true that a good livery can help any car become an icon.

Sometimes, a car’s good looks are triggered by its basic shape, which is the result of the package of rules it’s been created for.

The 1990 Ferrari 641, which remains to this day hosted in New York’s Museum of Modern Art, is the classic example of a pure, simple and clean concept that stands out. It proves too that aerodynamics and aesthetics often go hand-in-hand.

But the good looks of a car equally go beyond the lines of its outer surfaces, because the colours it is painted in can become just as much a defining factor.

That explains why Aston Martin spent almost 12 months in coming up with the right colour green and new livery for its 2021 F1 car.

As Aston Martin’s chief creative officer Marek Reichmann said earlier this year: “Colour is something so important. How you perceive colour, how you perceive colour on screen, how you perceive colour in person in sunlight, and also on a grey day at Silverstone, it's a really, really important factor.

"We have spent 12 months developing a colour. We've gone through numerous iterations on the livery – and it went up to the 59th minute of the 11th hour with detail changes to get everything right.”

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL35M

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

A good livery can make or break a car’s looks and how it appeals to fans - although some of the ugly nosed cars from the mid 2010s were probably beyond saving…

The buzz this week surrounding McLaren’s new Gulf-themed livery that it will be running as a one-off for the Monaco Grand Prix was therefore not really a surprise. Sure, not everyone liked it, and some were not won over at what they think is just a clever marketing gimmick, but the feedback from social media and some quick straw polls immediately after its reveal indicate that the vast majority think it's pretty great. In fact, McLaren’s own Lando Norris reckoned the blue and orange colour scheme was better than the regular one.

Where the Gulf livery wins is that it is very different, it’s striking and it’s in proven iconic colours. It appeals because it’s both unfamiliar to F1, and because the Gulf branding is synonymous with a classic era of motorsport. Gulf colours featured heavily in the 1971 movie Le Mans, with Steve McQueen driving for the Gulf-backed Porsche team – and it’s had more recent success at the French classic in the 1990s with McLaren.

The Gulf livery for Monaco has even prompted some talk that perhaps F1 should follow NASCAR’s lead and have one race a year where all the cars run in alternative liveries

In F1 terms, though, only the company’s logos have ever featured and only Alessandro Pesenti-Rossi's privateer Tyrrell entry in 1976 has raced before in a full-on Gulf livery.

The Gulf blue and orange has also not been too over-saturated in motor racing. The oil company has kept tight control on who has been allowed to use it over the years, which is why it still stands out.

Mike Jones, CEO of Gulf said: “I think the Gulf colours were way ahead of their time. If you think about it, someone designed these colours in 1967, but they're still relevant now.

“As a company, we get many, many requests for racing teams to use it, and actually it's really special iconic colours. So we only want to use it for special teams. I think that's very much where we went with it terms of work with McLaren.”

McLaren MCL35M with Gulf livery

Photo by: McLaren

But there is a fine line between liveries that deliver and those that don’t – and a whole bundle of contradictions in terms of what works and what doesn’t.

F1 teams often find themselves under attack if they don’t shake up their colour scheme frequently – it’s something Red Bull in particular falls foul of even though its consistent branding is a huge success because the car is so well known around the world. And let’s not forget the famous Marlboro McLaren dayglo-red and white livery became so iconic because it never changed.

Sometimes too, the attraction of a colour scheme gets mixed in with an aspect of a team or a driver that cannot be recreated just by getting the paints out.

When the Lotus name came back to F1 several years ago, it tried to resurrect the iconic JPS livery that the British sportscar manufacturer made so famous in the mid 1980s. While its cars looked nice, they didn’t have about them the aura that made the black-and-gold livery so magical when it was driven by the likes of Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell and Elio de Angelis.

The Gulf livery for Monaco has even prompted some talk that perhaps F1 should follow NASCAR’s lead and have one race a year where all the cars run in alternative liveries.

Each year at Darlington, NASCAR holds a ‘throwback’ weekend where old-school paint jobs are used to honour the teams and drivers of the past – and it is something that Daniel Ricciardo thought could work for F1.

Martin Truex Jr., Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry Bass Pro Shops, Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry Federal Express

Photo by: Lesley Ann Miller / Motorsport Images

“It would be cool,” explained the Australian. “I’m aware it’s another expense for the team. But that aside, for everything to be a throwback, not just our race suits, but also casual wear, down to team hats, to properly do it, that would be cool for everyone to get involved. Spark it.”

As an initial reaction to the concept, the idea sounds good – and the origins of the many teams on the grid could be used to bring back some famous colours.

Aston Martin could run in the Jordan 7Up colours from the 191 that was originally run out of its Silverstone factory. Mercedes could go the blue and white of the old Tyrrell cars; AlphaTauri goes old school Minardi...

The reality is that one-off liveries are so special because they are one-off – and don’t happen all the time. If Christmas took place every day, it would cease being special

But while, as a one-off weekend, it would deliver a big talking point and be of interest to fans, F1 has to tread a very careful line in diluting the identity of the current teams by changing things too much. Fans already get confused and annoyed by drivers regularly changing their helmet colours and becoming difficult to identify. Imagine how hard it would be if the cars also swapped colours week in and week out.

The consistency of identity has been one of the core attractions of F1, and ensuring that cars look identical in each round of the championship is enshrined in the rule book.

Article 9.1 of F1’s Sporting Regulations states: “Both cars entered by a competitor must be presented in substantially the same livery at every event, any significant change to this livery during a championship may only be made with the agreement of the FIA and the Commercial Rights Holder.”

Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren MCL35M, is returned to the garage

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

That’s why McLaren had to get permission from F1 and the FIA to go ahead with the livery change; just as Mercedes did back in 2019 when it ran all in white at the German GP.

The reality is that one-off liveries are so special because they are one-off – and don’t happen all the time. If Christmas took place every day, it would cease being special. The Gulf McLaren will stand out as a hit for years to come because it only appeared once. Bring it back again in the future and its impact will be much diminished.

As McLaren CEO Zak Brown said about the idea of different liveries being rolled out regularly.

“I think we don't want to confuse the fans and kind of lose our identity,” he said.

A racing car is very much the sum of its parts; and iconic machinery always has to look good: both in the way it is designed and with a livery that matches its beauty. Famous F1 designer John Barnard once said: “What is the point of designing a car if it doesn't look right?"

Race winner or not, McLaren has proved for Monaco that nothing beats a good looking car.

McLaren MCL35 with Gulf livery, #41 McLaren F1 GTR Le Mans 1997: Pierre-Henri Raphanel, Jean-Marc Gounon, Anders Olofsson

Photo by: McLaren