McLaren will commemorate Ayrton Senna, the most successful driver in the history of the Monaco Grand Prix, with a special livery at the race this weekend.
The MCL38s driven by Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will appear in a design based on the helmet used by the three-times world champion, who died 30 years ago.Senna won the Monaco Grand Prix more times than any other driver. He claimed six victories in his 10 appearances in Monte-Carlo. He also finished second on his first visit to the track in 1984, when the race was controversially red-flagged and not restarted due to heavy rain, and crashed out while leading in 1988.
He scored five of those six victories at the wheel of McLaren cars. The last came in 1993, his final season at the team before joining Williams.
Norris and Piastri will also wear bespoke overalls for the race and team members will have special kit for the weekend. McLaren’s rebranding for the weekend comes with the blessing of Senna Global, the company formed by the late driver’s family to manage his rights and raise money for the Senna Institute charity.
“The team is proud to recognise and celebrate the extraordinary life and racing legacy of Ayrton Senna through this McLaren livery,” said McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown. “Senna remains revered and respected as Formula 1’s greatest icon, and McLaren’s most decorated driver.
“His impact on McLaren is enormous, not only through his racing record but also presence within the team, and now his legacy, so it’s an honour to race for him at his most successful circuit in his green, yellow and blue colours.”
This is the third time in the last four years McLaren has produced a special livery for the Monaco Grand Prix. Last year their design marked the team’s victories in motorsport’s ‘triple crown’ and in 2021 they sported a special livery for sponsor Gulf.
Pictures: McLaren’s Ayrton Senna livery for the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix
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Reinaldo (@rpneto)
21st May 2024, 14:16
Copersucar feelings…
matiascasali (@matiascasali)
21st May 2024, 14:36
It looks more like the Benetton B192 to me…
bosyber (@bosyber)
21st May 2024, 14:43
Yeah, I think it looks coherent, and a lot more colourful than we’ve seen in a while, so it is well done. But I too had an instant reminder of the Benetton from the mainly yellow, with green ribbon on the side, and the blue band over the nose.
Asd
21st May 2024, 15:48
Nooooo, it’s the 1991 Benetton, not the 1992 Benetton.
But yeah, it’s a Benetton throwback livery and has nothing to do with Senna, unless you claim that every arrangement of Brazilian flag colours is automatically Senna.
M2X
21st May 2024, 16:26
It’s Senna’s helmet.
Yellow with a green and a dark blue band.
Mayrton
21st May 2024, 18:33
I agree. I understand it represents the Brazilian colours but overall it looks clownesk to me and the link to Senna is wafer-thin.
ferrox glideh (@ferrox-glideh)
21st May 2024, 14:57
I really like the retro font.
Boomerang
21st May 2024, 15:51
We are looking at Monaco 2024 winner!
Edvaldo
21st May 2024, 15:54
well, it’s good to see some different colors for once.
Rob Smith
21st May 2024, 15:59
Reminds me of the Forti-Fords!
M2X
21st May 2024, 16:24
Now this is a special livery, and one worthy of praise.
Finally a team that is willing to make a fully dedicated livery and not just the addition of some stripes.
Well done Mclaren.
MCG (@malrg)
22nd May 2024, 0:38
100%
stefano (@alfa145)
21st May 2024, 16:25
could have done with more green considering the Brazilian flag, but it still looks ok
Roberto
21st May 2024, 16:46
Get rid of the Google wheels and I’m a fan
Ali
21st May 2024, 16:55
would to see a Jim clark inspired lotus color scheme on the f1 cars of today
D
21st May 2024, 17:32
Nice one.
Hopefully McLaren’s standard livery will also have more color for the rest of the season.
Jere (@jerejj)
21st May 2024, 17:35
I find the green rear-end fitting.
WesselV1
21st May 2024, 17:57
It could be me, I have not watched him race though have been watching for 25 years now, but I’m feeling a bit overflowed with Senna news. There have been many great drivers, and great drivers who died behind the wheel too. It is now 20 days after the 1st of May. Make a Graham Hill livery. It even saves weight.
Eddie
21st May 2024, 20:44
I too hate when people compare Senna to God. I mean, he was good, but he was not Senna.
David B
21st May 2024, 22:19
This is how you do special liveries Ferrari…
Greg
21st May 2024, 23:34
Looks like they wanted a clasic McLaren MP4 red/white livery but only had Benetton paints
Asd
22nd May 2024, 9:00
It is a pathetic display of ignorance as it shows they have no idea about F1’s history and assumed that Brazilian colours can only be and have to be automatically associated with Senna. Obviously that’s false.
Brazilian flag colours can only be associated with Senna if they are arranged in Senna’s helmet design. If not, they are just a random combination of colours that can be associated with anything, including Brazil, including F1’s Benetton etc.
MichaelN
22nd May 2024, 10:26
Looks more like a Brazil-car than a Senna-car, but whatever. It’s a nice gesture and good to see some bright colours on the grid. It’s puzzling to me how companies pay so much money to be on F1 cars and then accept being given a white logo on a black or dark blue background. The early 2000s grid was so much more colourful!