{"id":504743,"date":"2026-07-01T16:15:26","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T16:15:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/504743\/"},"modified":"2026-07-01T16:15:26","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T16:15:26","slug":"f1-news-mclaren-ditches-papaya-with-tribute-livery-for-british-grand-prix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/504743\/","title":{"rendered":"F1 news: McLaren ditches papaya with tribute livery for British Grand Prix"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/McLarenSilverstoneLivery1.png\" alt=\"McLaren ditches papaya with tribute livery to its first F1 car\"\/><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMcLaren will run a special livery at Silverstone this weekend. Image: McLaren<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.supercheapauto.com.au\/catalogue-out-now\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1036058 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SCA-1196-Wk1-Cat-BPO-Speedcafe_728x90.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"728\" height=\"90\"  \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>McLaren will run a heritage-inspired design on its MCL40, with the look taking inspiration from the McLaren M2B.<\/p>\n<p>The M2B was McLaren\u2019s first Formula 1 car and made its debut at the 1966 Monaco Grand Prix.<\/p>\n<p>That same season, Bruce McLaren scored the team\u2019s first point in Formula 1 at the British Grand Prix, adding a Silverstone link to the one-off design.<\/p>\n<p>The reveal follows McLaren\u2019s 1000th grand prix celebrations earlier this season in Monaco, where two-time world champion Mika Hakkinen drove the M2B around the Circuit de Monaco.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur Silverstone livery is a celebration of where we began and everything we have built since,\u201d said McLaren Racing\u2019s chief marketing officer Louise McEwen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe 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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur partnership with Google Gemini is grounded in those same principles. Together, we are exploring how technology can unlock new ways to innovate, iterate and push performance forward, both on and off the track.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis livery is a powerful expression of that shared mindset, honouring our heritage while looking firmly to the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1036076\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AtlassianWilliamsF1Team_SilverstoneLivery.jpg\" alt=\"Williams Silverstone livery\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>The livery Williams will run at Silverstone this weekend. Image: Williams<\/p>\n<p>Williams has also revealed a special one-off look for its home race, adding a Union Jack-inspired design to the FW48.<\/p>\n<p>The Grove-based team has added red, white and blue details across the nose cone and chassis side, while Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz will wear matching one-off race suits.<\/p>\n<p>Williams mechanics and engineers will also wear special team kit across the Silverstone weekend, with fans able to buy items from a British Grand Prix merchandise collection.<\/p>\n<p>The livery forms part of a wider week of celebrations for Williams, which is in its 49th year and approaching its 50th anniversary.<\/p>\n<p>Williams claimed its first grand prix victory at Silverstone in 1979 with Clay Regazzoni, while Jacques Villeneuve delivered the team\u2019s 100th race win at the circuit in 1997.<\/p>\n<p>The team has won eight times at Silverstone, including three victories for Nigel Mansell.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are proud to be flying the flag for the British GP this week,\u201d Williams team principal James Vowles said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom our first win to our 100th, Silverstone has played host to some of Atlassian Williams F1 Team\u2019s most iconic moments \u2013 and there is nothing on the F1 calendar quite like the atmosphere of the home crowd here.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhether watching in the grandstands, supporting at the fan zone or cheering us on from home, we really feel the energy of the fans and will be carrying it with us all weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Williams will also take a show car carrying the British Grand Prix design to Cardiff, Manchester, Edinburgh and London as part of its race week activities.<\/p>\n<p>The British Grand Prix takes place at Silverstone from July 3-5.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"McLaren will run a special livery at Silverstone this weekend. Image: McLaren McLaren will run a heritage-inspired design&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":504744,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[251779,4262,111,139,69,213,13971],"class_list":["post-504743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-british-gp","tag-mclaren","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-sports","tag-williams"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=504743"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504743\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/504744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=504743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=504743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=504743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}