McLaren Racing Reveals Retro Gulf Oil Livery
McLaren Racing and sponsor Gulf Oil International unveiled a special livery celebrating their partnership with a one-off design for the 2021 Monaco Grand Prix. The evocative livery marks the return of the sport to one of Formula 1’s most emblematic grand prix and brings fans one of the most recognizable and admired motorsport liveries of all time, McLaren said.
McLaren has a long racing history with Gulf, and the two brands revived their relationship in July 2020 when the team announced the brand’s return as an official strategic partner. The retro livery will mark McLaren’s tribute to Gulf’s design while reflecting a racing connection that began in the days of team founder Bruce McLaren.
The team will carry Gulf’s racing blue colorway alongside an orange stripe, based closely on Gulf’s classic design, for the entire race weekend of the Monaco Grand Prix. The theme will feature on both MCL35M race cars, the race suits of Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo, the race team kit and across all team social media platforms.
Additionally, Lando and Daniel will wear race helmets with bespoke retro designs, specially created for the event, to be raffled for the team’s mental health charity partner, Mind.
The 2021 Monaco Grand Prix will not be the first time a McLaren race car has carried the Gulf livery, the race team said. The #41 McLaren F1 GTR Longtail finished second at the 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans while sporting Gulf’s racing blue and Fluro orange color scheme.
“This will be McLaren’s homage to Gulf’s celebrated race car design. We’re enormous fans of brave and bold design, and the striking Gulf blue is among the most loved liveries in racing, a celebrated piece of culture which transcends the world of motorsport,” said McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown.
“Gulf and McLaren have a relationship that dates back to 1968 and is one of the most successful partnerships in motorsport. We are incredibly excited to pay tribute to this heritage with our classic livery design at the Monaco Grand Prix, the most spectacular and stylish event on the Formula 1 calendar,” said Gulf Oil CEO Mike Jones. “To see the reaction of both Lando and Daniel as well as the whole McLaren team to this livery has been really special and we are thrilled to unveil it to motorsport fans around the world. The distinguished racing blue and Fluro orange Gulf colorways are iconic, so to mark our return to Formula 1 and showcase the livery in Monaco with McLaren is a great celebration of our bold and colorful place within the sport.”
