For the next two F1 rounds, the MCL60 cars driven by Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will feature a colour scheme that harks back to its successes at the Indianapolis 500, Monaco GP and Le Mans 24 Hours.
The combination of winning these races – where the Monaco victory can be swapped for the F1 world title – is bestowed as motorsport’s ‘Triple Crown’ achievement.
Although this is more widely recognised as a driver accolade, McLaren’s success with Johnny Rutherford at the 1974 Indy 500 and Alain Prost at Monaco in 1984 combine with the F1 GTR McLaren that won Le Mans in 1995.
That car was not a works entry but was run by a team that included McLaren staff and its black livery features in the first third of the special livery now adorned on the MCL60s – over their noses and front wings.
The central section of the cars is temporarily white in recognition of Prost’s success, although this can also be spotted in the rear styling of the special livery, where this area resembles the ‘Marlboro’ colour scheme the team ran between 1974 and 1996.
As well as avoiding any association with its former sponsor – and because tobacco sponsorship is banned in modern F1 – the MCL60 rear wings are instead painted in the same papaya orange as was used all over Rutherford’s Indycar and also comprises the base for McLaren’s typical modern livery.
“Having achieved the greatest accomplishment in motorsport by completing the Triple Crown, we are proud to celebrate the rich history of McLaren Racing with a special livery at the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix,” said McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown.
“In line with our 60th anniversary celebrations and honouring the legacy of [team founder] Bruce McLaren, the unique livery pays homage to the three victories which form the Triple Crown accolade.”
As well as running the special F1 livery, McLaren is also producing five films to tell the stories of its ‘Triple Crown’ victories, as well as the rise of the organisation since its founding in 1963.
The four Arrow McLaren entries at this year’s Indy 500 are also running different liveries to celebrate McLaren’s history.
“It’s a privilege to be involved in McLaren Racing’s 60th anniversary celebrations and to combine three iconic race winning McLaren liveries into one for the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix is going to be a special moment for the whole team,” said Norris.
“McLaren have an impressive record in Monte Carlo and on a personal level to have experienced a podium at the 2021 race [when McLaren ran a special one-off Gulf livery as part of its deal with the oil company] was a huge honour.
“We’ll be racing hard in a great looking car to celebrate Bruce McLaren and the team’s amazing legacy.”
As well as changing the chassis colours on the MCL60s – which involved changing the vinyl wrapping on the cars' panels once they had been recovered from the flooded Imola paddock last week rather than repainting, which the team has not done since 2019 – other aspects of the team’s kit for the next two F1 races including its garage set-up will be coloured in the same way as the ‘Triple Crown’ livery.
“The Triple Crown livery looks incredible, and I can’t imagine a better way to experience my first Monaco Grand Prix as a Formula 1 driver with McLaren Racing,” said Piastri.
“Bruce McLaren was a winner in Monte Carlo in 1962 and the McLaren team have such rich history at the Monaco Grand Prix.
“I will feel incredibly proud lining up on the grid in the MCL60, carrying the same colours as the three Triple Crown winning race cars.”
