McLaren to run one-off 'Triple Crown' livery at Monaco Grand Prix as part of 60th anniversary celebrations

McLaren will run a one-off 'Triple Crown' papaya, white and black livery in this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix as part of their 60th anniversary celebrations.

The special livery, which will also adorn the MCL60 at the following race at Spain’s Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, is a nod to McLaren’s achievement of winning motorsport’s three most famous races, known as the Triple Crown, which includes F1’s Monaco race, Indycar’s Indy 500 at Indianapolis and the endurance showpiece – the Le Mans 24 Hours.

The rear of the car – driven by Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri – will be bedecked in papaya, to celebrate the team’s maiden Indy 500-winning M16C/D that Johnny Rutherford guided to victory in 1974.

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The centre is what the team call “sharp ice white”, from Alain Prost’s 1984 Monaco Grand Prix win, running a red and white colour scheme on the MP4/2 that became synonymous with McLaren in F1.

The front end of the car is black, in tribute to the McLaren F1 GTR that won the 1995 Le Mans 24 Hours with JJ Lehto, Yannick Dalmas and Masanori Sekiya in McLaren’s first attempt at the endurance race.

“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 CEO Zak Brown.

“In line with our 60th anniversary celebrations and honouring the legacy of Bruce McLaren, the unique livery pays homage to the three victories which form the Triple Crown accolade.”

Norris added: “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.

“McLaren have an impressive record in Monte Carlo and on a personal level to have experienced a podium at the 2021 race was a huge honour. We’ll be racing hard in a great looking car to celebrate Bruce McLaren and the team’s amazing legacy.”

Piastri said: “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.

“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.”

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McLaren ran a one-off livery in Monaco back in 2021 when they brought the iconic blue and orange colours of then partner Gulf Oil back to F1, with Norris finishing on the podium in that race.

On the same day McLaren run this livery in the Monaco Grand Prix – a race they have won 15 times since 1984 – their Indycar outfit Arrow McLaren will run four different special liveries on each of the team’s cars in the 2023 edition of the Indy 500.

The F1-spec papaya, white and black livery will break cover on track when first practice gets under way in Monte Carlo on Friday.