McLaren unveil Senna-inspired livery for Monaco Grand Prix as Lando Norris' car changes
McLaren have unveiled a one-off livery for the Monaco Grand Prix, paying tribute to one of their greatest ever drivers, the late Ayrton Senna.
McLaren is set to honour one of its legendary F1 drivers, the late Ayrton Senna, at this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix by running a special "sleek" livery. The open-wheelers of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will sport a design inspired by Senna's iconic yellow and green helmet.
The Brazilian driver is considered one of F1 and McLaren's greatest, having won three world championships and 41 Grand Prix. McLaren has chosen to pay tribute to Senna at Monaco, a track of great significance in his illustrious career where he claimed victory six times, including five consecutive wins from 1989.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown said: "The team is proud to recognise and celebrate the extraordinary life and racing legacy of Ayrton Senna through this McLaren livery."
He added: "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. With it being the 30th anniversary of his passing, the team are choosing to recognise and celebrate his life at one of his favourite and most successful places to race, Monaco. We look forward to racing in this vibrant and beautiful livery this weekend."
The livery has been well received by F1 enthusiasts on social media. "That's a sleek-looking ride! " one fan commented on X. "If Lando wins the Monaco Grand Prix with the Ayrton Senna-inspired livery I will cry actual tears. My current favourite driver holding it down for my all-time favourite," another chimed in. A third added: "Absolutely beautiful. That's a special livery... Ferrari and Red Bull should take notes on what a special livery looks like (not put a different colour stripe or stars to the car)."
This comes at a time when McLaren has bagged four podium finishes in 2024, including a race win in Miami by Lando Norris. The 24-year-old Brit narrowly missed out on victory at Imola over the weekend, finishing second behind three-time F1 world champion, Max Verstappen. However, had there been a few more laps, it's likely that Norris would have overtaken the Dutchman to claim the first of two Grand Prix victories this year.
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Currently, McLaren holds the third position in the constructors' championship, while Norris is comfortably placed fourth in the drivers' standings. "I was pushing as much as I could...but pushing doesn't mean you're flat out destroying the tyres," Norris explained. "Pushing is keeping the tyres in a good window, trying to control things and I was doing that from start to finish. But we just struggled so much in the very beginning of the race, I lost ten seconds to Max in the first 15 laps.
"I just had so much rear tyre deg I couldn't really control it and I wasn't in a good position. So in the second half, I had to do as much as I could to look after the tyres and change the balance - even Charles was pushing up to me putting me under pressure. But as soon as I had some clear track ahead of me I could settle down a little bit, get everything into a good window and I could push, everything started to come alive. Don't ask me if I could have pushed a little bit earlier because I don't think I necessarily could have done, it's such a difficult thing to judge."