Ex-McLaren Man Who Brought Papaya Back to Woking Reveals Why Iconic Silver Livery Was Dropped

For a long time, McLaren fielded silver-liveried cars in F1. But after Zak Brown came to Woking, things changed. Henry Chilcott, McLaren’s former Marketing Director who worked under Brown, decided to change their identity and revert to the papaya color.

The papaya color hadn’t been seen in F1 for decades but was one of McLaren’s classic colors. The founder of the team, Bruce McLaren, introduced it in the 1960s, but the British outfit soon shifted to other designs.

The silver livery (sometimes referred to as a chrome livery), came in the late 1990s, and was on the grid till 2016. While it did have its moments, including Lewis Hamilton’s 2008 World Title win, the team entered a massive slump in 2014.

“An era that was quite cold and gray and bring Papaya energy color back. And also bring the spirit of Bruce McLaren back,” Chilcott said on the Pondering Papaya podcast.  

He added why he and Brown decided to get the papaya colors back despite having had other iconic liveries such as red and white in the past. “All of it comes from the origin story. A founder who died trying to make the car go faster. We didn’t create it. Bruce McLaren created Papaya when it was black and white.”

For McLaren, it was about looking at the history of the brand and identifying a narrative that connected to the origin story. He pointed out how McLaren had been the strongest when they were the bravest. This boldness had gone away somewhat, and by bringing back the colors chosen by the founder, they wanted to instill it again.

In 2017, McLaren finished P9 in the standings, and the team barely had any sponsors. However, with the change in livery and Brown’s influence, the team gained interest from many companies.

Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz The Secret Weapon that Helped McLaren’s Popularity 

Chilcot hailed Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz as the secret weapons behind McLaren’s popularity surge. Both joined McLaren together in 2019, their third year back in papaya colors and their ‘bromance’ – which was very real – got a lot of fans to the team.

With social media being a potent weapon for fame, Sainz and Norris’ fan-following helped McLaren in a lot of ways. Several brands joined hands, especially from Spain, thanks to Sainz. And Norris’ streams online, helped bring non-F1 audiences to the sport.

In 2022, McLaren signed Daniel Ricciardo to replace the Ferrari-bound Sainz. This turned out to be another masterstroke. As the honey badger was one of F1’s most popular drivers, and got them more sponsorship deals.