McLaren dropped a huge surprise for fans of F1 by becoming the first team to unveil their livery for the 2024 season. The scheme, featuring a larger papaya-orange base, has fans extremely excited with the aesthetic appeal of the car. However, the latest paint scheme has much more to do with the past than meets the eye, as pointed out in an update on X by Will Buxton.
Away from orange, the livery also features an anthracite base on certain sections of the car, mixed with the presence of chrome all around. The MCL38, which McLaren will unveil on the 14th of February in Silverstone, will be heading to Bahrain soon after, given that pre-season testing begins on February 21.
Standing as a potential title contender along with Red Bull, the MCL38 livery certainly looks the part. The angled segments bring about a sense of symmetry to the car, but that’s not all they do. They are also a nod to the team’s past, from the 1980s and 90s, when the team was a championship-winning outfit.
The livery reminds one of the Marlboro liveries; only instead of the red & white combination, this car features an orange & black combo. By doing so, McLaren is linking their past with their present and might also be hoping for the design pattern to bring them similar luck as last time.
Fans divided over the new McLaren livery
While Buxton pointed out how McLaren paid homage to an iconic color scheme from the years gone by, certain fans took to X to claim they couldn’t see much of a difference between last year’s livery and this year’s livery, asking for reasons behind the hype.
Meanwhile, some fans came forth to defend the team, claiming the new livery is a treat for sore eyes.
Whatever the case may be, what’s certain is that McLaren will certainly feature a new livery by turning back the clock. What remains to be seen now is how well the car runs on the tracks and whether or not McLaren is ready to fight for the championship once again.
