The liveries will be shown on Friday 14th. All of them are a tribute to McLaren’s wins at the three crown jewels in motorsport.
In the countdown to the 107th Running of the Indy 500, Arrow McLaren announced that their liveries will be a tribute to their wins at Le Mans, the Indy 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix. McLaren will celebrate its 60-year anniversary this season. The liveries will be revealed on Friday, April 14th, at Lifestyle Expo at the Grand Prix of Long Beach.
Bruce McLaren founded “Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Ltd.” in 1963 and the team made its debut in Grand Prix racing in 1966. Tragically the New Zealander died in 1970 in a terrible accident while testing the new McLaren car for Can-Am.
A few days earlier, McLaren debuted at the Indy 500, with the M15. The results in the first seasons were modest, but with the debut of the M16, they improved. In 1974, Jhonny Rutherford won the race for the manufacturer team.
Due to lack of sponsorship, McLaren closed its IndyCar operations in 1980 and would not come back until 2017, when the team partnered with Andretti to allow Fernando Alonso to debut at the 500, driving a stunning papaya no. 29 Honda.
McLaren came back full-time to the category in 2020, as the Arrow McLaren SP team, taking over Sam Schmidts’ squad, with Pato O’Ward and Oliver Askew full-time, Helio Castroneves at the IMS doubleheader and Fernando Alonso in a third entry for the 500.
The no. 5 car of Pato O’Ward will be a tribute to the McLaren F1 GTR that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans on McLaren’s first attempt with an all-black livery.The no. 6 car of Felix Rosenqvist will run a representation of the famous red and white McLaren Marlboro livery, based on the MP4/2 that won the 1984 Monaco GP, McLaren’s maiden win on the famous streets.
The no. 7 car of Alexander Rossi will be a tribute to Rutherford’s car that won the 1974 Indy 500, the M16C/D. A car that may look similar to Fernando Alonso’s 2017 car.
Tony Kanaan’s no. 66 car will only be revealed ahead of the April Open Test at the IMS. It will be inspired by the collective achievement of the Triple Crown.
“We are proud to have achieved motorsport’s prestigious Triple Crown as a constructor.”, said McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown. “In our 60th year, we are shining a light on the legacy of the team that Bruce McLaren built and role this plays in fueling our ambitions for the future of the team.
“As a life-long McLaren fan, I fondly remember watching Alain Prost’s dramatic 1984 Monaco victory and the incredible moment when the team conquered Le Mans on its debut entry. Meanwhile Johnny Rutherford’s first Indy 500 win in papaya is one of the most important moments in McLaren Racing history. I can’t wait to see our four-car, star-studded lineup flying the colors of our Triple Crown victories at this year’s Indy 500.”
Racing director of Arrow McLaren, Gavin Ward, declared:“I like to encourage the team, every time they pull on a Papaya race shirt, to think about the incredible achievements of this team and what it means to play our part in adding to that rich history. That significance will be even greater in May when we roll our cars to the grid for the Indianapolis 500 with these stunning liveries honoring McLaren Racing’s Triple Crown legacy.”
