Monaco, May 2024 – McLaren will celebrate the legendary Ayrton Senna with a vibrant one-off livery inspired by his iconic yellow, green, and blue helmet at this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix. This tribute aims to honour the Brazilian driver’s incredible racing legacy and his profound impact on the team.
The new livery, designed to commemorate Senna’s illustrious career, will be showcased on the McLaren cars driven by Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Both drivers will don bespoke overalls, while the team will wear Senna-inspired kit throughout the weekend. This unique design is a collaborative effort between Senna Global and McLaren’s partner OKX.
Ayrton Senna, a three-time world champion, is McLaren’s most successful driver, having secured 35 of his 41 Grand Prix wins and all three of his drivers’ titles while racing for the team from 1988 to 1993. Senna’s dominance at the Monte Carlo track is particularly noteworthy; he won the Monaco Grand Prix six times, including a remarkable five consecutive victories from 1989.
The timing of this tribute is poignant, as it comes just a week after the Imola weekend, which marked 30 years since Senna’s tragic passing, along with Austrian driver Roland Ratzenberger, at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown expressed the team’s pride in celebrating Senna’s legacy: “The team is proud to recognise and celebrate the extraordinary life and racing legacy of Ayrton Senna through this McLaren livery. 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 his presence within the team, and now his legacy. It’s an honour to race for him at his most successful circuit in his green, yellow, and blue colours.”
In addition to the F1 cars, McLaren Automotive has unveiled a one-off version of the McLaren Senna road car, featuring a livery hand-painted by McLaren Special Operations. This special edition includes dot matrix portraits of Senna, further celebrating his memory.
Bianca Senna, Ayrton’s niece, added: “It’s an honour to recognise Ayrton through these liveries in collaboration with both McLaren Racing and McLaren Automotive. It’s a fantastic way to celebrate his life and legacy through his iconic colours on both cars. McLaren meant a lot to him, and together they achieved a lot of success, much of which he is still remembered for today by so many. It will be special to see it race the streets of Monaco, a circuit which gave him so much joy and many triumphs.
This tribute at Monaco is not McLaren’s first special livery. In 2021, they featured the iconic blue and orange Gulf Oil colours, with Norris finishing on the podium. Last year, the team ran a one-off ‘Triple Crown’ papaya, white, and black livery as part of their 60th anniversary celebrations.
The Senna-inspired livery will debut on track during the first practice session in Monaco on Friday. This special edition is set to become a memorable highlight in the history of both McLaren and Formula 1, celebrating one of the sport’s most cherished figures in a place where his legacy shines brightest.
