McLaren kicked off a busy day of Formula 1 launches with the unveiling of the MCL60, and it sports a lot of black.
While McLaren leaves its 2022 MCL36 challenger, its new style for the 2023 campaign, the MCL60, initially makes us play a game of difference, with an abundant list of similarities between the MCL36 and the MCL60.
The resemblance is as excessive as that between the Red Bull RB18 and the RB19, however, with this McLaren MCL60 sporting exclusive visual features of its own. So, let’s dig into some of those details.
Unfortunately, black has a key colour for many Formula 1 groups in this new regulatory era, as the race to find tactics to reduce the weight of cars has made paint a reasonable way to save a few grams.
So it’s no surprise that the MCL60 goes into obscurity, a challenger named in particular to commemorate the team’s 60th anniversary.
There is also a great mark of this year’s importance in the team’s history at the back of the nose.
While the Velo logo reappears on pontoons and front fender edges, a greater amount of car area for Google, with its Chrome logo appearing on the main element of the front fender, as well as on the airbox side and cabin side.
This multi-year partnership concluded in 2022 is also a source of inspiration for the color palette of those hubcaps, while the Chrome logo also appears on the wheel fairings.
McLaren reached a first deal before the 2023 season with the arrival of DP World, with its logo appearing on the side of the front nose.
Towards the rear, there is a purple and orange tribute to the team’s 60th anniversary.
The Darktrace brand continues to appear on the rear fender, this time on the rear of the more sensitive part, than the front.
Papaya and orange now raise lights to break the black on the MCL60, to serve as dominant colors.
This is a testament to the team’s turnaround in recent years, as the MCL60 is full of sponsoring brands. Just a few years ago, McLaren’s challengers looked a little naked as the team struggled to escape a downward spiral, but now there’s a genuine air of positivity all around. the Woking team.
Probably boosted by the popular figure of Lando Norris in its power-drive line-up, McLaren has risen to the most sensible of Formula 1’s popularity charts.
However, tension continues for McLaren in 2023 as they look to protect themselves from a 2022 crusade in which they fell to P5 in the constructors’ standings, achieving just one podium thanks to Norris’ P3 at Imola.
For a team that has set itself each and every goal of being ahead of the curve in 2024, the MCL60 will have to motivate a much more advanced 2023 campaign.