McLaren showed off a unique livery at the British Grand Prix as a tribute to the car its founder drove in his team’s first F1 campaign in 1966. The white and green design was a striking alternative to its usual papaya, but they’re not the only ones to draw inspiration from liveries from years past. We’ve rounded up some of the best…
Williams – 2002 throwback
Last season’s United States Grand Prix was a hot spot for unique liverieswith williams opting to pay homage to its early 2000s challenger by painting the car in dark blue and white stripes.
2002 was chosen because it marked the year its main partner, software company Atlassian, was founded, but it also saw Williams achieve second place in the Constructors’ Championship, as well as the best result of a 1-2 finish for drivers Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya in Malaysia.
They couldn’t replicate that in Austin since both Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz He collided with others during the race and failed to score points, although the Asturian was able to enjoy a podium in the Sprint.
Ferrari – Tribute to Niki Lauda
As part of F1’s 75th anniversary celebrations, ferrari ran a moving tribute to niki lauda at the Italian Grand Prix to commemorate the title he won with them 50 years earlier, when he dominated the classification and won Emerson Fittipaldi by 19.5 points, a significant margin over the old scoring system.
In addition to adding white to the engine cover, the Scuderia used driver numbers and retro wheel covers to more closely align with the Ferrari 312T, which Lauda and teammate Clay Regazzoni also drove to victory in the 1975 Constructors’ Championship.
Unfortunately, showing off the livery at their home event in Monza didn’t land either of them on the podium. Carlos Leclerc either Lewis Hamiltonsince they settled for fourth and sixth position on race day.
Ferrari – Miami Blue
Another recognition must be given to Ferrari for its special decoration at the Miami Grand Prix 2024where they returned to the historic blue tones of Azzurro La Plata and Azzurro Dino to honor the 70 years of their presence in North America.
Colors were splashed across the body and wheels of the SF-24 and dated back to the 1950s, when lighter blue was used by Alberto Ascari as a lucky charm on the track. It worked out quite well, as the Italian driver won consecutive titles with Ferrari in 1952 and 1953.
The team carried it over to their suits and racing cars in the following decades, with blue present on John Surtees‘ Ferrari 158 when he was crowned World Champion at the 1964 Mexican Grand Prix.
The latest appearance of the color scheme saw Leclerc and Sainz secure a double top-five finish in Miami, with the Monegasque taking his third of 13 podium finishes in 2024.
McLaren – Chrome memories
Although some might consider it a stretch to refer to the period from 2006 to 2013 as “retro,” it is impressive how quickly McLarenThe chrome and red decoration has become one of the most memorable.
This was no doubt helped by Hamilton taking his first title in a dramatic 2008 season that included his impressive victory at a rain-soaked Silverstone, leading McLaren to victory. bring back the silver finish for the 2023 British Grand Prix.
It was combined with her typical papaya for a new look that Lando Norris looked en route to his first podium in a home race, while Oscar Piastri He narrowly missed fourth place.
Ferrari: the glory days of the 70s
As the sport’s most iconic and enduring team, it’s no surprise that Ferrari has plenty of history to delve into in its special designs. Similar to his throwback to Lauda, the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix featured more general recognition of his initial success in the US.
The inaugural event became the latest in an extensive list of races in the country, including Watkins Glen and Long Beach, where Ferrari scored victories with Lauda, Regazzoni, Carlos Reutemann and Gilles Villeneuve throughout the 1970s.
Leclerc could not achieve the same in Las Vegas to Max Verstappenbut the return of the decade red and white design It was another appropriate nod to his past.
McLaren – Gulf Association
Special liveries are special for a reason, and are often best when they indicate a major departure from a team’s usual design. This was the case when McLaren brought back Gulf Oil’s legendary blue and orange colors for the 2021 Monaco Grand Prix, having renewed their partnership last season.
The two companies were initially linked in the team’s early days under Bruce McLaren, collaborating in F1 and Can-Am racing between the late 1960s and early 1970s. However, they only used the famous pastel blue with a neon orange stripe down the middle on one other occasion: the 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Reintroducing one of motorsport’s most beloved designs was always going to be a hit with fans, and Norris was able to soak it all up on his way to third place in the Principality. He made another brief return at the 2025 Sao Paulo Grand Prix with Williams, who had signed a new contract with Gulf two years earlier.
Red Bull – The end of the Honda era
At the end of 2020, Honda announced that the following season It would be the last one in F1.putting an end to his red bull partnership formed in 2018. They eventually spent a few years helping the team establish its own power unit production, Red Bull Powertrains, before joining forces with Aston Martinbut the Milton Keynes-based team first saw them off with a special livery at the 2021 Turkish Grand Prix.
The tribute came amid Verstappen’s unmissable title battle with then-Mercedes driver Hamilton, which would prove to be Honda’s greatest achievement as an engine manufacturer since they won both championships with Ayrton Sena and McLaren in 1991.
With a stylish white and red livery, it was inspired by Richie Ginther’s Honda RA272, winner of the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix, and featured in the Dutchman’s fifth-place finish of the season. Red Bull would later honor the Japanese company with a similar color scheme in 2025at his home race in Suzuka.
Ferrari – 1000 races
Only two teams have reached the incredible milestone of participating in 1,000 Grands Prix: McLaren celebrated theirs in This season’s Monaco Grand Prixbut Ferrari was a few years ahead of them and became the first to break the record at the 2020 Tuscan Grand Prix, held on its own Mugello circuit.
The aptly named SF1000 swapped the usual bright red for a more muted burgundy color schemewhich was originally seen on Ferrari’s first racing car in 1947, with matching racing suits and retro driver numbers also adding to the occasion.
Leclerc and his teammate Sebastian Vettel They were unable to take advantage of the immense chaos of the race to get on the podium, completing their historic day with a P8 and P10 finish respectively.
Mercedes – 125 years of motorsport
As Ferrari learned at Mugello, heritage-inspired liveries don’t always bring good luck, something mercedes He knew this very well after the 2019 German Grand Prix. Mercedes-Benz had been competing in motorsport for an extraordinary 125 years and wanted to remember its history at its home race, which also coincided with the team’s 200th start in F1.
In one of the most creative anniversary celebrations, the entire team dressed in period costume in recognition of their first Grand Prix in 1954. Think of the mechanics in flat caps and Toto Wolff in suspenders and a fedora next to the new liverywhich honored the car’s original white color with the paint scraped away to reveal the modern silver design.
It was remembered as one of the team’s most notable days, but it’s not for no reason that they want to revisit it. Hamilton pitted six times before crashing into the barriers in a dramatic wet race, and Valtteri Bottas crashed in a similar manner, causing Wolff’s conclusion. that “it couldn’t have been much worse.”
Renault – Tribute to Lotus
It’s bold for a team to stick to a tribute livery for an entire season rather than a single weekend, but that’s exactly what Renault did with its 2011 rival. The black and gold R31 paid homage to the Lotus team’s instantly recognizable color scheme, seen on their cars in the early 1980s when they switched to Renault engines.
They scored a handful of wins together before Lotus withdrew from the sport in 1994, and eventually returned in another collaboration with the French team for 2011, albeit with very different owners.
A strong start saw Vitaly Petrov and Nick Heidfeld achieve respective podiums in Australia and Malaysia, but they struggled to maintain momentum and finished fifth in the standings with 73 points, 95 behind third-placed Mercedes.