The McLaren MP4-30, the team’s first Honda-powered racing car since 1992, has been pictured for the first time ahead of the 2015 season.
The team are the only one on the grid to use Honda’s new RA615H power unit as the Japanese manufacturer returns to F1 for the first time since 2008.
Together McLaren and Honda won all four constructors’ championships and powered the four drivers’ champions between 1988 and 1991 – a success they intend to replicate.
“I was team principal all those years ago,” said group CEO Ron Dennis, “and while I don’t tend to like looking back to the past our previous record of sustained success was certainly instrumental in creating the confidence to make the decision to partner with Honda again”.
“Now, there’s real hunger to demonstrate the capabilities of the huge talent pool we share between us, and I’m totally committed to driving progress and achieving further success.”
Team principal Eric Boullier, who joined McLaren at the start of last season, said the team is “stronger than ever” following the restructuring which took place last year. “We acknowledge that our journey will require a huge amount of hard work, dedication and application from everyone involved, in both Woking and Sakura,” he said, “but we’re ready and committed to building on the foundations we’ve already established in order eventually to enjoy the results we crave”.
Mashiat
29th January 2015, 12:02
Now I wasn’t expecting that if i’m honest. But looks great nonetheless! Back to the McLarens of the last decade!
machinesteve
29th January 2015, 13:08
What! Are you serious? Its just awful.
Loen (@loen)
29th January 2015, 14:27
Can’t agree ! When you consider the tight ( and how ! ) limitations on
the designers, and the damned ugly multiple-layer wings, Mclaren have done
what they always do. Made a silk purse out of a sow’s ear !
Though I suspect it’ll be about as reliable as a Lada to begin with…..
DirkWar
29th January 2015, 14:17
Better than last year but… why the silver? For goodness sake use Silver is so boring.
Stephen (@stabel91)
29th January 2015, 18:09
Agree, they don’t have any more ties with Merc, so it just looks like they’re silver arrow wannabees now.
Eoin (@eoin16)
29th January 2015, 14:33
Sorry can’t agree with you. they had such a great opportunity to completely move on from the Mercedes era but instead it looks like they stole the front end and mirrors from Marussia and just changed a couple of stickers at the back
johan corvers
29th January 2015, 14:38
Looks like last year’s Marussia to me …
Supremacy (@supremacy)
29th January 2015, 14:54
I was also expecting a different colour from McLaren, not the silver arrows’ silver.
TheBullWhipper (@thebullwhipper)
29th January 2015, 16:39
I think it’s just a testing livery and will be different for the 1st race. By unveiling a fresh new livery at the 1st event, it will draw the media focus to McLaren and Honda, which is exactly what Honda are back in F1, the global exposure. I read on another site that it is definitely a test livery and not the finish article. It looks just like the Vodafone livery so I can’t see it hanging around long.
Mashiat2 (@mashiat2)
29th January 2015, 16:55
@thebullwhipper No, this isn’t true. The site stated that McLaren would run with a plain black livery for testing before unveiling their new livery, but this wasn’t true.
Nin13 (@nin13)
29th January 2015, 17:57
Well this Mclaren reminds me of time when Raikonnen and Montoya used to drive for them.
Fixy (@)
29th January 2015, 18:09
Apart from the red mirrors and the sudden drop on the nose which everyone tends to have, it does look great and menacing! Recent McLarens have all looked very nice, and I mean post-2009 with the exception of 2011.
Nick (@nick101)
30th January 2015, 11:58
I have to TOTALLY disagree! I thought the 2011 car was fantastic! Loved the side pods!!
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
29th January 2015, 18:54
Exactly what I’d expected. It’s their own high-tech chrome colour with red from Honda and McLaren, the only odd part of the livery is the dark sidepods, this makes the car resemble the merc days far too much.
Apexor
29th January 2015, 23:03
This car is soooo much better than 2014.
Who ever says it’s ugly, some one needs to check their eyes out.
Hopefully thi car will perform better.
Tyler
9th March 2015, 5:59
Agree. That ferrari or red bull have very gorgeous cars
Ayrmurcan Sinna
14th March 2015, 18:51
Quit possibly the ugliest F 1 car ever.
Ayrmurcan Sinna
14th March 2015, 18:55
Perfect car for Alonso to drive around at the back of the grid.
JamieFranklinF1 (@jamiefranklinf1)
29th January 2015, 12:02
Well…that was somewhat of an anti-climax.
JCost (@jcost)
29th January 2015, 12:26
I was expecting more metalic orange :(
Ron, you’re not the Silver Arrows anymore, get over it and honor Mr. Bruce for God sake!
Iestyn Davies (@fastiesty)
29th January 2015, 12:39
McLaren are like a jilted ex, that won’t let go of the previous colour scheme with which they had success with their ex-partner! Even when they have a new one! @jcost @jamiefranklinf1
Selbbin (@selbbin)
30th January 2015, 5:40
Their Ex-partner being West, right? because the silver isn’t because of Mercedes, as they also drove Mercedes engines using the Marlboro red and white.
Selbbin (@selbbin)
30th January 2015, 5:42
Addition: being the MP4-10 and MP4-11
BasCB (@bascb)
29th January 2015, 12:49
Force India stole that idea from them :-)
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
29th January 2015, 18:59
@jcost Orange is not the true original colours of McLaren, it’s silver white with a green stripe but the orange is often traced back at McLaren and I think anyone would love to see more colour on the grid especially thinking that the chrome livery has aged pretty poorly.
Iestyn Davies (@fastiesty)
30th January 2015, 13:42
@peartree If you mean the livery shown in Grand Prix (1966 F1 season), then that was a paid livery by the movie. It was meant to represent the Honda? car ironically…
Strontium (@strontium)
29th January 2015, 12:32
@jamiefranklinf1 I agree.
0 points for imagination. Now we have effectively one team with four cars, Force India McLaren.
If they replaced the chrome with white I could see this easily being one of the best liveries on the grid. At least the nose is good.
Iestyn Davies (@fastiesty)
29th January 2015, 12:41
@strontium Hmm, maybe that might happen at the title sponsor reveal.. but I wouldn’t count on it!
BasCB (@bascb)
29th January 2015, 12:49
at the title sponsor reveal … whenever that will be (if ever) @fastiesty
Iestyn Davies (@fastiesty)
29th January 2015, 12:53
@bascb True.. ‘soon’, and ‘next week’ I’ve heard recently, but ‘soon’ has probably applied for years now.. (an iRacing in-joke there)
machinesteve
29th January 2015, 12:57
The resounding thud of uninspired disappointment……yawn. What a let down. Shouldn’t be surprised though its what you’d expect from the unimaginative corporate antiseptic world of McLaren.
Dom (@3dom)
30th January 2015, 0:13
Amen @machinesteve & lol. Why oh why not replace the chrome with white?!
machinesteve
29th January 2015, 13:01
God help us, if F1 gets anymore boring I think I will just stick pins in my eyes. What was the point of all those teasers to produce this second rate, Marussia inspired and dated monstrosity. The car is ugly, the race suits look like entry level Karting suits, the car livery looks like a random compromise of bits to keep everyone happy and the sidepods look…..well empty and desperate. What a sad thing McLaren have become.
Michel S. (@hircus)
29th January 2015, 13:27
aha, that‘s what it reminded me of!
Patrick (@paeschli)
29th January 2015, 15:29
I guess it was too obvious to go white-red so they opted to go silver-red …
Dom (@3dom)
30th January 2015, 0:15
They should have gone with the obvious @paeschli it would have been well received to have that combo backeven if it would’ve been obvious
Mashiat
29th January 2015, 12:03
I quite like the nose to be honest! Reminds you sorta of the 2007 McLaren MP4-22
Carlitox (@carlitox)
29th January 2015, 15:18
I immediately thought of the MP4/20, one of my favourite Maccas. But yeah, bodywork-wise it looks damn pretty.
Nin13 (@nin13)
29th January 2015, 17:57
Well this Mclaren reminds me of time when Raikonnen and Montoya used to drive for them.
Pawel (@marik)
29th January 2015, 12:03
At least there’s a lick of red paint.
Buster
29th January 2015, 12:37
Don’t see why they choose red mirrors, why would Johnny Walker accept that?
Pawel (@marik)
29th January 2015, 16:46
You can barely see their logo anyway. And there’s more red which means less silver which is good because I’m sick of silver cars. Merc at least uses a bit of Petronas turquoise.
Mashiat
29th January 2015, 12:04
I don’t think anybody called it to be honest!
machinesteve
29th January 2015, 13:09
I think everyone imagined (hoped for) something interesting.
petebaldwin (@)
29th January 2015, 15:08
I’d have laughed at anyone who suggested McLaren would keep their Mercedes livery to be honest!
Every single year I spend too much time looking at mock-ups and “fantasy liveries” that artists have created and they look amazing. Then for some reason, I expect a bunch of engineers to come up with something similar…
Optimaximal (@optimaximal)
29th January 2015, 17:52
The liveries [b]are[\b] done by the creatives. They need to be sacked for this one!
PT
30th January 2015, 6:36
Even the Force India creative team should be sacked and barred from employment anywhere else for 5 years…I mean they created a McLaren lookalike…there are so many colours out there in this wide world but the creative department of the respective F1 teams seem to be colour blind – they just can’t see beyond certain colours…
This MP4-30 is the perfect example. Let’s hope there is a title sponsor reveal and things change for the McLaren livery. As many here have suggested, white would have been so much better than the silver/chrome/whatever.
Can’t believe Mallya approved the new livery for his team – he’s well and truly lost his colour sense…Pity
Tyler (@tdog)
29th January 2015, 12:04
No way is that the final nose. It extends well past the front wing, unlike the Williams FW37, which can’t be conducive to maximising airflow underneath.
Mashiat2 (@mashiat2)
29th January 2015, 12:10
@tdog It is possible. It is a choice of how the designers want it. This is actually how the concept cars look like.
naz3012 (@naz3012)
29th January 2015, 13:14
Pretty sure they’ve got the snowplough on there again. Seemed to work fairly well for them in the first half of 2012, no reason why it shouldn’t work again providing the aero department have the rest of the car sorted.
naz3012 (@naz3012)
29th January 2015, 13:19
Actually maybe not, can’t quite tell if there’s anything under that nose. Snowplough would surely be effective though with these low nose regs?
BasCB (@bascb)
29th January 2015, 16:58
Hm, look close at the pics. The front is low and wide and far forward. But behind that it is very much sculpted – looks like its targetted to “suck in” air between the front pilons and speed it up / energize it @tdog. I doubt they would do all that work just for a “safe bet” kind of nose with the intention of bringing a better one to the races
BasCB (@bascb)
29th January 2015, 17:08
I just read this article http://www.racecar-engineering.com/cars/mclaren-mp4-30/ where they magnified the pictures and took a close look at the car, and it seems more interesting than it seems at first sight.
dragoll (@dragoll)
29th January 2015, 12:05
Clearly they had some left over silver paint
PT
30th January 2015, 6:37
Well said @dragoll
Giovanni
29th January 2015, 12:05
Now we know who bought Marussia!
Chapor (@chapor)
29th January 2015, 12:05
Why is it still silver…? Why?
The Blade Runner (@)
29th January 2015, 12:41
The rumour is that there will be a Williams-esque relaunch before Melbourne with a revised livery
machinesteve
29th January 2015, 13:11
The rumour was that it would be like the old McLaren scheme from the eighties…or all white…or orange. I don’t think anyone guessed at this nonsense.
Riley Smith (@rileysmith)
29th January 2015, 18:34
I’ve heard this too. The rumor is that before the Australian Grand Prix McLaren will reveal a different livery like Williams did last year with their Martini shtick. It’s a pretty good decision, especially if they use a retro livery, because it’ll pull media and fan attention towards the Honda powerplant. Good marketing.
machinesteve
29th January 2015, 22:08
Yes but they could have done that now!
PT
30th January 2015, 6:39
@machinesteve
…and cut the costs! Maybe they’ll have a new sponsor coming aboard by then…
mateuss (@mateuss)
29th January 2015, 12:05
Have McLaren stockpiled their attic with decades worth of gray paint?
Is Ron allergic to bright monochromatic light?
PT
30th January 2015, 6:41
Maybe someone from their design team has come up with a discovery that grey paint will improve aerodynamic efficiency…
matiascasali (@matiascasali)
29th January 2015, 12:06
quite disappointing
it’s an hybrid… an hybrid between a Marussia and a McLaren Mp4/13
matiascasali (@matiascasali)
29th January 2015, 12:08
but at least it have the prettiest nose so far…
Joe (@)
29th January 2015, 13:16
i thought it looked like the 2011 marussia and a mere haha. i do like the nose too
Joe (@)
29th January 2015, 13:16
*merc
Evil Homer (@)
29th January 2015, 12:06
Looks great I think & you cant complain about that nose! I am hoping they have a good season and cant wait to see the drivers battle, as we pretty well missed out with Alonso & Kimi last year!
Akhilesh (@graywizzard)
29th January 2015, 12:07
Quite boring tbh. Don’t get that black in the sidepods
naz3012 (@naz3012)
29th January 2015, 13:16
Same black they used on the west livery by the looks of it, more of a metallic very dark grey. Had they ditched the chrome for white or the west silver, the black would have looked great i think
davey (@djdaveyp87)
29th January 2015, 12:08
Some interesting features, but an unimaginative colour scheme
PAG
29th January 2015, 13:09
Should have used metallic white instead of silver.
Strontium (@strontium)
29th January 2015, 15:41
That would have looked amazing.
Mashiat2 (@mashiat2)
29th January 2015, 12:08
Note the very small sidepods.
Woody (@woodyd91)
29th January 2015, 12:21
From what I can see of them in the darkness they don’t look any smaller than those on the Merc to be honest. Need a better picture though and then compare with cars launched this week and weekend.
DaveD (@daved)
29th January 2015, 19:01
I agree with @mashiat2 that they “look” tight at first glance. But it really is hard to tell without better lighting and a way to compare with the other cars on the grid.
Sauber (@mumito)
29th January 2015, 21:02
Small sidepods….Sauber C 32
Jorge H. (@kobe08)
29th January 2015, 12:12
McLaren-Mercedes livery for the Honda new era?!?
Jamie hammond (@jdsunset)
29th January 2015, 12:14
Yep, I just dont get this company.
vanja
29th January 2015, 13:25
+1
Pat Ruadh (@fullcoursecaution)
29th January 2015, 13:36
Ah finally here it is… the new 2015 Vodafone West McLaren Mercedes….
Wait…. What???
Total fail.
Selbbin (@selbbin)
30th January 2015, 5:51
You mean West livery for McLaren. I believe the Mp4-10 and 11 were both Mercedes engines but red and white because of Marlboro.
frogster
29th January 2015, 12:14
No sidepod sponsor, no rear wing sponsor?.
You’d have thought sponsors would be falling over themselves to get on this car.
Thomas (@tthwaite)
29th January 2015, 12:31
No sponsorship from Santander either. I would have thought they would have followed Alonso.
Strontium (@strontium)
29th January 2015, 12:48
I thought at first this livery was the livery without the sponsors, but now I look at it more, I am worried.
Arrows98 (@arrows98)
29th January 2015, 12:15
I think I speak on everyone’s name when I say: FOR GOD’S SAKE, CHANGE THE COLOR SCHEME!!!
well, that was disappointing…
Woody (@woodyd91)
29th January 2015, 12:22
+1000
Baron (@baron)
29th January 2015, 12:16
The actual sidepods look as if they are hidden behind matt black covers secured with very obvious screws. I don’t think this is in anyway the final incarnation…
Calum (@calum)
29th January 2015, 12:16
What happened to ESSO and SAP?
Really, really underwhelming.
Anticlimactic.
Deej92 (@deej92)
29th January 2015, 12:21
Mobil1 and SAP are still there. I’d expect another season of sidepod sponsorship rotation if they don’t sign a title or major sponsor.
Jack (@jmc200)
29th January 2015, 12:17
Oh **** you McLaren! You had one chance to make a great livery and you kept grey and chrome! It looks terrible!
Thomas (@tthwaite)
29th January 2015, 12:26
I was really hoping for an amazing red and white livery, and I imagine a lot of other people were too. I don’t think it looks terrible though. I’d say unimaginative.
Optimaximal (@optimaximal)
29th January 2015, 19:05
The problem is that although the red & white was synonymous with McLaren-Honda, it was actually courtesy of the Phillip Morris sponsorship.
That they still sponsor Ferrari says that even if they tried to run it, it would be denied anyway.
Strontium (@strontium)
29th January 2015, 12:51
@jmc200 The worst thing is they didn’t have one chance. They’ve had two. With vodafone gone at the end of 2013 they could have done something great in 2014, like orange, and now..
They are just obsessed with this, and it does look very dull.
Jack (@jmc200)
30th January 2015, 2:52
Good point, orange last year would have been fantastic. In hindsight this livery isn’t terrible, it’s just wholly bland, rather like my perception of McLaren itself. I’m personally only supporting them because of Alonso, but I know that’s not a widespread viewpoint…
Pete (@petey84)
29th January 2015, 12:18
I actually think it looks great. Much improved looks from last year. I thought the 2014 McLaren was one of the ugliest cars on the grid
Woody (@woodyd91)
29th January 2015, 12:19
Force India? Caterham?
Pete (@petey84)
29th January 2015, 12:28
Yeah those two were the other ones I was thinking were pretty bad.
Woody (@woodyd91)
29th January 2015, 12:19
They should of fitted some supersofts onto it before taking pictures.
Mashiat2 (@mashiat2)
29th January 2015, 12:19
Why are McLaren so attached to this color scheme though?
Solo (@solo)
3rd April 2015, 10:29
Every year i laugh at people expecting this to change. The reason they are so attached to this is because they want to make it their identity. Ron Dennis said in an interview many years ago that he wanted to give the team an identity where just by seeing the livery you know is a Mclaren and he never plans to change it.
Every year a new Ferrari gets released you never wonder or object when the car ends up being red.
The same goes here. This are the Mclaren colors it seems and they won’t change.
Nic Morley (@robocat)
29th January 2015, 12:19
That looks terrible.
just.daz (@nemo87)
29th January 2015, 12:19
I’m so disappointed -_-
So far it’s going to be a grid of silver cars and a Ferrari..
Selbbin (@selbbin)
30th January 2015, 6:06
Red Ferraris, white Williams’, blue/purple Red Bulls and dark blue Torro Rossos, black Lotus’. Not that many silver. I count 3.
Mashiat2 (@mashiat2)
29th January 2015, 12:21
Mix of MP4-20 and MP4-21!
JamieFranklinF1 (@jamiefranklinf1)
29th January 2015, 12:21
Head on it looks like Brawn GP, so naturally I have to like it more now!
Arrows98 (@arrows98)
29th January 2015, 13:08
so I’m guessing Jenson will be pleased with it!
PhilEReid (@philereid)
29th January 2015, 12:21
They’re joking right? It’s not even the fact that it’s a boring colour scheme, it’s the fact it looks so slapped together like they didn’t even bother trying to make the livery look like it fitted the car in anyway. Not impressed.
Steve W (@westcoastboogaloo)
29th January 2015, 12:21
Not a fan of the long nose
Strontium (@strontium)
29th January 2015, 12:55
@westcoastboogaloo Just take a moment to look at their nose last year. Which one is nicer? ;)
skinner
29th January 2015, 12:24
It’s astonishing that there still is no new title sponsor to be seen.
This is McLaren Honda!
There are two world champions on board!
It says a lot about the state of F1.
Woody (@woodyd91)
29th January 2015, 12:31
That depends if Mclaren are still pricing themselves are world championship winning team, If they are, then it will be hard. Sponsors aren’t going to pay championship winning money for a team that hasn’t won a championship since 2008.
Woody (@woodyd91)
29th January 2015, 12:32
As* not are.
Arrows98 (@arrows98)
29th January 2015, 13:07
I was actually thinking something different…
I think we can see now why McLaren is having trouble finding a title sponsor: they clearly want to stick to the chrome livery [they appear to want to create some brand identity with it] and I’m guessing it’s not easy to finding someone who’s willing to put out the [most likely] huge amount of cash McLaren is asking for a title sponsor and still not having their brand colours appear prominently on their car.
liambo
29th January 2015, 20:52
Do sponsors really want to be involved with Don Teflonso and Ronito Denito. remember 07.
Thomas (@tthwaite)
29th January 2015, 12:24
I also think the nose is really nice. Much better than the stepped noses of previous seasons and of course those hideous noses last year!!
Shame that they didn’t go with a red and white livery, but i’m sure there are good reasons for choosing the colours. I’m guessing a lot of it has to do with branding and corporate colours of various sponsors.
Brian Frank (@brianfrank302)
29th January 2015, 16:22
Various Sponsors huh ?
Sam Andrew
29th January 2015, 12:24
Well that’s nothing ground breaking, the white and red would have been much more distinctive.
ColdFly F1 (@)
29th January 2015, 12:25
I guess KPMG (accountants) is now a bigger sponsor than AkzoNobel (paint people) ;-)
Matija (@matijaleader)
29th January 2015, 12:25
dissapointed by this. i really hoped they would do something different but instead its almost the same as before. one half of the car is the same as the 2014 one, except with a little red stripe on it, while the other one is the same as the ones we’ve seen in the last decade, the only difference is that the mirrors are red… it is looking nice tough, specially from the air, but im still dissapinted cause i tough they will go for something new.
FanatikosF1 (@fanatikosf1)
29th January 2015, 12:25
I can’t believe my eyes!!! They must be joking right? Grey and black and more grey…? A 10 year old kid could have done a better job with that hideous color scheme!
aznilzuhil (@arznil)
29th January 2015, 12:28
i just cant get over the feeling that there is something wrong somewhere on the livery.
hunocsi (@hunocsi)
29th January 2015, 12:28
The empty sidepod and the big empty spaces on the drivers’ helmets make me think that there are sponsors coming in a while…
Deej92 (@deej92)
29th January 2015, 12:31
I like the livery, although it looks more suited to their former Mercedes partnership. It looks West McLareny, which isn’t a bad thing. So that will be six silver/chrome cars on the grid this season!
Again there is a lack of sponsorship on the McLaren. I thought Alonso returning would help but not as yet.
petebaldwin (@)
29th January 2015, 13:21
At least the Mercedes looks a bit different but other than the black and silver being swapped around, the Force India and McLaren are exactly the same!
Mashiat2 (@mashiat2)
29th January 2015, 12:32
In fact, after looking at more images, the sidepods of the MP4-30 is massive! It is 1.5 times the size of the Williams one.
Sven (@crammond)
29th January 2015, 23:55
Yes. Seems like the Honda has huge cooling-demands (underdeveloped?). And as sidepods produce only drag (but a lot of that) and no downforce… if they really have to run that, it will be a horrid season. No need to care about the livery when the car is only on screen when it´s lapped.
But then again, they´ll probably not run that, but just have put something together with a new nose to give something to the media.
gunusugeh (@gunusugeh)
29th January 2015, 12:33
this is the boy who did the paint job ….
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B7zGrdgIIAEd9-p.jpg:large
Brian Frank (@brianfrank302)
29th January 2015, 16:25
Mclaren junior paint academy
Hairs (@hairs)
29th January 2015, 12:35
How it looks is irrelevant, how it performs is.
The only thing that’s relevant about the paintjob is that there are 5 sponsors on that car (excluding Honda and Pirelli who aren’t really sponsors in the standard sense of the word).
Five.
If it performs as badly as last year’s car, then how many will be left on board next year?
ColdFly F1 (@)
29th January 2015, 13:00
plus Johnnie on the mirrors! (@hairs)
Hairs (@hairs)
29th January 2015, 13:45
@coldfly Oh, you’re right! 6.
If you include the sponsor they’ve actually lost to FOM but who clearly has a notice period to serve out! :)
Jarnooo (@jarnooo)
29th January 2015, 12:36
Oh look, it’s the Vodafone livery everyone was sick of by 2008.
David Not Coulthard (@davidnotcoulthard)
29th January 2015, 12:37
The way the red is put there is just awful.
pSynrg (@psynrg)
29th January 2015, 12:37
ZZZzzz…
What an utterly boring ‘evolution’ of the McLaren look and feel. I was hoping for something a tad more radical…
McL88AsAp (@deongunner)
29th January 2015, 12:41
Reminds me of 2006 McLaren (with fewer red) which is not a bad looking car at all….. The color are quite boring right now, but that’s not the most important things, performance are still the priority but I doubt it will change alot although I hope it will be.
RBAlonso (@rbalonso)
29th January 2015, 12:42
For those bemoaning the colour scheme, have you ever seen an interview with Ron Dennis? He is a man I admire immensely and obviously one of the greatest men to ever to walk into an F1 paddock but about as funny as a fire in an orphanage. He no doubt wants McLaren to stay very much in his image of clean professionalism and wants their partners to know that. I don’t think that is the worst policy, the problem is that many other teams have followed suit.
Personally, I love the liveries of the early 2000s where Jordan, Arrows, Benetton, Jaguar and Minardi had vibrant schemes mixed in with Ferrari and Williams. But McLaren even then were dark and reserved.
I also can’t really see a reason why they would move from this belief. Yes the early McLaren’s were orange but only for 6 years when they became white and then in 1974 they were the red and white of Marlboro. Most people associate McLaren Honda with the red and white but that had literally nothing to do with Honda. The 1987 McLaren had an identical livery with a Porsche engine. I don’t exactly see Ron Dennis being a man of sentiment to go back to looking like a cigarette packet for old times sake.
So yes, they had a great opportunity to change it up and add a little style but Dennis clearly wants McLaren to be remembered as his project. Moving to orange gets away from that I feel. Certainly, when I look back at Hakkinen’s successes the first name that pops into my head is his, not Bruce McLaren’s.
petebaldwin (@)
29th January 2015, 13:18
@rbalonso – Sure but all of Honda’s promotional shots that they’d want to use will now look like giant Mercedes adverts!
I fully expected to be hugely disappointed by the livery because as you say, Ron Dennis is in charge, but I did think it would be primarily white and red because that is Honda’s colours, McLaren’s colours when they were last with Honda and even more so, because it’s not Mercedes’ colours!
RBAlonso (@rbalonso)
29th January 2015, 13:49
@petebaldwin lol, yeah I can see a few tabloids making mistakes! But remember, the first year of the Mercedes partnership was under Marlboro sponsorship too. They became silver under British Imperial Tobacco sponsor West.
I also believe Mercedes as going to be McLaren Chrome this year so that should remove a little bit of symbolism. I think Dennis’ view of McLaren is black, red and, he’ll tell you, grey. These colours are probably easier to incorporate the new title sponsor when they come too.
Selbbin (@selbbin)
29th January 2015, 12:52
No monkey seat. Interesting.
Gubstar (@gubstar)
29th January 2015, 12:52
The biggest anti-climax of 2015. why silver……..WHY!!!! I am lost for words! What an opportunity wasted……. So much for “making history”……so much for a fresh start……… Mclaren and Ron clearly dont want anyone to buy merchandise this year……. BEYOND DISSAPOINTING
VMaxMuffin (@vmaxmuffin)
29th January 2015, 12:56
They surely must have a reason to not use the orange. They know it’s there colour – look at the road cars, the MP4-12C and 650s both used orange as the colour in all their promotional shots (as far as I am aware). Bring back the orange to the F1 car too!
I am beginning engineering at uni this year, with my eyes on automotive/motorsport engineering in the future. I promise everyone here that if I ever work for McLaren and get to a high enough position, I will make fixing the livery the first priority! (although I sincerely hope they fix it by then because that’s a while away…)
Evil Homer (@)
29th January 2015, 13:04
I would go speed, car performance and winning World Championships first priority mate, if the car the car looks good as well its a double win :)
They must be waiting on a new sponsor announcement , I still really like that McLaren look, can see how F1F’s wanted a change but something else is on the horizon I think!
petebaldwin (@)
29th January 2015, 13:14
To be fair, we’ve been waiting for a new sponsor announcement for over a year now!
BasCB (@bascb)
29th January 2015, 13:41
For one thing, orange is horrible to get right on TV images @vmaxmuffin. I think it took Spyker an extra 1-2 kg of paint to get their orange on the car not to look too red at the time, and it still didn’t look orange in all circumstances/angles.
Simon (@weeniebeenie)
29th January 2015, 13:08
It is absolutely baffling why you would keep a colour you only introduced because of your engine partner. None of their cars before were silver AFAIK, so why stick with it now? Bizarre, there must be some deep financial reason somewhere. I can’t see how with absolute free reigns they would do this.
Deej92 (@deej92)
29th January 2015, 17:52
It wasn’t introduced because of Mercedes. Look at their 1995 and 1996 Marlboro cars. It was because of West. The chrome since 2006 wasn’t because of Mercedes either.
petebaldwin (@)
29th January 2015, 13:09
Absolutely nothing about that livery makes me think of Honda. I’m amazed Honda were happy for their big comeback to be with a car that is still painted up as a Mercedes….
Pat Ruadh (@fullcoursecaution)
29th January 2015, 13:23
Exactly. Someone needs to tell them they dont have a Mercedes engine anymore, and that actual silver arrows are on the grid now. What a total let-down.
Jaanus (@)
29th January 2015, 13:22
It is so orange…wait, what?
As a McLaren supporter – I am quite disappointed. I was really expecting something else. I wonder who made the decision – “scew it, let`s make it look really dull.”
Must be some camouflage thing – so it would match with the McLaren Technology Centre – which is not the most colourful place.
I hope that it will be a good race car, at least.
Ed Marques (@edmarques)
29th January 2015, 13:25
The car itself looks very nice, but the paint scheme is just awful.
A.D. (@aks-das)
29th January 2015, 13:26
All in all not convinced with the back of the car.
BS (@bs)
29th January 2015, 13:49
Oooh!
Can’t wait for the game ‘guess the midfield car in wide shots’. It’ll be an intense battle between a predominantly black Lotus, McLaren, Force India and likely Sauber in an exciting race to the stillistic bottom.
Brian Frank (@brianfrank302)
29th January 2015, 16:29
Game starts March 15
Maciek (@maciek)
29th January 2015, 14:07
Definitely could’ve extended the orange to the sidepods.
Woody (@woodyd91)
29th January 2015, 14:19
What orange?
Peppermint-Lemon (@)
29th January 2015, 14:22
Should leave the red on the nose & mirrors, replace the silver on top surfaces of the car white, then a bright orange for the rest of the car. This livery is terrible. Hanging on to the previous livery with a new relationship is just daft.
Estesark (@estesark)
29th January 2015, 14:40
My initial reaction was one of indifference. I was hoping for a new McLaren look this year but it’s not particularly different from what we’ve seen before. The red makes a welcome return but there’s not enough of it, and the black and silver don’t really look so great together. I don’t see the need to keep using silver when it has such a strong association with Mercedes, one of their rivals.
McLaren should have taken some design tips from @Jezson, who came up with these brilliant designs a couple of years ago: red and white, red and black. Either one would have been an improvement on what they actually went with.
ECWDanSelby (@ecwdanselby)
29th January 2015, 14:51
Hmm. So the Marussia, the old McLaren, and Force India all got drunk and ended up back at a hotel together, I see…
ADD (@addimaf1)
29th January 2015, 15:08
The car should have been god damn white!! where the sliver is. This video proves it. Looks like it flicks from a Honda to a Mercedes, not from an old Honda to a new one.
Biggsy
29th January 2015, 15:15
This looks like a proper backmarker car.
1. Dull paint scheme: check
2. Painfully obvious lack of sponsors: check
3. Underdeveloped(looking) car: check
Seppo (@helava)
29th January 2015, 15:18
So, Honda’s PU is a RA615H (radish)?
winnieracer (@winnieracer)
29th January 2015, 15:53
Car: Good
Livery: Disappointing
Engine: TBD
Nick
29th January 2015, 15:55
Like the shape, just wish they’d have gone with Honda racing white instead of silver.
Asanator (@asanator)
29th January 2015, 16:00
Have a look at the VMJ08, swap the silver and black around at the back and you have an IDENTICAL livery with the only difference being the colour of the stripe (Red/Orange).
Asanator (@asanator)
29th January 2015, 16:03
Brian Frank (@brianfrank302)
29th January 2015, 16:36
I was thinking exactly the same thing.
Strontium (@strontium)
29th January 2015, 17:32
Yeah me too
Biggsy
29th January 2015, 16:10
Awesome livery and photoshop work from McLaren’s facebook comments thread:
https://scontent-a-vie.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/10957889_10203983603605477_4044316858022910184_n.jpg?oh=acf274af2de41ad04cfa908999001ba1&oe=5568226B
M3CR
29th January 2015, 16:33
Personally I would have liked an orange livery
Brian Frank (@brianfrank302)
29th January 2015, 16:35
Why grey again? Why not more Honda red than a mere stripe? Why no red on driver overalls?
Seriously, what’s the difference in the livery after a engine manufacturer change? A red stripe? I was so excited for the new Mclaren and now this?
Brian Frank (@brianfrank302)
29th January 2015, 16:40
So Mclaren in 2015-
Drivers- Good
Car Nose- Good
Livery- Hideous, just a red stripe on last year’s livery?
Performance- Hoping for the best
Brian Frank (@brianfrank302)
29th January 2015, 16:43
And in 2015, double check if Force India overtook Mclaren or Mclaren overtook Force India.
JohnBt (@johnbt)
29th January 2015, 16:42
Still the 1988 livery is so much better IMHO. Gosh this season is filled with silverish and blackish with a dash of red. DULL!
TheBullWhipper (@thebullwhipper)
29th January 2015, 16:49
The 500bar is injector pressure for the fuel not the turbo boost pressure, I don’t know about F1 engines but standard turbos operate at around 3bar boost
btcamp (@btcamp)
29th January 2015, 16:54
If they had gone with white instead of silver, they might have had some copyright issues… at least the Honda part would still be right. http://joefavorito.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Verizon.jpg
Neil (@neilosjames)
29th January 2015, 17:34
I wanted white with orange. Bit disappointed but I love the nose and it’s a nicer livery than 2014.
Steve D (@)
29th January 2015, 18:10
I think the reactions I’ve read to this launch mostly miss the point. Bear in mind that this is a team that has changed their livery (avoiding one offs etc) just 3 times in their entire F1 racing career spanning 5 decades; (mostly orange, mostly red and white, mostly silver and black.)
Firstly, if you take the current livery at face value, the back of the car will clearly be Santander or something similar with a red rear wing, or red flashes. It’ll be similar to the Vodaphone/Lucozade days. Ron has said that they missed having a title sponsor last year and they will probably get one this season, and I’d imagine with Honda and Alonso that won’t be too much trouble.
With regard to the retro livery being a Honda thing… well, they put Ford, Peugeot, Porsche and Mercedes engines in the car in red and white did they not? I can’t see how those calling for the team to go back to the 1996 livery can suggest that is a “fresh” idea in the same breath. It would just be using an colour scheme based on a long gone sponsor to make the fans hearts sing, like Team Enstone have tried. Otherwise it makes no sense to do it. Red & white means one thing and one thing only; Marlboro.
In my view; it’s fine. The red and white livery lasted for 22 years itself, so it’s not hugely surprising to see this livery heading towards similar longevity. If they ever change again, that too will probably last for 20 or 30 years.
I will give the detractors one point however, because the corporate line that the livery is “an evolved colour scheme that firmly contextualises McLaren’s brand in the 21st century.” is pure MarketingSpeak tosh.
tektonnic (@tektonnic)
29th January 2015, 18:20
Having seen all the press shots of Alonso & Button in front of green screens I’m convinced this is a launch livery – their overalls in the shots are predominantly white, as are all the tshirts, also (and this is key) there is not a drop of red on them.
The race livery will be different and applied by photoshop to all the white overalls they are being photographed in, they’ve just used this generic McLaren livery to launch ahead of title sponsor announcement once it’s sorted…(but for real, not like last year)
Rigi (@rigi)
29th January 2015, 18:30
it looks just like the force india. only red instead of orange. what a shame…
then again, i don’t know why i thought they would do something interesting. they got rid of k-mag after all.
Ashwin (@redbullf1)
29th January 2015, 18:34
It’s almost like they are making a statement ” we are mercedes on steroids” especially with that red outline.
Ludwig (@ludwigmic)
29th January 2015, 19:01
Yay, another grey F1 car, just what we were waiting for…
DaveD (@daved)
29th January 2015, 19:04
Well, it looks like those pathetic mushroom rear suspensions are gone, thank God! I said very emphatically that they were a terrible tradeoff for the downforce vs drag and got attacked on here by various people.
Well, they’re gone and good riddance.
renee
29th January 2015, 19:59
Why doesn’t it have a T bar, or what ever it was called, on the top of the air intake?
John H (@john-h)
29th January 2015, 20:04
Horrible. Time to change the livery. When are they going to realise they are not Mercedes anymore?
Fixy (@)
29th January 2015, 20:43
This is the most frequent sentence I read in the past hours, but I think the point’s pretty clear. McLaren ditched the red after Vodafone left but brought it back for Honda. Why’s the rest the same? Because McLaren built their history around those colours, it’s two decades now that they are black and silver and being such an important brand means they can’t change livery as often as Force India. Could Ferrari go yellow, or Mercedes ditch the silver for a sponsor? It’s true that once those were the West colours, but they’ve become more than that and the most recognisable of McLaren. Also, it was them who were known as the “Silver Arrows” in the late ’90s and early 2000s, so they’re simply not going to give the result of their lengthy work to Mercedes for free.
Sauber (@mumito)
29th January 2015, 21:05
Silver arrows were the first Mercedes Benz. Back in the days german cars were silver, italian ones red, french blue, japanese white and english ones green.
So….silver arrows is NO Mc Laren. The only reason they were called like that is because Mercedes forced them to be silver…..
liambo
29th January 2015, 20:49
Nice to see Murussia back in the game.
McLambo (@imacdiarmid)
30th January 2015, 18:18
1+
Sauber (@mumito)
29th January 2015, 21:10
Im not a big fan of Mc Laren. This is by far Mc Larens ugliest car ever!
sbl on tour (@sbl-on-tour)
30th January 2015, 19:51
have to disagree, I think youve forgotten about the one with the mid wing, think that was the one the mostachied brummie couldnt fit into
Bobby (@f1bobby)
29th January 2015, 21:33
I thought they were getting rid of the silver (to disassociate from Mercedes)?
HK (@me4me)
29th January 2015, 22:13
Terrible livery in my opinion, I hope they change it before the start of the season. The car itself looks very interesting though. Clearly some fresh ideas.
DonSmee (@david-beau)
29th January 2015, 22:15
The music makes my panties wet! uugghh…
Wesley (@)
29th January 2015, 22:38
Disappointed….I was looking forward to a white and red car. This is awful.Hope Honda got the power unit right.
Wesley (@)
29th January 2015, 22:54
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlM3CKXJs5k
Kenitay
29th January 2015, 23:24
If it is slow, then I don’t give a fudge about a Marlboro-esque livery, it then means nothing to me. Honestly, as a Mclaren fan, I just want the car to be fast and reliable. I care less about the livery.
OmarR-Pepper (@)
29th January 2015, 23:49
https://plus.google.com/u/0/+McLaren/posts/SsPo8fCEPj3
At least many fans are already telling them how awful it looks their “new step in history”.
Selbbin (@selbbin)
30th January 2015, 0:08
As a McLaren nut, I’m happy. I was expecting a big surprise, but who cares.
And the livery was silver with a lick of red because of West. The same thing as when it was red and white because of Marlboro. They’re tobacco sponsor colours, not engine supplier colours. I don’t know how many more times people need to point this out but it is not because of Mercedes.
Besides, McLaren is now chrome and black, not silver.
Steve D (@)
30th January 2015, 10:02
+1
Ozan (@ozan)
30th January 2015, 6:06
I was expecting something like this.
Dupree
30th January 2015, 6:56
McLarens Logo consists of three colours, White, black and Red… the roadcars are markets with hot orange, white and black. Silver is dated and like most have said dates to West McLaren MERCEDES. I read somewhere Mercedes AMG were coming out with a more chrome silver arrows look this year. A great opportunity for McLaren to do something fresh and new, so not necessarily Marlborough Honda McLaren look…
I strongly dislike what they’ve launched yesterday, boring and dated. The care looks like something they did in 2009 which was a bad car.
In 1996 they had transitioned to Mercedes partnership but ran with Marlborough livery. It took Ron a full year to acquire his new McLaren F1 look with the right title sponsor. In this day and age I would have thought they would have that sorted sooner… but I’m hoping for something new and different by Race one!!
Dupree
30th January 2015, 8:15
Check out these old McLarens and Honda liveries (first couple of rows), first McLaren looks to be white and green, as someone has already mentioned on here. And Hondas White with Red stripe and black trim which are the logo colours of McLaren. Surely, they gotta break away from the grey / silver look???
http://automotorshow.net/images/1407855427_86665.jpg
Biggsy
30th January 2015, 11:19
Thanks for this link. Such a treat watching all those beauties! :)
Boomerang
30th January 2015, 9:31
Honda without white color is like…, eggs without salt :-/
In my opinion 1997. was a sad year when it comes to McLaren’s livery theme. Undoubtly, when it comes to livery classics, I can think only of two truly special: JPS Lotus and Marlboro McLaren.
I think that Marlboro McLaren livery could be redesigned in a way to be truly atractive and more aligned with Honda’s identity, unlike this one.
Chris
30th January 2015, 16:36
I wonder why everybody expected a big change in livery just because of McLaren’s new partnership with Honda. In the past a new engine manufacturer hardly ever meant a change in team colours, the title sponsor is what dictates the look. The red/white McLaren was from the time when the cars advertised Marlboro, that has nothing to do with Honda. In fact they ran that livery with several different engines (TAG Porsche, Peugeot, Honda, Mercedes, ) and only switched to become “silver arrows” for the sake of West and representing this brand’s colours. As (very successful) years went by that silver/chrome established as team colours so that still isn’t connected to Mercedes but a matter of brand recognition, that brand being McLaren. The most recent fans don’t associate Orange with McLaren’s F1 presence.
Just to throw in some names randomly the same goes for Lotus, Caterham, Marussia, Jordan, Prost, Sauber, Minardi Williams and basically any other not-a-works team in recent history (and yes, Sauber drove in BMW colours but that was when BMW owned the team). Some of those changed livery quite frequently and never has a new engine manufacturer been the reason for that while others retained the “old” paint job even though they switched manufacturers. I don’t see why the change to Honda engines is any implication of a radical new livery – sure they don’t want to resemble Honda’s most recent works-team efforts in F1.
Rubicon (@rubicon)
31st January 2015, 15:45
Finally someone who gets it. The old Marlboro livery was simply not an option as it belonged to Marlboro, not McLaren and certainly not Honda. McLaren chose for themselves silver and black in 1997 and have retained those colours ever since. Possibly the silver was initially influenced by Mercedes, but it’s still a McLaren colour, or a colour they now feel is synonymous with them.
So it’s not a surprise at all that this is the livery they’ve chosen, although it is a little disappointing given the chance of creating a new or updated identity for the next era upon which they’re about to embark.
sbl on tour (@sbl-on-tour)
30th January 2015, 19:46
ron, what are you playing at ! and while i,m at it what is up with honda to
from what I can see this looks just like a mclaren merc and not a brand new collaboration between honda and mclaren
this does not bode well for the new season
Billy gun
31st January 2015, 22:16
For some reason the shape of it reminds me of the 2010 HRT … And why is it still silver? They have no relationship with mercedes anymore. Having said that the car does look good lol. Possibly the best in the field, in terms of overall shape and it looks fast even when it’s not moving.
Japan's Mother
20th February 2015, 22:36
Honda engine is the best!
They will won.
Ayrmurcan Sinna
14th March 2015, 19:07
McClaren/Honda FAIL
Robert Jones
18th May 2015, 19:14
Although Mc has taken its time in moving up the field Mc have done a good job in managing expectations with both the fan base drivers and team still smiling in the face of adversity…..Still it could be worse if you were sign up with a soft drink manufacturer.