Following on from McLaren’s 1966-inspired livery for the British Grand Prix, F1.com takes a look at some of our favourite throwback designs.
McLaren showcased a one-off livery at the British Grand Prix as a tribute to the car their founder drove in his team’s first F1 campaign back in 1966. The white and green design was an eye-catching alternative to their usual papaya, but they’re not the only ones to be inspired by the liveries of years gone by. We've rounded up some of the best…
Last season’s United States Grand Prix was a hot spot for one-off liveries, with Williams opting to pay homage to their early noughties challenger by painting the car with swathes of dark blue and white.
2002 was chosen as it marked the year their title partner – software company Atlassian – was founded, but it also saw Williams achieve P2 in the Constructors’ Championship, as well as a best result of a 1-2 finish for drivers Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya in Malaysia.
They couldn’t quite replicate that in Austin as both Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz collided with others during the race and failed to score points, although the Spaniard was able to enjoy a podium in the Sprint.
As part of F1’s 75th anniversary celebrations, Ferrari ran a heart-warming tribute to Niki Lauda at the Italian Grand Prix to commemorate the title he won with them 50 years prior, when he dominated the standings and beat Emerson Fittipaldi by 19.5 points – a significant margin under the old scoring system.
Alongside the addition of white to the engine cover, the Scuderia used retro driver numbers and wheel covers to align them more to the Ferrari 312T, which Lauda and his team mate Clay Regazzoni also drove to victory in the 1975 Constructors’ Championship.
Showcasing the livery at their home event in Monza unfortunately didn’t lead to a podium for either Charles Leclerc or Lewis Hamilton, as they settled for P4 and P6 on race day.
Another shoutout must be given to Ferrari for their special livery at the 2024 Miami Grand Prix, where they reprised the historic blue shades of Azzurro La Plata and Azzurro Dino to honour 70 years of their presence in North America.
The colours were splashed across the body and wheel rims of the SF-24 and harked back to the 1950s, when the lighter blue was worn by Alberto Ascari as a lucky charm on track. It worked pretty well, as the Italian driver won consecutive titles with Ferrari in 1952 and 1953.
The team carried it over onto their race suits and cars in the following decades, with the blues featuring on John Surtees’ Ferrari 158 when he was crowned World Champion at the 1964 Mexican Grand Prix.
The latest appearance of the colour scheme saw Leclerc and Sainz secure a double top-five finish in Miami, with the Monegasque taking his third of 13 podiums in 2024.
Although some might consider it a stretch to refer to the period between 2006 and 2013 as ‘retro’, it’s impressive how quickly McLaren’s chrome and red livery has become one of the most memorable.
That was undoubtedly helped by Hamilton clinching his maiden title in a dramatic 2008 season that included his stunning victory at a rain-soaked Silverstone, leading McLaren to bring back the silver finish for the 2023 British Grand Prix.
It was combined with their typical papaya for a new look that Lando Norris sported en route to his first home race podium, while Oscar Piastri narrowly missed out in fourth place.
As the sport’s most iconic and long-lasting team, it’s no surprise that Ferrari have plenty of history to dig into for their special liveries. In a similar vein to their Lauda throwback, the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix featured a more general acknowledgement of their early success in the USA.
The inaugural event became the latest in an extensive list of races in the country, including Watkins Glen and Long Beach where Ferrari claimed victories with Lauda, Regazzoni, Carlos Reutemann and Gilles Villeneuve throughout the 1970s.
Leclerc missed out on achieving the same in Las Vegas to Max Verstappen, but the return of the decade’s red and white design was another fitting nod to their past.
Special liveries are special for a reason, and are often at their best when they indicate a major departure from a team’s usual design. This was the case when McLaren brought back the legendary blue and orange colours of Gulf Oil for the 2021 Monaco Grand Prix, having renewed their partnership the previous season.
The two companies were initially linked in the squad’s early days under Bruce McLaren, collaborating in F1 and Can-Am racing between the late 1960s and early 1970s. However, they only ran 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 liveries was always going to be a success with fans, and Norris was able to soak it all up on his drive to P3 in the Principality. It made another brief return at the 2025 Sao Paulo Grand Prix with Williams, who had signed a new deal with Gulf two years earlier.
Towards the end of 2020, Honda announced that the following season would be their last in F1, bringing an end to their Red Bull partnership formed in 2018. They ultimately spent a few years helping the team to set up their own power unit production, Red Bull Powertrains, before joining forces with Aston Martin, but the Milton Keynes-based outfit first waved them off with a special livery at the 2021 Turkish Grand Prix.
The tribute came in the midst of 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 Senna and McLaren in 1991.
A sleek white and red livery, it took inspiration from Richie Ginther’s 1965 Mexican Grand Prix-winning Honda RA272, and featured in the Dutchman’s fifth P2 finish of the season. Red Bull would later honour the Japanese company with a similar colour scheme in 2025, at their home race at Suzuka.
Only two teams have hit the incredible milestone of entering 1000 Grands Prix – McLaren celebrated theirs at this season’s Monaco Grand Prix, but Ferrari had a few years’ advantage over them and became the first to hit the record at the 2020 Tuscan Grand Prix, held at their very own Mugello track.
Source: www.formula1.com
