McLaren honors historic M7A with special livery for 2025 Monaco and Spain GPs. McLaren will race with a special livery at the 2025 Monaco and Spanish Grands Prix.

The Monaco Grand Prix is always a very special occasion for all teams. For several years now, McLaren has unveiled a dedicated livery for the event held in the Principality, and this year is no exception.

This afternoon, the reigning Constructors’ World Champion team revealed the livery that will adorn the two MCL39 cars of World Championship leader Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris at the Monaco Grand Prix.

It must be said immediately: this is not a livery that will stand out particularly. It is neither the Gulf nor the Marlboro-like liveries recently used in Monte Carlo. However, it is symbolic, as it pays homage to a car that, in its own way, made McLaren history in Formula 1.

We are talking about the M7A, the first McLaren car to win a Formula 1 Grand Prix. This happened in 1968 at Spa-Francorchamps, then the Belgian Grand Prix venue, with Bruce McLaren behind the wheel.

The M7A was also the first F1 car to race with a fully papaya-colored livery. In short, this was a car that forever changed the history and future of McLaren in Formula 1.

At a time when the Woking team is the reference point in the championship both technologically and performance-wise, the idea of a livery dedicated to the M7A is timely and fitting, especially given the iconic location where it will be used.

Monaco will not be the only place to admire the new MCL39 livery. The same livery will be kept for the next race, the Spanish Grand Prix, held the following week at Barcelona’s Montmelò circuit, which will close the first all-European triple-header of the 2025 season.

The M7A-inspired livery actually has many black parts. These are mostly visible in aerial shots of the car. The sidepods are much more papaya-colored compared to the traditional livery. A final nice touch is the white wheel rim with retro-style numbers, perfectly mimicking those on the cars driven by Bruce McLaren and Denny Hulme back in 1968.

Not only the cars, but also the drivers’ suits will look very different from usual. No more papaya and black; instead, a very elegant white base with three very thin stripes on the sides: a larger papaya stripe and two narrow black stripes framing the outfits of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. Elegant, simple, clean. Without the need to invent anything complex or obscure. In short, effective.