McLaren unveils special Silverstone livery inspired by its first-ever Formula 1 car

McLaren Racing has revealed a special one-off livery that will feature on the MCL40 at this weekend's British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Developed in collaboration with Google Gemini, the design celebrates the team's rich heritage while highlighting its continued commitment to innovation.

The livery is inspired by the McLaren M2B, the first Formula 1 car built by the team. The M2B made its Grand Prix debut at the 1966 Monaco Grand Prix, while later that year founder Bruce McLaren scored the team's first-ever Formula 1 championship point at Silverstone, making the British circuit the perfect venue for the tribute.

The special design forms part of McLaren's ongoing celebrations of its history, following the team's 1,000th Formula 1 Grand Prix earlier this season in Monaco. As part of those celebrations, two-time Formula 1 world champion Mika Häkkinen drove the original M2B around the streets of Monaco, honouring the team's beginnings.

According to McLaren, the Silverstone livery symbolises the evolution of the team's Formula 1 cars, linking the M2B with today's MCL40. The campaign, titled Spark What's Next, reflects how each generation of McLaren machinery has built upon the innovations of its predecessor.

The team also highlighted the relentless pace of development in modern Formula 1, noting that a single car can undergo around 18,000 design changes during one season as engineers continue to search for performance gains.

The project also showcases McLaren's partnership with Google Gemini, whose AI-powered creative tools, including Nano Banana and Omni, are used by the team to support idea generation, concept development and the creation of marketing campaigns.

Fans will see the one-off livery on track throughout the British Grand Prix weekend as McLaren celebrates both its past and its vision for the future at its home race.