- McLaren F1 celebrates 1,000 grands prix with bespoke papaya orange livery.
- Monaco hosts the milestone where Bruce McLaren debuted his cars in 1966.
- Counting error, cancelled race and DNF shape which grand prix is their 1,000th.
McLaren Mastercard F1 Team will race at Monaco this weekend wearing a bespoke metallic papaya orange and anthracite livery to mark what it calls its 1,000th grand prix.
The number 1000 appears on the sidepods of the MCL40, and both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will wear matching race overalls. The livery will also run at the subsequent Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.
The Monaco round is McLaren’s 999th start, not its 1,000th, because neither car completed a start at this year’s Chinese Grand Prix. Barcelona, one week later, will be the true 1,000th.
The team decided to celebrate across both weekends so that Monaco, where Bruce McLaren entered the team’s very first grand prix in May 1966, remains part of the landmark.
A full circle moment, sixty years in the making
Bruce McLaren brought his M2B to the Monaco grid 60 years ago, racing as a constructor for the first time after breaking away from Cooper to build his own car.
The team has raced in Formula 1 ever since, winning 203 grands prix, standing on the podium 561 times, and collecting 13 Drivers’ Championships and 10 Constructors’ Championships along the way. Only Ferrari has been in the sport longer.
Those numbers span some of the most contrasting chapters in the sport’s history. The Marlboro-red years of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost gave way to Mika Häkkinen’s titles.
Then came a long and difficult rebuilding period, and finally the resurgence under team principal Andrea Stella that ended with McLaren winning the 2024 constructors’ championship.
Norris won the 2025 Monaco Grand Prix for the team, with Piastri also on the podium, so this weekend’s celebration comes at a circuit that carries recent winning memory, not just historical nostalgia.
CEO Zak Brown pointed to Monaco as the natural place for this kind of reflection. “Lining up on the grid to race McLaren’s 1000th Grand Prix in Monaco this year provides a perfect opportunity to recognise our rich history in motorsport,” he said.
“We’re only the second team to reach this incredible milestone, so what better moment to reflect on our past, our present and our future.”
A livery wrapped in hidden history
The design team did not treat the livery as a simple repaint. McLaren describes it as carrying “hidden gems” across its surface, with references to race victories, championship seasons, the Triple Crown, and the team’s record pit stop of 1.80 seconds set at the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix woven into the bodywork.
The team was deliberate about what it wanted the design to say.
In its official release, McLaren wrote that the livery “symbolises the message that McLaren Never Quits” and that it “highlights the stories and the work it took to get to the anniversary, championing moments where the team was not only successful, but also the challenges it faced and how it came out stronger.”
Chief Marketing Officer Lou McEwen described the livery as something more than a celebration. “There were never any guarantees to get here, and this new livery recognises the challenges, the resilience, and spirit that defines us as a team: McLaren Never Quits,” she said.
Piastri, who will likely be central to the next chapter of McLaren’s story, said the occasion felt right for the circuit. “1000 Grands Prix is a huge achievement for the team, and it is a privilege to be out there representing McLaren for the occasion,” he said.
“It feels fitting that this celebration has lined up to be where the team first raced in the Championship, 60 years ago.”
The milestone that kept moving
The countdown to 1,000 did not follow a clean path. McLaren originally expected to reach the milestone at the Miami Grand Prix, but the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian rounds pushed the number back. Monaco then became the projected venue, which felt almost too symmetrical to be real.
Then neither car got away at the Chinese Grand Prix, which moved the milestone back again to Barcelona.
The team resolved the question by choosing to celebrate at both circuits. The special livery and commemorative overalls will appear at Monaco and in Spain, meaning the circuit that started everything still carries a place in the landmark weekend.
It is a practical decision, but it also reflects something true about McLaren’s history: the path has rarely run straight.
A ceremony, a reunion, and what comes next
On Thursday, 4 June, McLaren will stage a ceremony at the Circuit de Monaco that brings the original M2B alongside the 2026 MCL40.
The M2B, now owned by Richard Mille, last raced in Monaco the year the team was born. Brown, Stella, Norris and Piastri will stand on the grid alongside every living McLaren Grand Prix winner, all of whom have been invited. Formula 1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali will also attend.
Brown acknowledged that reaching 1,000 required something beyond technical excellence. “Throughout our past, this team has always shown grit and determination, whether that be in periods of success or the trickier times,” he said.
“McLaren Never Quits, and this livery and the moment on Thursday is a special way to celebrate how far we’ve come.”
For Norris and Piastri, the weekend carries a particular kind of pressure. As the reigning world champions, they are not just honouring the past; they are the people McLaren’s next 1,000 races will be built around.
Standing on the Monaco grid on Thursday, with the team’s living winners watching and six decades of history framing the moment, that responsibility will be visible on every panel of the car.
