For a long time, McLaren fielded silver-painted cars in Formula 1. But when Zak Brown came to Woking, everything changed. Henry Chilcott, McLaren’s former marketing director who worked under Brown, decided to change the company’s identity and return to the papaya color.
The colour papaya had not been seen in Formula 1 for decades, but was one of McLaren’s classic colours. The team’s founder, Bruce McLaren, introduced it in the 1960s, but the British team soon moved on to other designs.
The silver livery (sometimes referred to as chrome livery) was introduced in the late 1990s and was seen until 2016. Although the team had its moments, including Lewis Hamilton winning the world title in 2008, it fell into a massive crisis in 2014.
“An era that was quite cold and grey and brings back the energy colour papaya. And also brings back the spirit of Bruce McLaren,” Chilcott said it on the Pondering Papaya podcast.
He added why he and Brown decided to bring back the papaya colors, even though they have had other iconic liveries like red and white in the past. “All of it comes from the origin story. A founder who died trying to make the car faster. We didn’t invent it. Bruce McLaren created Papaya when it was still black and white.”
For McLaren, it was about looking at the history of the brand and finding a narrative that linked to the story of how it came about. He pointed out that McLaren was at its strongest when they were at their boldest. That boldness had been somewhat lost and by reintroducing the colors chosen by the founder, they wanted to instill it again.
In 2017, McLaren finished 9th in the overall standings and the team had few sponsors. However, with the change in livery and Brown’s influence, the team attracted the interest of many companies.
Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz: The secret weapon that boosted McLaren’s popularity
Chilcot identified Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz as the secret weapons behind McLaren’s surge in popularity. Both joined McLaren together in 2019, in their third year back in the Papaya colours, and their “bromance” – which was very real – brought the team many fans.
With social media being a powerful weapon for fame, Sainz and Norris’ fan base has helped McLaren in many ways. Thanks to Sainz, several brands have joined forces, especially from Spain. And Norris’ online streams have helped attract non-F1 audiences to the sport.
In 2022, McLaren signed Daniel Ricciardo to replace Sainz, who was moving to Ferrari. This proved to be another stroke of genius. Since the honey badger was one of the most popular drivers in F1, he got them more sponsorship deals.
