McLaren star Lando Norris has revealed that he’s asked McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown several times to ditch the papaya livery and return to silver, with the likes of seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton having won his first title using the retro design.
Hamilton’s first title came in 2008 whilst racing for McLaren, with the Woking-based team having used a silver livery at the time.
They ditched the silver look at the end of 2016, before fully embracing the papaya colour scheme in 2018.
In modern F1, McLaren are known best for having run a silver design, with that actually having been what made Norris support the British side.
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“This is what got me into Formula One,” Norris told GQ Magazine.
“Started actually supporting McLaren just ’cause they looked cool.
“I’ve asked Zak many times to go back to this,” Norris revealed.
Perhaps a return to silver will give McLaren the boost they currently need, after enduring a woeful start to the 2023 F1 season.
Norris in particular finished last in Bahrain after being forced to put six times following a pneumatic leak issue, whilst in Saudi Arabia he finished 17th after having to pit for a new front wing in the opening stages of the race.
To summarise how badly the season has started for McLaren, Norris’ front wing was actually damaged as a result of being hit by loose debris from Oscar Piastri’s front wing, which flew off his car.
Piastri has equally endured a challenging start to the season, with the rookie having retired at the opening round following a technical fault, whilst he finished 15th at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
Norris will be hoping that his fortunes change for the better at the third round of the season at the Albert Park Circuit, with the Briton having claimed fifth at the Australian Grand Prix 12 months ago.
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If he were to replicate his result from 2022 then it would be a massive shock; however, it’d be a shock that McLaren would happily welcome.
The Australian GP is, of course, also a very big one for Piastri, given that it’ll be his first ever home race.
He’ll be keen to put on a strong performance in-front of his home crowd, who’ll certainly be cheering him on.