Lando Norris revealed that he pestered Zak Brown, McLaren Racing’s CEO, to include chrome in the team’s F1 livery.
Norris says that he admired this design feature from a young age.
On Monday, McLaren unveiled a specialised one-off livery that will run at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone this Sunday.
It will be featured on the MCL60: chrome and papaya robes that highlight the Woking-based outfits’ partnership with Google Chrome.
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It also serves as a throwback to the 2006-2014 era of McLaren design, when chrome was commonly lavished on their cars.
This means Norris will see his longtime wish fulfilled, albeit for only one weekend.
Norris said: “For me, walking down the boulevard [at McLaren’s factory], as much as I would love a white and bright orange car – that livery was amazing.
“There is no other car nowadays that is like the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes that we had back then, and that’s what I grew up watching.
“That’s what I fell in love with. In many ways, I can say that it inspired me to become a Formula 1 driver.
“Before that, I was more into MotoGP and motorbikes.”
The British driver admits he didn’t know much about F1 before McLaren piqued his interest with their car design.
Norris remarked: “Every year, I’ve been pestering Zak to go back a little bit in this direction.”
“I know it’s just for one race but it’s cool to relive a little bit what got me into Formula 1.”
He added that the Lewis Hamilton versus Fernando Alonso duels of that era further caught his attention.
McLaren fans seem to share Norris’ opinion – many of them took to social media to complain that McLaren hadn’t gone “all in” with its chrome delivery.
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Brown explained the decision, saying the team was fusing a blend of McLaren’s past and present with this new design.
He said: “We want to keep our papaya identity.”
“It’s very important to us that we do a nod to the past but also very much look to the future.”
Brown emphasised the importance of not leaning on special liveries for its cars to preserve their “uniqueness.”