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One of the most well-respected figures in the F1 paddock, Martin Brundle, has named the ‘ultimate’ livery from his time covering the sport.
Having spent 12 years as a member of the F1 grid and a further 29 years covering the sport from within the paddock, Martin Brundle has seen a multitude of iconic liveries enter and leave the pit lane.
Despite teams often running the same paint job year in, year out, during the first few decades of F1’s history, special liveries have become more common in the modern era of the sport.
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Social media is often abuzz when a team reveals a fresh colour for a race weekend, and it also offers them a new avenue of merchandise that keen supporters can don as they cheer on their favourite driver from the grandstands.
However, for Brundle, there is only one livery that comes to mind when he thinks of the most iconic paint jobs in F1 history.
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Martin Brundle names McLaren’s Marlboro livery as the most ‘iconic’ paint job in F1 history
Ahead of the recent Miami Grand Prix, Racing Bulls made headlines with their special livery for the race weekend in South Beach.
The VCARB03 was adorned in a yellow colour scheme that coincided with a new product launch from parent company Red Bull.
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It marked the second unique livery for the Faenza-based outfit in two race weekends, after F1 fans claimed Liam Lawson was ‘winning the livery championship’ at the Japanese GP.
During Sky Sports F1’s coverage of the Miami GP, Brundle highlighted how he enjoyed Racing Bulls’ Japanese GP colourway, but offered his own version of the best livery of all time.
He told viewers, “For me, the ultimate livery was Ayrton Senna in a day-glow white McLaren, shall we say, with his bright yellow crash helmet. It was the most iconic colour scheme ever.”
McLaren ran the Marlboro-sponsored livery for a total of 23 seasons in F1. It was first seen in 1974 upon Emerson Fittipaldi’s arrival at the team, and became a staple colourway on the grid until Ron Dennis swapped Marlboro for West as the team’s title sponsor in 1997.
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McLaren won 16 of their 23 world championships in the iconic livery
One of the leading reasons why the McLaren livery of that period is so popular among fans is down to the success the team achieved with it adorned on their F1 cars.
In fact, the Woking-based outfit secured their first world titles in the livery’s very first year on the grid, with Fittipaldi in 1974.
Following the success of a double world championship-winning season that year, the red-and-white paint job would accompany McLaren to a further 14 world titles; eight drivers’ championships and six constructors’.
Of course, Mika Hakkinen’s world-beating form in 1998 meant McLaren didn’t have to wait too long to secure some silverware upon the change in look, but the previous livery still remains as one of the most beloved in F1 history.
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