Celebrating 1000: The History of Papaya
McLaren is set to become only the second team in Formula 1 history to reach the milestone of 1,000 Grand Prix starts. To mark the occasion, the team will compete in special liveries during the upcoming race weekends in Monaco and Barcelona.
Before McLaren, only Ferrari had celebrated their 1,000th Grand Prix start. The Maranello-based team reached the milestone in 2020 at Mugello, during a season heavily affected by the global COVID-19 pandemic.
At the start of the season, it was expected that McLaren would reach the landmark at the Miami Grand Prix in May. However, the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East disrupted the original schedule, with the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix complicating the situation. The Chinese Grand Prix also played a role, as neither of the McLaren cars started the race. As a result, the team could only count participation in the race weekend itself, not in the Grand Prix.
Following the Canadian Grand Prix, the situation is therefore as follows: McLaren has competed in 998 Formula 1 Grands Prix, making the Monaco Grand Prix its 999th. The Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona one week later, will officially become McLaren’s 1,000th Grand Prix.
McLaren has been part of Formula 1 since 1966. The team’s story began at the Monaco Grand Prix that year, where founder Bruce McLaren entered the race with the McLaren M2B. Although he retired due to an oil leak, success was not far away.
Just two years later, at the 1968 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, the New Zealander claimed his first Formula 1 victory. His teammate Denny Hulme added two more wins that season, helping McLaren secure second place in the Constructors’ Championship, while Hulme finished third in the Drivers’ Championship.
Over the decades, McLaren’s success has continued to grow. To date, the team has won 10 Constructors’ Championships, 13 Drivers’ Championships, 203 Grand Prix victories, and achieved 531 podium finishes. In all of these categories, McLaren ranks second all-time in Formula 1 history.
For the races in Monte Carlo and Barcelona, the team will run a special papaya-and-black livery. Matching race suits will also be worn by the drivers as part of the celebrations.
McLaren has been celebrating the milestone in Monaco since Thursday. Both the current MCL40 and the legendary M2B appeared on the starting grid as part of the festivities. Alongside current drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, all living drivers who have previously stood on a podium for McLaren also took part in the celebrations. Whether the celebrations will end with a silverware is to be decided…