McLaren honours Ayrton Senna with special Monaco GP race livery

To mark 30 years since the death of three-time Formula One champion Ayrton Senna on May 1 1994, the McLaren F1 team of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will race their MCL38 cars painted in a one-off “Senna Sempre” livery at this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix.

Norris and Piastri, respectively fourth and sixth in the 2024 driver standings, will also don bespoke overalls for the race while the rest of the McLaren team will wear Senna-inspired team kit for the weekend.

Senna raced for McLaren between 1988 and 1993, winning three F1 world championships for the team. He won a record six victories at the iconic Monaco street circuit, five times with McLaren, which he achieved in succession from 1989-1993. The other victory was with Lotus-Honda in 1987.

Senna died while leading the 1994 San Marino GP at Imola, Italy when his Williams crashed into a concrete barrier.

The paints selected for the Senna Sempre livery reflect the colours of the Brazilian flag, with bright yellow, green and blue tones. The paints are brought together using a new wash technique developed by McLaren special operations. It allows the paints to blend into each other without creating additional colours, and evokes the movement of a waving flag. 

McLaren also revealed a Senna heritage car, with the Senna Sempre livery, which will be on display in Monaco throughout the Grand Prix weekend.

Launched in 2017, the mid-engined McLaren Senna supercar that bears the legendary driver's name is an outrageous-looking, no-holds barred race car for the road sending all its 597kW and 800Nm output from a twin-turbocharged 4.0l V8 engine to the rear wheels.

Green and white border lines running around the Senna’s glasshouse, and the venting at the base of the windscreen, are inspired by the detailing on Senna’s race helmet design.

Inside, the car has bespoke yellow Alcantara upholstery with green perforations and a white 12 o’clock marker on the steering wheel.

The sills of the black Alcantara upholstered doors are decorated with Senna’s signature alongside his quotation explaining his ethic and philosophy: “I have no idols. I admire work, dedication and competence.”