Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: Monaco Grand Prix

  • McLaren to run one-off livery

    McLaren will be running a one-off ‘Triple Crown’ papaya, white and black livery in this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix as part of their 60th anniversary celebrations.

    The special livery, which will also adorn the MCL60 at the following race at Spain’s Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, is a nod to McLaren’s achievement of winning motorsport’s three most known races, known as the Triple Crown, which includes F1’s Monaco race, Indycar’s Indy 500 at Indianapolis and the endurance showpiece – the Le Mans 24 Hours.

    The rear of the car which is driven by Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri – will be bedecked in papaya, to celebrate the team’s maiden INdy 500 – winning M16C/D that Jonny Rutherford guided to victory in 1974.

    The centre of the car is what the team call “sharp ice white” from Alain Prost’s 1984 Monaco Grand Prix win, running a red and white colour scheme on the MP4/2 that became synonymous with McLaren in F1.

    The front end of the car is black, in tribute to the McLaren F1 GTR that won the 1995 Le Mans 24 Hours with JJ Lehto, Yannick Dalmas and Masanori Sekiya in McLaren’s first attempt at the endurance race.

    Having achieved the greatest accomplishment in motorsport by completing the Triple Crown, we are proud to celebrate the rich history of McLaren Racing with a special livery at the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix. In line with our 60th anniversary celebrations and honouring the legacy of Bruce McLaren, the unique livery pays homage to the three victories which form the Triple Crown accolade.

    Zak Brown, McLaren CEO.

    It’s a privilege to be involved in McLaren Racing’s 60th anniversary celebrations and to combine three iconic race-winning McLaren liveries into one for the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix is going to be a special moment for the whole team. McLaren have an impressive record in Monte Carlo and on a personal level to have experienced a podium at the 2021 race was a huge honour. We’ll be racing hard in a great looking car to celebrate Bruce McLaren and the team’s amazing legacy.

    Lando Norris added.

    The Triple Crown livery looks incredible, and I can’t imagine a better way to experience my first Monaco Grand Prix as a Formula 1 driver with McLaren Racing. Bruce McLaren was a winner in Monte Carlo in 1962 and the McLaren team have such rich history at the Monaco Grand Prix. I will feel incredibly proud lining up on the grid in the MCL60, carrying the same colours as the three Triple Crown-winning race cars.

    Piastri added.
    https://www.instagram.com/reel/Csl24BZIk-4/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

  • Monaco Tyre Selection

    The tyres have been chosen for this weekend’s Grand Prix, where we are in Monaco, where qualifying really matters…

    The three softest compounds in the Pirelli F1 range have been chosen, those being: C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium) and C5 (Soft).

    The total length of this historic track is just 3.337 kilometres with 68 races having taken place and the most successful driver (in terms of wins) being Ayrton Senna.

    Monaco has the lowest average lap speed of the whole championship, which is around 150kph. With very little grip and limited wear. The softer compound offer a good level of adhesion when it comes to traction but mechanical grip is limited.

    All types of tyre brought to Monaco were used in the variable weather of last year’s grand prix: Blue full wet, Green intermediate, and all three slick compounds. On a dry race track, the race is nearly always a one-stopper for everybody but last year most drivers stopped three times.

    We’re heading to a Monaco Grand Prix that’s somewhat different to what we expected. It should have been the second race of a European triple-header but instead it’s going to be the first due to the cancellation of Imola. Those images of devastation are still fresh in our minds and we want to express our solidarity once more with the families of the victims, as well as all those who have suffered such huge losses. 
    Monaco has written its own chapter in the history of Formula 1. The characteristics of this unique circuit, largely unaltered for more than 60 years, make it a true one-off that has often sprung surprises. No other track can allow a driver to compensate for any technical shortcomings of their car in the same way, and just one incident can shake things up entirely. The difficulty of overtaking can sometimes detract from the spectacle in the race, but that only makes Saturday’s qualifying all the more exciting, as grid position assumes a particular importance to the final result on Sunday. As is often the case on street circuits, Pirelli has nominated the softest tyres in the range. One of the peculiarities of Monaco is the fact that the track is opened to normal traffic every evening, which means that it’s very hard for rubber to build up on the racing line, making the surface even more slippery. With Imola having been scrubbed, Monaco could now become the debut for the new Cinturato Blue full wet without tyre blankets, obviously depending on weather conditions: another potential random factor this weekend.

    Mario Isola, Motorsport Director.