McLaren Debuts F1 2018 Challenger

This past Friday, McLaren unveiled its F1 2018 racing car—the MCL33—and its striking new color scheme. The iconic Papaya Spark and Burton Blue combo harks back nearly 50 years, to when McLaren first made their Formula 1 debut. With this change, the brand hopes to pay homage to its heritage both on and off the track. It’s also the first time in McLaren’s history that they’ll be powered by a Renault engine, after undergoing difficulties last year with Honda.

“There are two families of engines out there; the Mercedes and Honda concept, with the compressor at the front of the engine, turbine at the back, MGU-H sat in the vee; and the Ferrari and Renault approach, where the turbo-charger is at the back of the engine, and the MGU-H sits forwards into the vee,” says Tim Goss, McLaren’s Chief Technical Officer. “Each of those approaches has its pros and cons, but I’m actually quite a big fan of the Renault approach.”

With developments to the car’s architecture, packaging and philosophy—McLaren has made significant changes from its predecessor that will hopefully lead them to greater success in the upcoming F1 2018 season and throughout the foreseeable future.

“Looking at our new car, I feel incredibly excited – but also apprehensive,” explained McLaren driver Fernando Alonso. “I know just how important this car is to the team, and I just hope that it delivers in the way we all want it to.”

“If we’re able to develop the key strengths of last year’s chassis and marry it to an improved Renault power unit, then I think we’ll be able to take a step forwards. The car certainly looks very neat and well thought-out, and I think the new colour looks really great; really eye-catching. I just want to get behind the wheel now!”