McLaren will have a special one-off livery on Fernando Alonso‘s car at this weekend’s Abu Dhabi GP as part of their farewell.
Two-time world champion Alonso is leaving Formula 1 after the season finale and has said he does not plan to return.
To mark the occasion, McLaren have unveiled a new livery on Alonso’s MCL33, which includes colours of the Spaniard’s helmet – blue, yellow and red – in the orange and black livery.
The colours have been emblazoned across the car’s engine cover, while there is also a special ‘FA’ logo on the top and sides of the cockpit.
“We want his last grand prix to feel special in every way, and this was just one of the ways we could reflect that,” said McLaren CEO Zak Brown.
“We worked closely and collaboratively with Fernando, and then with the FIA and Formula One to make the change for this one race, and they were all hugely supportive of the move.
“Hopefully, this will give Fernando’s fans a little something extra to look forward to at what is bound to be an especially emotional weekend.”
It will be the first time McLaren enter a race with a one-off livery since bringing a yellow-branded car for Keke Rosberg at the 1986 Portuguese GP.
Alonso who joined McLaren in 2015, will remain with the team but no longer as an F1 driver. Instead, he will lead McLaren’s bid to win next year’s Indianapolis 500 as he goes for motorsport’s unofficial ‘Triple Crown’ of winning the Indy 500, the Monaco Grand Prix, and the Le Mans 24-hour race.
But with his F1 career set to come to an otherwise underwhelming end – the Spaniard, widely regarded as one of the best drivers of his era, has not won a race since 2013, when he was with Ferrari, as McLaren have struggled to give him a competitive car, and a low points finish is all he can reasonably expect in Abu Dhabi – this weekend’s one-off livery will at least be a memorable way to send him off.
