Lando Norris, Daniel Ricciardo Show How To Mix The Iconic McLaren Papaya Orange Paint
With the recent signing of Oscar Piastri for the McLaren F1 Team, the legendary racing team has once again taken the spotlight. Dropping fan favorite driver Daniel Riccardo, the McLaren The F1 team takes the opportunity to challenge the Australian driver at least one more time before he loses one of the most lucrative spots in the F1 paddock.
Along with British Young Gun driver Lando Norris, the two drivers will take on the task of creating and spraying the team’s primary livery colour, Papaya Orange. Papaya Orange adorns the exterior of the team’s current cars and is instantly recognizable and distinct from the rest of the paddock. Criticized by some fans for being garish, papaya orange isn’t going anywhere any time soon. Although last season many fans were delighted with the special Gulf livery for the 2021 Monaco Grand Prix where Lando Norris was on the podium. This marked a change of power on the F1 grid as Mercedes did not appear on the podium.
Find out if Lando Norris and Daniel Riccardo can paint their legendary F1 colour.
What is McLaren’s papaya color?
According to Mclaren, the team has a special relationship with papaya orange. The color almost made a comeback in 2017. A darker shade called Tarocco appeared on the car alongside black and white accents. The true papaya orange color returned to McLaren’s cars in 2018.
This came after a few decades in which McLaren’s liveries were somewhat forgotten. As a McLaren-Mercedes, the orange was more fluorescent, only highlighting certain aero parts and, more importantly, certain sponsors. Led by Mika Häkkinen and Kimi Räikkönen, the team used more gray and silver in their liveries. A far cry from the team’s iconic Marlboro livery, which went with orange and cream. The orange first appeared in 1968. This was a contrast to what Bruce McLaren had previously opted for silver, the racing color of his native New Zealand. Then, after a turbulent debut season for the McLaren team, he switched to red in 1967.
McLaren goes on to claim that the team made the jump to orange after Teddy Mayer, a McLaren partner, saw an orange car race in the UK. Since nothing else raced with such a color, the team applied a similar color to the M6A for the 1967 Can-Am season. After some successes, the paint then came to the F1 car in 1968.
How do you make McLaren’s papaya color?
Unfortunately, Riccardo assured the Akzonobel Sikkens staff of “quality you can count on” if only on the track. After putting on overalls and protective gloves, Norris and Riccardo can get to work. Presented with the coveted recipe, we learn about the 361, 254. 00 and 355 toners. A language that only painters speak. In plain language: The drivers have to get exactly 134.9 grams of the respective mixture out. After that another 20 grams of a mysterious liquid.
Riccardo proclaims it’s “easy”, although recreating Mclaren’s video at home would be a bit tricky given the lack of exact quantities, you can’t paint your car that colour. Unless, of course, you own one of the Mclaren supercars that come in this vibrant colour, like the 570s or the iconic McLaren P1.
How does McLaren’s Papaya Paint Spray work?
Akzonobel-Sikkens hands Lando Norris the spray gun and lets him know that the harder you pull the trigger, the more it sprays. A similar concept to the gas pedal, which the F1 driver surely already has in mind. To protect themselves from the spray paint fumes, the drivers put on their painting helmets, which close with a hood. They have their own breathing apparatus.
With instructions to hold their spray gun within inches of the bulkhead, they get to work. As usual, the two McLaren drivers take this as an opportunity to present their different personalities. Riccardo sprays somewhat haphazardly and gives a generous coating. Norris takes a more methodical approach, even calling his work a “masterpiece.”
Both drivers leave the painting studio with a papaya-orange mixing and spraying certificate. An achievement that many F1 fans would have loved to have framed on their walls. Interestingly, McLaren presents the work of their drivers. Norris and Riccardo’s work somehow seems identical, after all how can they get different results with the same machinery and the same recipe? Hopefully, for those following the sport’s final seasons, the irony is not lost. A lustrous shade of McLaren’s famous Payapa Orange, it’s not quite what appears on the current season’s car, it has a matte finish. But the drivers successfully adjust the hue.
They only spray a small sample and need a lot more practice before the team lets them lose to any cars. Under no circumstances should you expect motorists to paint their own cars in the foreseeable future. Even if the budget ceiling falls, nothing is completely off the table.