Monaco Grand Prix: Tracking the special liveries

The crown jewel of the Formula 1 calendar has arrived.

This week the grid heads to the Principality, for the Monaco Grand Prix. While the race itself has become something of a procession in recent years, the Monaco Grand Prix remains one of the biggest spectacles in all of motorsport. In addition, the qualifying session on Saturday is perhaps the biggest hour of the season, given the importance of starting up front on the tight and narrow street circuit.

Given the spectacle, teams often roll out fresh looks for the Monaco Grand Prix, and 2026 is shaping up to be no different. We’ll be tracking the new designs from the teams all week long, in the days leading up to the Monaco Grand Prix.

McLaren will take to the streets in a new design, marking the team’s 1000th Grand Prix in Formula 1.

The team made its F1 debut at this very race back in 1966, when founder Bruce McLaren tackled the streets in the M2B. That car will be in Monaco this week, marking 1000 Grands Prix.

“Lining up on the grid to race McLaren’s 1000th Grand Prix in Monaco this year provides a perfect opportunity to recognise our rich history in motorsport. We’re only the second team to reach this incredible milestone, so what better moment to reflect on our past, our present and our future,“ said McLaren CEO Zak Brown.

“Throughout our past, this team has always shown grit and determination, whether that be in periods of success or the trickier times. McLaren Never Quits, and this livery and the moment on Thursday is a special way to celebrate how far we’ve come. We look forward to running it out on track and recognising what we have achieved from our first race, here in Monaco back in 1966, through to now. Here’s to 1000 more.”

Among the details to this design, the left side of the MCL40 contains the number “0001” while the right side has the number “1000:”

The team is no stranger to a special design for the Monaco Grand Prix. During the 2023 season, McLaren brought a special “triple crown” design to the race, and in 2024, McLaren unveiled a design paying tribute to the legendary Ayrton Senna.

Last season the team paid tribute to the M7A at the Monaco Grand Prix, the car that Bruce McLaren drove to secure the team’s first Grand Prix victory at the 1968 Belgian Grand Prix.

Aston Martin, in collaboration with Maaden, one of the team’s partners, unveiled their new look for the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix on Wednesday. Dubbed “From Rock to Racetrack,” this “color-shifting, iridescent finish” outlines how Maaden, a mining and metal company, helps transform raw material into the “building blocks that help power our modern society.”

According to the team, the livery will appear to change colors as the AMR26 winds around the Monaco Grand Prix.

“Depending on the viewing angle and lighting conditions, the car appears to change color as it moves – an effect the team saw as the perfect visual metaphor for transformation itself.

“The finish constantly evolves corner by corner, appearing one shade on entry and entirely different on exit, and takes inspiration from Andromeda Red, a highly exclusive, color-shifting paint option offered by Aston Martin, most famously seen on the limited-production Valour and Valhalla hypercars.”