Okay, so I’ve been messing around with this idea for a while, and I finally got around to making it happen – a McLaren livery for the F1 2026 season. You know, something to spice things up a bit. I’ve always loved McLaren’s look, that iconic papaya orange, and I thought, “Why not give it a go?”
So, I started by brainstorming. I looked up some cool designs online, got some inspiration, some reference material about McLaren, the old and new designs. I sketched out a few things on paper, just rough ideas, you know? Nothing fancy, just trying to get a feel for what I wanted this thing to look like. It was all pretty messy, but that’s how I roll.
Then, I started tinkering in Photoshop. I created two skins, one for Norris with the number 4 and one for Piastri with the number 81. There are some existing 2026 F1 cars model so I used it and tried to put my design on it. It took me a couple of days to get all the details sorted. Placing sponsors was a real challenge! I even thought about the iconic Marlboro livery, and tried to add some elements. A lot of people like that kind of retro feel. I thought it would be cool to make it look a bit like that. I also saw a Senna helmet design by a guy named DannyDotCom. It looked so dope, so I thought I could include that as a credit to the helmet.
After that, I went back and forth, tweaking things here and there. Changing colors, adjusting shapes, the usual stuff. It’s all about getting that perfect balance, you know? I wanted something that looked sleek and modern but still had that classic McLaren vibe.
Finally, after hours of work, I had something I was pretty happy with. I created a few renders, showing the livery from different angles. It was awesome to see my creation come to life like that. I exported them into different formats. I named them properly so I can manage them well.
The results are pretty good, I think. It’s got that bold papaya orange that just screams McLaren, with some cool design elements that give it a fresh, futuristic look. It’s definitely something I could see them racing with in 2026.
The hardest part? Definitely getting all those sponsor logos in the right place. I know CM’s dragging and dropping does not work most of the time, so I put them manually. It’s a real pain, but you gotta do what you gotta do, right?
Anyway, I’m pretty stoked with how it turned out. It was a fun little project, and it’s always cool to see your ideas take shape. Maybe one day, McLaren will see it and think, “Hey, that’s not a bad idea!” One can dream, right?
