McLaren reveals its car for the Indianapolis 500

It is on its website and social media that McLaren unveiled the car it will take across the Atlantic Ocean to participate in the Indianapolis 500. The No. 66 single-seater proudly bears the iconic colors of the British team with the distinctive papaya orange, which has been featured on the Woking-based team’s cars since 2018. This color already represented the team in the late 1960s, more precisely since 1966. It was the team’s founder, eight-time world champion Bruce McLaren, who made this choice when he registered his team in Formula 1.

In general, McLaren’s new toy adopts the same design cues as the MCL34 currently racing in the premier category of motorsport, notably with the electric blue at the rear. The number 66 refers to the number worn by Mark Donuhe in 1999 during the British team’s first victory at the Brickyard.

Fernando Alonso will get to know his new ride on April 9 at the Texas Motor Speedway and on April 24 during the open tests for the Indianapolis 500 miles.

In 2017, Fernando Alonso had to forgo victory due to a failure in his Honda engine. This year, McLaren’s Dallara is powered by Chevrolet. If the double F1 world champion manages to win the legendary American event, he would become only the second driver to claim the triple crown, after Graham Hill.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown states: The unveiling of the car and livery #66 is an important moment for McLaren Racing’s journey to the Indianapolis 500. It represents the beginning of the next phase of our program and is a testament to the considerable work done by our specialized team for the Indy 500, at the McLaren Technology Centre. We are all looking forward to seeing the #66 on track for the first time on April 24.

Introducing our #McLaren66 car that will contest the 103rd running of the #Indy500 with @alo_oficial.#ThisIsMay 🇺🇸🧱

— McLaren Indy (@McLarenIndy) April 8, 2019