Gallery: the best of Gulf Racing liveries
As McLaren and Gulf Oil reunite, we take a look back at the best Gulf liveries from motor sport history
McLaren have produced a 'throwback' full Gulf livery for Monaco – reminiscent of some classic racing colour schemes
McLaren
Painting a racing car in the zenith blue and sharp tangerine orange colours of Gulf Oil may have begun as a simple sponsorship deal, but the livery has since become one of the most iconic in the sport.
With the pedigree that comes from having graced Le Mans-winning cars, among other memorable machines across motor racing, the colour scheme is steeped in decades of history.
Gulf returned to F1 for 2021 after teaming up with the McLaren F1 team as a sponsor and becoming the “preferred lubricant supplier to McLaren Automotive”. Now, for the 2021 Monaco GP, a one-off full Gulf livery will adorn the MCL35s of Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo.
There’s also a good chance of seeing more of the Gulf colours at racing circuits in years to come, as the company is relaunching its racing fuels.
We’ve picked some of the greatest hits from its past: from the Le Mans-winning Ford GT40 to the Aston Martin GTs, clad in the unmistakeable Gulf colours – as well as the new ‘Gulf McLaren’.
This article was updated on May 17 2021.
Jacky Ickx at the wheel of the GT40 on the way to victory at Le Mans
DPPI
The Porsche 911 RSR races through the spray in the 2018 6h of Shanghai
DPPI
The Richard Attwood-Herbert Mueller Porsche 917K
DPPI
Derek Bell and Mike Hailwood drove this Mirage M6 Ford during the 1973 Spa 1000km
Brands reunite as Denny Hulme pilots a McLaren M20 featuring Gulf sponsorship
Pat Brollier/The Enthusiast Network via Getty Images
The Gulf-liveried McLaren F1 blasts between the trees at Le Mans in 1997
Jean-Yves Ruszniewski/TempSport/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images
A pair of Gulf AMR Aston Martin Vantage V8s during the 2013 6h of Silverstone
Darrell Ingham/Getty Images
McLaren have gone for a particularly classic look for the 2021 Monaco GP.
McLaren