With media speculation prompting fans to wonder whether McLaren might be about to re-introduce the colour orange to their livery, we take a pictorial look back at the F1 teams to have carried the distinctive hue over the years… McLaren

Next Previous Enlarge 1 / 6 Denny Hulme, McLaren Cosworth M7A, finished the race in second place. Formula One World Championship, Rd2, Spanish Grand Prix, Jarama, Spain, 12 May 1968. © Sutton Motorsport Images Bruce McLaren, McLaren Cosworth M7A, finished in fourth place. French Grand Prix, Clermont-Ferrand, France, 6 July 1969. © Sutton Motorsport Images Peter Gethin, McLaren M14A, retired on lap 28 with a blown engine. Mexican Grand Prix, Mexico City, 25 October 1970. © Sutton Motorsport Images Denny Hulme, McLaren M19A, retired on lap 48 after spinning out on oil. United States Grand Prix, Watkins Glen, 3 October 1971. © Sutton Motorsport Images Mika Hakkinen, McLaren Mercedes, Formula One Testing, Jerez, Spain, 15-20 January 1997. © Sutton Motorsport Images Juan Pablo Montoya, McLaren Mercedes MP4/21, Formula One Testing, Barcelona, Spain, 23-27 January 2006. © Sutton Motorsport Images Info Close

Long regarded as McLaren’s ‘traditional’ colour, Bruce’s team actually raced in both white and then red before switching to orange in 1968 - their third season of F1 competition. The change heralded success, with McLaren winning three races that season and sticking with the bold colour scheme (which was inspired by rivals’ liveries in Can-Am) until the end of 1971. McLaren have tested in orange since - in 1997 and 2006 - but will 2017 see the team field an orange-coloured car in a race for the first time in 46 years? Arrows

Next Previous Enlarge 1 / 7 Riccardo Patrese, Arrows A3, retired with engine failure. Spanish Grand Prix, Rd7, Jarama, Spain, 21 June 1981. © Sutton Motorsport Images Jos Verstappen, Arrows Supertec A21, finished in a fine 5th place. Formula One World Championship, Rd8, Canadian Grand Prix, Montreal, Canada, 18 June 2000. © Sutton Motorsport Images Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Arrows Cosworth A23, Monaco Grand Prix, Monte Carlo, Monaco, 23 May 2002. © Sutton Motorsport Images Enrique Bernoldi, Arrows Cosworth A23, Monaco Grand Prix, Monte Carlo, Monaco, 23 May 2002. © Sutton Motorsport Images Marc Surer, Arrows A5, Swiss GP, Dijon, France, 29 August 1982. © Sutton Motorsport Images Enrique Bernoldi, Arrows Asiatech A22, San Marino Grand Prix, Imola, Italy, 15 April 2001. © Sutton Motorsport Images Tora Takagi, Arrows, Formula One World Championship, Rd16, Japanese Grand Prix, Suzuka, Japan, 31 October 1999. © Sutton Motorsport Images Info Close

For their first few seasons Arrows raced with a gold livery, but a change of title sponsor in 1981 heralded a switch to a predominantly orange colour scheme for two years. Many years later in 1999 the team ran with a swathe of orange over the front half of the car. It would prove a prelude to a full-blown return to the colour in 2000, thanks to a partnership with a sponsor of the same name. The bold livery lasted until the team’s demise in 2002. March

Next Previous Enlarge 1 / 5 Vittorio Brambilla, March 741, crashed out of fifth position on lap 17. Italian Grand Prix, Monza, 8 September 1974. © Sutton Motorsport Images Vittorio Brambilla, March 751, retired from the Grand Prix after an accident. Formula One World Championship, Rd5, Monaco Grand Prix, Monte-Carlo, Monaco. 11 May 1975. © Sutton Motorsport Images Vittorio Brambilla, March 761 Cosworth finished in 6th place. Dutch Grand Prix, Zandvoort, Holland, 29 August 1976. © Sutton Motorsport Images Hans-Joachim Stuck, March 761, retired on lap 27 with fuel pressure problems. Austrian Grand Prix, Rd 11, Osterreichring, Zeltweg, 15 August 1976. © Sutton Motorsport Images Hans-Joachim Stuck, March 761, retired on the opening lap of the race with a broken clutch. German Grand Prix, Rd 10, Nurburgring, 1 August 1976. © Sutton Motorsport Images Info Close

No driver in F1 history is as inextricably linked with the colour orange as Vittorio Brambilla, who campaigned the colour throughout his top-flight career and scored his only win at the wheel of an orange March in Austria in 1975. But the Italian was not the only driver to run the livery for March - Hans-Joachim Stuck also campaigned for the team in a similar livery. Surtees

Vittorio Brambilla, Surtees TS20, scored his final GP point with a sixth place finish. Austrian Grand Prix, Rd 12, Osterreichring, Austria, 13 August 1978. © Sutton Motorsport Images

Brambilla switched from March to Surtees in 1977, taking his sponsor with him, though the car he raced that year was white. However, his more familiar orange would return in 1978… Spyker

Next Previous Enlarge 1 / 5 Ernesto Viso, Spyker MF1 Racing Third Driver, Formula One World Championship, Rd 18, Brazilian Grand Prix, Practice Day, Interlagos, Brazil, 20 October 2006. © Sutton Motorsport Images Christijan Albers, Spyker MF1 Racing M16, Formula One World Championship, Rd 17, Japanese Grand Prix, Qualifying Day Suzuka, Japan, 7 October 2006. © Sutton Motorsport Images Christijan Albers, Spyker F8-VII, spins. Formula One World Championship, Rd 6, Canadian Grand Prix, Practice Day, Montreal, Canada, Friday 8 June 2007. © Sutton Motorsport Images Christijan Albers, Spyker F8-VII, Formula One World Championship, Rd 4, Spanish Grand Prix, Practice Day, Barcelona, Spain, Friday 11 May 2007. © Sutton Motorsport Images Christijan Albers (NED) Spyker F8-VII, Formula One Testing, Valencia, Spain, Day Two, Monday 20 February 2007. © Sutton Motorsport Images Info Close

When Dutch car firm Spyker purchased the Midland F1 team towards the back end of the 2006 season they wasted no time in decking their cars out in the national colour. Out went the red and black and in came a dazzling orange livery, which went through several iterations before the team was sold to Vijay Mallya and rebranded as Force India at the end of 2007. EuroBrun

Gregor Foitek at the wheel of his EuroBrun ER-189 in Hungary, 1989. He failed to pre-qualify. © LAT Photographic

The Italo-Swiss team failed to qualify for a single race in 1989 (in fact, they only qualified for 14 races across three seasons in F1) but by running this outrageously garish orange car, they did at least stand out from the crowd. Ensign

Next Previous Enlarge 1 / 2 Vern Schuppan, Theodore Ensign N174, finished fifteenth on his first GP start. Belgian Grand Prix, Nivelles-Baulers, 12 May 1974. © Sutton Motorsport Images Vern Schuppan, Theodore Ensign N174, crashed out of the race on lap six following a brake failure. Monaco Grand Prix, Monte Carlo, 26 May 1974. © Sutton Motorsport Images Info Close

Australian racer Vern Schuppan’s tenure at Ensign lasted just seven races, but it did result in this vibrant orange car making it to the Formula One grid in 1974. And a one-off...

Eddie Keizan, Lotus 72E-Ford, on his way to 13th position in the 1975 South African Grand Prix. Kyalami, South Africa. 27th February - 1st March 1975. © LAT Photographic