The McLaren MCL33 that will compete in the 2018 Formula 1 championship will be the first McLaren-built race car ever to use a Renault engine.



Other changes compared to last year will include the adoption of the “halo” cockpit protection device, and the removal of the “shark fin” carbon fiber panel.

Since we’re close to finding out what these 2018 machines really look like, we figured a small teaser could really hit the spot, especially one depicting a hypothetical MCL33 with a sleek halo design that’s much better-looking than any of the original ones. The render was drawn up by Esa Mustonen and Sean Bull Design.

In reality, the way the halo is anchored behind the driver’s helmet would probably be somewhat different, since it should be able to withstand a lot of weight in order to pass all the mandatory safety tests.

As for the livery, it’s a mixed bag of past, present and future, with orange accents on chrome (McLaren hasn’t used chrome on their F1 cars since their Mercedes days), plus some of the current sponsors and the addition of Renault.