McLaren Racing has announced a major multi-year deal with Google as its official partner of its F1 and Extreme E team.

In a major deal for McLaren Racing, the British manufacturer announced a multi-year deal with technological giants Google for its F1 and Extreme E teams, starting in 2022. This is probably the reason why the team tweaked its livery during Bahrain Test.

During the filming day, the team presented a tweaked livery but had no mention of why it was done. With this announcement and the positioning of the Google brands on the car, it can be ascertained why they did so which they probably photo-shopped in Bahrain.

The Android and Chrome branding will be used on the engine cover and wheel covers of the MCL36 as seen in the photos, with the logo to feature on the drivers’ helmets and race suits too. The branding will feature on its Extreme E cars from Island XPrix onward.

McLaren will use 5G-enabled devices from Google during the course of 2022 F1 season along with its browser for its operation work. “We are absolutely delighted and proud to welcome Google to the McLaren Racing family,” said Zak Brown.

“Google is a global leader in technology and has been a ground-breaking innovator in connecting people around the world. By integrating platforms like Android and Chrome across our operations, our team will be better supported to focus on driving performance. We’re looking forward to an exciting partnership that spans across Formula 1 and Extreme E.”

At the same time, Nicholas Drake, VP of Marketing, Google, added: “McLaren Racing represents the very best of what’s possible on a racetrack across performance, inclusion and sustainability, and those are values we share at Google. We’re bringing more innovation to platforms, like Android and Chrome, and seamlessly connecting them to other Google services to optimize McLaren’s race day performance.”

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